Question

IMAGINE if, to collect your salary each month, you had to walk to the nearest town, perhaps tens of miles away, to gather in a school or a football court or a church. There, you and your colleagues wait for a man to arrive from the capital, perhaps a thousand miles away, with a suitcase of cash.

Few countries are as corrupt as Congo(刚果). Mobutu Sese Seko, a former strongman, used state funds to charter a Concorde to take him on shopping trips to Paris. By the time of his overthrow in 1997, graft was endemic. Government employees were not paid but rather expected to use their positions to make a living. Among the most prized government jobs was that of accountant: the people responsible for transporting bags of cash to the provinces to hand out to employees.

In 2012, however, the Congolese government started helping civil servants to open bank accounts. Around three-quarters of them—some 670,000 people—now have one. In the process, the government has weeded out tens of thousands of ghost employees, since the embezzlers who invented them could not open accounts in their names without a matching ID.

Yet in a vast country with fewer roads than Luxembourg, hardly anyone lives anywhere near a bank branch. So Congolese banks must now do the work the government accountants used to: shipping money to the remote area. Cash has to be transported to branches in regional capitals, and thence to account-holders on the backs of motorbikes, in canoes or by foot. Bank staff with suitcases of cash make easy targets, just as they did in the west of America in the 19th century. Though they usually travel with armed policemen, there have been at least ten armed robberies of bank employees since January.

At the moment banks are little more than money-transfer companies, and not very sophisticated ones at that. The transfers tend to go only one way—out of Kinshasa—so cannot be netted against each other; instead cash almost always has to be moved physically. Therefore, most Congolese bankers hope that the new system will promote the growth of a proper banking system.

1.The underlined word “charter” (Paragraph 2) can be replaced by “_______________”.

A. drive         B. rent         C. write        D. push

2.How did government employees use to earn a living?

A. By getting enough salaries

B. By talking to employees

C. By transporting bags of cash

D. By benefiting from their positions

3.What is not one of the challenges that bank staff have to face while transferring each?

A. The transfers are netted against one another

B. The cash may be robbed away

C. Most cash has to be moved physically

D. They sometimes have to walk to transfer cash

4.Which of the following can be the best title of the article?

A. Unavoidable robberies             B. Frequent corruption

C. Cash on the way                    D. Best banking system

Answer

1.B

2.D

3.A

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文主要讲述的是在非洲的刚果，人们的工资并不是通过银行卡发放，而是通过人工运输以现金的方式发放给人们。在钱运输的途中会遇见很多的抢劫等情况。

1.B 词义猜测题。根据本句Mobutu Sese Seko, a former strongman, used state funds to charter a Concorde to take him on shopping trips to Paris. 蒙博托•塞塞•塞科曾经是位强人。他曾用国家资金，坐着协和号包机，飞到巴黎购物。蒙博托•塞塞•塞科是刚果人，但是他到巴黎去购物。乘坐的是Concorde“协和号”飞机，这个飞机是他租用的，不是推、驾驶和写出来的。因为该词前面有state funds。故B正确。

2.D 推理判断题。根据第二段第四句Government employees were not paid but rather expected to use their positions to make a living.可知刚果的政府职员期待着靠手中职权挣钱。故D正确。

3.】A 细节理解题。根据倒数第二段最后一句Though they usually travel with armed policemen, there have been at least ten armed robberies of bank employees since January.说明在刚果经常有人抢劫银行。第三句Cash has to be transported to branches in regional capitals, and thence to account-holders on the backs of motorbikes, in canoes or by foot.可知有时候钱需要使用银行职员送到偏远地区。根据最后一段instead cash almost always has to be moved physically.可知在刚果很多时候钱需要人工步行运输。所以BCD都是刚果的银行职员面临的危险。A项中：转账不能相互盈利。与银行职员无关，也不是他们所面临的危险。故A符合本题要求。

4.C 主旨大意题。本文主要讲述的是在非洲的刚果，人们工资并不是通过银行卡发放，而是通过人工运输以现金的方式发放给人们。在钱运输的途中会遇见很多的抢劫等情况。故C项符合文章中心思想。

考点：考查新闻报道类阅读