单选题
Within hours of appearing on television to announce the end of conscription, President Jacques Chirac moved quickly to prevent any dissent from within the military establishment. Addressing more than 500 military staff officers at the military academy in Paris yesterday, Mr. Chirac said clearly that he "expected" their loyalty in the work of rebuilding France"s national defense. He understood their " legitimate concerns, questions and emotions" at the reforms, but added, "You must understand that there is not and never has been any rigid model for French defense. Military service has been compulsory for less than a century. Realism required that our armed forces should now be professional. " The President"s decision to abolish conscription over a period of six years removes a rite of passage for young Frenchmen that has existed since the Revolution, even though obligatory national service only became law in 1905. As recently as 1993 , an opinion poll showed that more than 60% of French people said they feared the abolition of conscription could endanger national security. A poll conducted this month, however, showed that 70% of those asked favored ending of practice, and on the streets and offices yesterday, the response to Mr. Chirac"s announcement was generally positive. Among people who completed their 10-month period of national service in the last few years or were contemplating the prospect, there was almost universal approval, tempered by a sense that something hard to define—mixing with people from other backgrounds, a formative experience, a process that encouraged national or social cohesion—might be lost. Patrick, who spent his year in the French city of Valance assigning and collecting uniforms, and is now a computer manager, said he was in tears for his first week, and hated most of his time. He thought it was "useless" as a form of military training-—"I only fired a rifle twice"—but, in retrospect, useful for learning how to get on with people and instilling patriotism. As many as 25% of those liable for military service in France somehow avoid it—the percentage is probably much greater in the more educated and higher social classes. According to Geoffroy, a 26-year-old reporter, who spent his time in the navy with the information office in central Paris, the injustice is a good reason for abolishing it. People with money or connections, he said, can get well-paid assignments abroad. "It"s not fair, some do it, some don"t. " Several expressed support for the idea of a new socially-oriented voluntary service that would be open to both men and women. But the idea seemed less popular among women. At present, women have the option of voluntary service and a small number choose to take it.
单选题
President Chirac"s decision, announced on TV, on ending conscription seemed to______.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析:本文第一段作者提到,在希拉克总统通过电台宣布免除强制兵役后几个小时内,为了避免来自军界内部的反对,他便迅速跑去召集军事科学院的500名军官开会,明确指出希望他们在这次法国国防体系改革中忠于政府,可推测免除兵役的决定没有得到军官们的一致同意(get no consensus),A为答案。
单选题
In place of military service, President Chirac proposed the establishment of______.
单选题
What worries people who have recently completed their military service about the reform?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】解析:题干关键词“completed their military service”可定位至第四段。本段中作者提到,那些最近几年刚服完兵役的人感觉有一种东西可能会丧失。这种东西是人生的必要经历,是与来自于其他背景的人的融合,是一个加强民族或社会凝聚力的过程,可见A“缺乏培养民族精神的经历”为答案。第七段作者提到,不公正(injustice)被认为是取缔强制兵役服务的一个因素,这并不是题干中服完兵役的人所担忧的事情,B项排除;C和D均未提及,排除。
单选题
We learn from the passage that French women______.
单选题
Which of the following would be the best for the title of this passage?
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析:本文介绍了法国希拉克总统在宣布废除强制服兵役政策后,法国各方对此做出的反应。虽然文中提到此举并未得到军界的一致同意,但通过第三段所引用的数字和实例说明很多法国人赞同这一改革,但对此举所造成的影响稍作担忧,可见法国多数人还是不后悔告别武器的,排除C项,确定D项为本题答案。文中虽有提及兵役存在不公平现象(injustice),但文章重点在废除服兵役(abolish conscription)而非兵役的公平性上(fairness in conscription),排除A项;如上文所述,虽然作者提到希拉克的决定未得到全票同意,但文章并没有对反对的声音(objections)做出描述,可见文章重点并非在此,排除B项。