单选题 For the first time, George Bush has acknowledged the existence of secret CIA prisons around the world, where key terrorist suspects—100 in all, officials say--have been interrogated with "an alternative set of procedures". Fourteen of the suspects, including the alleged mastermind of the September 11th attacks, were transferred on Monday to the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where some will face trial for war crimes before special military commissions.
Many of these men--as Mr. Bush confirmed in a televised speech at the White House on September 6th--are al-Qaeda operatives or Taliban fighters who had sought to withhold information that could "save American lives". "In these cases, it has been necessary to move these individuals to an environment where they can be held secretly (and) questioned by experts," the president said. He declined to say where they had been held or why they had not simply been sent straight to Guantanamo, as some 770 other suspected terrorists have been.
Mr. Bush also refused to reveal what interrogation methods had been used, saying only that, though "tough", they had been "safe and lawful and necessary". Many believe that the main purpose of the CIA's prisons was to hide from prying eyes the torture and other cruel or degrading treatment used to extract information from prisoners. But Mr. Bush insisted that America did not torture: "It's against our laws, and it's against our values. I have not authorised it and I will not authorise it."
The pentagon this week issued its long-awaited new Army Field Manual, forbidding all forms of torture and degrading treatment of prisoners by army personnel--though not the CIA. For the first time, it specifically bans forced nakedness, hooding, the Use of dogs, sexual humiliation and "waterboarding" (simulated drowning)--all practices that have been used at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.
So why did the president decide now to reveal the CIA's secret programme? Partly, he confessed; because of the Supreme Court's recent ruling that minimum protections under the Geneva Conventions applied to all military prisoners, no matter where they were. This has put American agents at risk of prosecution for war crimes. Mr. Bush has now asked Congress to ban suspected terrorists from suing American personnel in federal courts.

单选题 In terms of literary device, the phrase "an alternative set of procedures" in the first paragraph of the text is a kind of ______.
[A] hyperbole [B] euphemism [C] black humor [D] stream of consciousness

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[考点解析] 这属于一种较难的题型，测试考生对原文作者具体写作手法的识别与理解。在本文第一段第一句中，作者将an alternative set of procedures这一部分打上了双引号，其目的是回避使用过于直截了当的词语(例如：cruel, illegal, inhumane等)来描述美国中央情报局审讯恐怖主义疑犯的方式。作者的这种写作手法在文学写作上称作“委婉语”的使用，故本题的正确选项应该是B。考生在阅读时应适当把握原文作者的写作手法。

单选题 Mr. Bush's attitude toward the public's remarks is ______.
[A] consent [B] hesitation [C] denial [D] approval

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[考点解析] 这是一道细节归纳和分析题，测试考生对原文重要细节信息的理解和归纳。本题答案信息来源在第三段的倒数第一、二句，其大意是：“许多人(即公众)认为：中央情报局秘密监狱的目的就是不让公众看到为了从犯人口中获取信息所使用的酷刑以及其他残酷的或不人道的方法。但是布什先生坚持认为美国并没有折磨犯人……”。由此可以推断本题的正确选项是C。考生在阅读时要注意原文上下句之间的关系，还要注意含有“启、承、转、合”词的句子。

单选题 The term "declined" in the last sentence of the second paragraph most probably denotes ______.
[A] refused [B] dropped [C] dived [D] compromised

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[考点解析] 这是一道词汇题，测试考生对原文中词语的准确理解能力。原文第二段倒数第一句中的“declined”一词在本文中的含义是“拒绝”，而不是“衰退”或“下降”。考生解答词汇类试题时要依靠原句、上下文以及全文的中心主旨三种方式。本题通过第三段首句中的“also refused”就可以推断出本题的正确选项A。

单选题 According to the text, the old Army Field Manual lacks ______.
[A] some forms of degrading treatment of prisoners
[B] the trials of time by the CIA
[C] torture by army personnel in Abu Ghraib
[D] specific ban on "water-boarding/

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[考点解析] 这是一道细节理解和推导题，测试考生对原文细节的整体准确把握和推导能力。本题的答案信息来源在倒数第二段的第一、二句，尤其是第二句。第二句的大意是：“新的军人战地手册第一次具体地明确禁止强迫性裸体、戴头罩、使用犬、性侮辱以及‘水牢’……”。由此可以推断本题的正确选项应该是D。考生在阅读时要重视逻辑推导能力的发挥和合理运用。

单选题 According to the text, the president admits to some "alternative" method due to ______.
[A] charity impulse [B] economic recession
[C] domestic booming [D] legal pressure

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[考点解析] 这是一道细节题，测试考生对原文细节的准确识别和正确理解能力。本题的答案信息在原文尾段的第一、二、三句，尤其是第二句，其大意是“……由于最高法院近期裁决：日内瓦协定规定的起码的保护条款适用于所有军事囚犯，无论他们在何处”。由此可以推断本题的正确选项是D。考生在阅读时要注意原文上下句之间的关系，还要注意每句话所表达的内在含义。