单选题 Police in the popular resort city Virginia Beach recently began operating video surveillance cameras with controversial face recognition technology. Virginia Beach and Tampa in Florida two cities in the United States acquired the technology, which cost them $197,000. "Before we switched it on, we went through an extensive public education process with hearings and the involvement of citizen groups and minority groups, who helped write the policies we are using," said deputy police chief Greg Mullen. A citizens' auditing committee has the fight to perform unannounced spot checks on police headquarters to make sure the technology is not being misused.
Three of the city's 13 cameras are linked full time to the face recognition system, though the others can be activited as needed. The database of wanted people is updated every day. So far, the system has failed to produce a single arrest, though it has generated a few false alarms. It works by analyzing faces based on a series of measurements, such as the distance from the tip of the nose to the chin or the space between the eyes. Critics say it is highly inaccurate and can be easily fooled. Mullen, who sees the system eventually being linked to the databases of other city, state and federal law enforcement agencies to track criticals and suspected terrorists, said, "The system doesn't look at skin color or your hair or your gender. It takes human prejudices out of the equation. "
"This technology has little or no effect on the crime rate but it does have an effect on people's behavior. People feel cowed," said Bruce Steinhardt, who directs the technology. Despite the fact that tests have shown faces recognition only works in around 30% cases, the ACLU is alarmed that the technology may soon spread to airports. The organization also fears it could potentially be used to monitor individual's political activities to harass law-abiding citizens.
"This kind of surveillance should be subject to the same procedures as wiretaps. Law enforcement agencies should justify why they need it and it should be tightly limited, otherwise it will soon become a tool of social control," said Mihir Kshisagar of the Electronic Information Privacy Center. Nor does such criticism come exclusively from the political left. Lawyer John Whitehead, founder of the conservative Rutherford Institute, wrote in an editorial that the technology threatened the right of each U.S. citizen to participate in society. "After all, that is exactly what constant surveillance is—the ultimate implied threat of coercion," he wrote.
单选题 What does Mullen's statement in Paragraph 1 indicate?
  • A.Police is confident in using the technology.
  • B.Police has made preparation for the use of the technology.
  • C.Citizens have rights over managing the technology.
  • D.Police has gone through public education process.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第一段第三句话马伦的话“Before we switched it on, we went through an extensive public education process with hearings...”。这说明警察局对这项技术非常谨慎，为监视摄像机的使用做了充分准备。因此正确答案为B。
单选题 Why does the system fall to arrest a wanted person?
  • A.The system is not effective in recognizing people.
  • B.The system doesn't look at skin color or one's gender.
  • C.The system doesn't consider people's specific features.
  • D.The system is highly inaccurate and can be easily fooled.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第二段讲述了面孔识别系统的运行情况，系统迄今尚未抓到一个犯人，这是因为“It works by analyzing faces based on a series of measurements，such as the distance from the tip of the nose to the chin or the space between the eyes.”这说明这个系统不考虑人的具体特征，所以抓不到通缉犯，所以正确答案为C。
单选题 What is the ACLU's attitude to the system?
  • A.Worried.
  • B.Skeptical.
  • C.Confident.
  • D.Indifferent.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章第三段最后一句话指出“The organization also fears it could potentially be used to monitor individual's political activities to harass law-abiding citizens.”这说明ACLU对面孔识别系统心存疑虑，所以选A。
单选题 In John Whitehead's opinion, which statement is true?
  • A.Face recognition technology may interfere with people's privacy.
  • B.Face recognition technology may enhance the country's constant surveillance.
  • C.Face recognition technology can be used in the same way wiretaps are used.
  • D.Face recognition technology can be used after its threat has been removed.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 文章最后一段最后一句话。After all, that is exactly what constant surveillance is—the ultimate implied threat of coercion.”这是约翰博士的观点，这项技术威胁到美国每个公民参与社会的权利。所以A“会干扰人们的隐私”，是正确答案。
单选题 What is this passage mainly about?
  • A.Disadvantage of face recognition technology.
  • B.Purposes of face recognition technology.
  • C.Controversial face recognition technology.
  • D.Effect of face recognition technology.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 文章讲述了警察局对这项技术非常谨慎，为监视摄像机的使用做了充分准备，但收效甚微。所以反对这项技术的人非常多。有人认为它是潜在的威胁，有人认为会侵犯守法公民，但马伦认为这个系统最终会和其他城市，其他州和联邦的执法部门连在一起跟踪罪犯和可疑的恐怖分子。所以说这项技术充满争议。因此选C。