At the start of the year, The Independent on Sunday argued that there were three overwhelming reasons why Iraq should not be invaded: there was no proof that Saddam posed an imminent threat; Iraq would be even more unstable as a result of its liberation; and a conflict would increase the threat posed by terrorists. What we did not know was that Tony Blair had received intelligence and advice that raised the very same points. Last week"s report from the Intelligence and Security Committee included the revelation that some of the intelligence had warned that a war against Iraq risked an increased threat of terrorism. Why did Mr. Blair not make this evidence available to the public in the way that so much of the alarmist intelligence on Saddam"s weapons was published? Why did he choose to ignore the intelligence and argue instead that the war was necessary, precisely because of the threat posed by international terrorism? There have been two parliamentary investigations into this war and the Hutton inquiry will reopen tomorrow. In their different ways they have been illuminating, but none of them has addressed the main issues relating to the war. The Foreign Affairs Committee had the scope to range widely, but chose to become entangled in the dispute between the Government and the BBC. The Intelligence Committee reached the conclusion that the Government"s file on Saddam"s weapons was not mixed up, but failed to explain why the intelligence was so hopelessly wrong. The Hutton inquiry is investigating the death of Dr. David Kelly, a personal tragedy of marginal relevance to the war against Iraq. Tony Blair has still to come under close examination about his conduct in the building-up to war. Instead, the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, is being fingered as if he were master-minding the war behind everyone"s backs from the Ministry" of Defence. Mr. Hoon is not a minister who dares to think without consulting Downing Street first. At all times he would have been dancing to Downing Street"s tunes, Mr. Blair would be wrong to assume that he can draw a line under all of this by making Mr. Hoon the fall-guy. It was Mr. Blair who decided to take Britain to war, and a Cabinet of largely skeptical ministers that backed him. It was Mr. Blair who told MPs that unless Saddam was removed, terrorists would pose a greater global threat—even though he had received intelligence that suggested a war would lead to an increase in terrorism. Parliament should be the forum in which the Prime Minister is called more fully to account, but lain Duncan Smith"s support for the war has neutered an already inept opposition. In the absence of proper parliamentary scrutiny, it is left to newspapers like this one to keep asking the most important questions until the Prime Minister answers them.
单选题 We learn from the first two paragraphs that
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析：归纳总结题，文章第一段讲述了The independent报纸公布了三个伊拉克不应该被入侵的原因，指出英国情报部门获取的情报不足以证明伊拉克会对英国造成威胁，相反，入侵伊拉克以后，英国遭受恐怖主义袭击的概率会不断上升。但是首相Blair忽略这些情况，执意开战(...he choose to ignore the intelligence and argue instead that the war was necessary...)。
单选题 The author thinks that the Hutton enquiry is
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析：细节题。信号词为"Hutton enquiry"，定位在第三段。文章有这样的话，"…but none of them has addressed the main issues relating to the war"。最后一句话也提到了Hutton enquiry, "The Hutton inquiry is investigating the death of Dr. David Kelly，a personal tragedy of marginal relevance to the war against Iraq"，可以推出作者认为Hutton enquiry根本就是只查出相关的东西，没有击中要害。
单选题 By "chose to become entangled" (Para. 3), the author implies that
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析：细节推断题。第三段已经指出，有两个议会对伊战争的调查和Hutton enquiry，但在其他角度，他们都只在一定程度上有启发性，没有一个能直指要害。这个Foreign Affairs Committee也是故意和政府与BBC的争辩一样装糊涂，不阐明真相。这样的dispute在作者看来是没有必要的，因为它根本不会产生任何实际结果。
单选题 It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】解析：细节推断题。文章是这样描述国防部长Geoff Hoon的："Mr. Hoon is not a minister who dares to think without consulting Downing Street first. At all times he would have been dancing to Downing Street"s tunes" (他不会也不敢不征求唐宁街首相府的同意就擅自行动，任何时候，他都是和首相一个鼻孔出气的)。也就是说，Hoon做出决定之前一定要咨询首相。
单选题 What is the author"s attitude towards the Parliament?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析：观点态度题。最后一段第一句作者提到"Parliament should be the forum in which the Prime Minister is called more fully to account"(议会应该是论坛，在那里首相们要将事情一一说明清楚)。而现在没有任何scrutiny，作者认为我们所能做的就是不断地问最要紧的问题直到Blair回答为止(to keep asking the most important questions until the Prime Minister answers them)。可见作者对议会的态度是很不满的，是非常critical的。