单选题 The New York Times and the Guardian are calling for President Barack Obama to take mercy on former NSA employee Edward Snowden.
President Barack Obama's recent speech on changes to the way the National Security Agency spies on people inspired many questions. It also helped to renew the debate over Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor behind the leaks. Is he a good guy or a bad guy?
Of course, nothing is so simple, but Snowden's actions have definitely divided people. According to recent polls, most Americans consider Snowden to be more of a {{U}}whistle-blower{{/U}} than a traitor. However, the same polls indicate more Americans believe Snowden's actions were mostly bad for the United States.
Snowden first leaked the NSA documents in June 2013, including information on American spying on enemies and on American citizens, which raised the fury of civil rights advocates. Other documents focused on how the U.S. spied on its allies, like German Chancellor Angela Merkel. That led Merkel to reportedly demand clarification from Obama about the reports that her phone had been tapped.
And the leaks have kept on coming out. On Friday, while outlining how he plans to reform the NSA, Obama mentioned Snowden by name. "Given the fact of an open investigation, I'm not going to dwell on Mr. Snowden's actions or his motivations," Obama said. "I will say that our nation's defense depends in part on the loyalty of those entrusted with our nation's secrets."
Later, Obama said, "We know that the intelligence services of other countries—including some who pretend to be surprised about the Snowden disclosures—are constantly probing our government and private-sector networks and accelerating programs to listen to our conversations and invade our emails and compromise our systems."
The Times wrote, "When someone reveals that government officials have routinely and deliberately broken the law, that person should not face life in prison at the hands of the same government." The Guardian described Snowden's actions as "some act of moral courage."
Nothing in Obama's speech indicated that his administration is considering these suggestions.
A blog from the Washington Post's Max Fisher offers an interesting theory on why people remain divided about Snowden. As Fisher puts it, "Many Americans see him as either a hero or a wicked person but rarely as something in between."

单选题 It can be concluded from this passage that Americans ______.

A. are of divided opinion about Snowden
B. mostly regard Snowden as a traitor now
C. support Snowden's action against the country
D. don't care about what Snowden has done

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】该选项的答案主要体现在第三段，如第一句的含义是“不太好说斯诺登是好人还是坏人，人们观点不一”。后面接着说大多数人不认为斯诺登是个叛徒，但认为斯诺登的所作所为对美国国家利益不利。

单选题 The underlined word "whistle-blower" in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.

A. a judge at the Supreme Court of the U.S.
B. a criminal that has turned against the country
C. a discloser of wrongdoing to the public
D. a person who keeps a nation's secrets

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】whistle-blower源自于词组blow the whistle(举报，制止)，字典的解释是“举报他人不端行为的人”，涉及斯诺登时比较流行的译法是“揭秘者”。

单选题 According to Paragraph 4, NSA did all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A. collecting intelligence on enemy countries
B. obtaining secret information on American citizens
C. listening to Angela Merkel's phone in secret
D. giving clarification about information collection

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】文章第四段谈到美国国家安全局(NSA)监听的对象，包括敌对国家、本国公民和其他国家首脑的通话。

单选题 In Paragraph 6, Obama made these remarks to ______.

A. justify the spying activities of American agencies
B. disclose the real motivations of Snowden's action
C. make an official apology to other countries
D. demand an investigation into Snowden's case

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】在文章第六段，奥巴马总统讲话的大意是：有些国家不断地攻击美国政府或个人的网络、窃听谈话并窃取电子邮件。其含义是：既然你在设法窃取我们的秘密，我们为什么不能以其人之道还治其人之身呢?

单选题 As mentioned in Paragraph 7, both the Times and the Guardian ______.

A. condemned Snowden as a traitor
B. wished Snowden to be imprisoned
C. expressed sympathy for Snowden
D. believed Snowden had broken the law

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】在第七段，《纽约时报》文章反映的观点是“如果某个人揭露政府官员把违法行为当作家常便饭，那么该人不应该接受这个政府的审判”。《卫报》认为斯诺登“有正义感”。这些观点表明这两家报纸对斯诺登有好感。

单选题 Which of the following statements is true according to this passage?

A. President Obama is considering taking mercy on Snowden.
B. The debate continues as to whether Snowden is a traitor or a hero.
C. Most Americans agree that Snowden is a really good guy.
D. Americans regard Snowden as both heroic and evil.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】文中有文字说明多数美国人不是把斯诺登看作是英雄，就是把他看作是混蛋，但不可能是两者兼之。文章也提到奥巴马总统不考虑有关赦免斯诺登的建议。文章的主要论点是人们对斯诺登看法不一，而且有些报纸也推波助澜，看来这个争论没有尽头。