Question

    A man with a “sob story” has been earning up to $400 in cash handouts from shops on the lower North Shore. He has hit three shops in the past two weeks at North Sydney, Mosman and Crows Nest.

“The man has been telling a sob story about needing money because he has been locked out of his home and his wallet is inside, and he needs money to pay a locksmith,” a police officer said. “Sometimes he tells a story about needing money for a new car battery. He has received amounts between $50 and $400 and is then never seen again.”

The conman has also hit businesses on the lower North Shore and northern beaches. “The man seems to do his research and he'll say he is a friend of the shop owner and mentions the owner's name,” the officer said. The man usually targets shops that are busy or short­staffed.

The police officer said shop owners approached by the man should not give him money and contact the police immediately. The man is described as of European appearance, about 50 years old with a strong Italian accent. He is of medium build and about 180 cm tall, wearing jeans, a brown T­shirt and an expensive­looking gold watch. The police said the man sometimes gives the name of Tony.

1.The underlined word “conman”(in Paragraph 3) most probably means ________.

A.a beggar who begs from shop to shop

B.a jobless man who begs for a short time

C.a man who is in urgent need of money to get out of trouble

D.a man who gets money by tricking people

2.Why does the man target the shops that are busy or short­staffed?

A.He may offer the shops some help. B.He may do his research better.

C.The shop staff may be too busy to find him out. D.He may beg for more money from the customers.

3.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A.The man likes to make friends with shop owners, so he knows their names.

B.The man has got some information about the shops before playing his trick.

C.The man can earn between $50 and $400 every day from shop to shop.

D.The man does business work on the lower North Shore and northern beaches.

4.Why do the police ask shop owners not to give the man money?

A.The man is in fact a rich man.

B.They do not permit begging in the city.

C.They want to prevent shop owners from being cheated.

D.The man has earned a lot of money.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.B

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇新闻报道。文章介绍了一名有着“悲惨故事”的男子从北海岸下游的商店获得了400美元的现金施舍。在过去的两周里，他已经在悉尼北部的三家商店进行了行骗。警察介绍了他行骗的方式和男子的外貌特征。

1.

词义猜测题。根据第二段“The man has been telling a sob story about needing money because he has been locked out of his home and his wallet is inside, and he needs money to pay a locksmith,” a police officer said. “Sometimes he tells a story about needing money for a new car battery. He has received amounts between $50 and $400 and is then never seen again.”可知一名警官说:“这名男子说他需要钱，因为他被锁在门外，钱包在里面，他需要钱付钱给锁匠。有时他会讲一个需要钱买新汽车电池的故事。他收到了50到400美元的赎金，之后就再也没有出现过。”由此可知，这个人是个骗钱的骗子。划线单词意思为“通过欺骗别人来赚钱的人”。故选D。

2.

推理判断题。根据第三段中The man usually targets shops that are busy or short­staffed.可知他通常瞄准那些繁忙或人手不足的商店。由此可推知，这个男人把目标对准那些繁忙或人手不足的商店，是因为这些商店职员可能太忙了，不会去详细追查他。故选C。

3.

细节理解题。根据第三段中“The man seems to do his research and he'll say he is a friend of the shop owner and mentions the owner's name,” the officer said.可知“这名男子似乎做了调查，他会说他是店主的朋友，并提到店主的名字，”警官说。由此可知，B选项“这个人在行骗之前已经得到了一些关于商店的信息”正确。故选B。

4.

推理判断题。根据最后一段中The police officer said shop owners approached by the man should not give him money and contact the police immediately.可知警方表示，该名男子走近的店主不应该给他钱，并立即联系警方。结合上文提到这个男子是一个在商店里行骗的骗子，由此可推知，警察要求店主不要给他钱，是为了防止店主被骗。故选C。