Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.
Speeding off in a stolen car, the thief thinks he has got a great catch. But he is in for an unwelcome surprise. The car is fitted with a remote immobiliser (锁止器), and a radio signal from a control centre miles away will ensure that once the thief switches the engine off, he will not be able to start it again.
The idea goes like this. A control box fitted to the car contains a mini-cellphone, a micro-processor and memory, and a GPS (全球定位系统) satellite positioning receiver. If the car is stolen, a coded cellphone signal will tell the control centre to block the vehicle’s engine management system and prevent the engine being restarted.
In the UK, a set of technical fixes is already making life harder for car thieves. ‘The pattern of vehicle crime has changed,’ says Martyn Randall, a security expert. He says it would only take him a few minutes to teach a person how to steal a car, using a bare minimum of tools. But only if the car is more than 10 years old.
Modern cars are far tougher to steal, as their engine management computer won’t allow them to start unless they receive a unique ID code beamed out by the ignition (点火) key. In the UK, technologies like this have helped achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime since 1997.
But determined criminals are still managing to find other ways to steal cars, often by getting bold of the owner’s keys. And key theft is responsible for 40% of the thefts of vehicles fitted with a tracking system.
If the car travels 100 metres without the driver confirming their ID, the system will send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen. The hundred metres minimum avoids false alarms due to inaccuracies in the GPS signal.
Staff at the centre will then contact the owner to confirm that the car really is missing, and keep police informed of the vehicle’s movements via the car’s GPS unit.
31. What’s the function of the remote immobilizer fitted to a car?
A) To help the police make a surprise attack on the car thief.
B) To allow the car to lock automatically when stolen.
C) To prevent the car thief from restarting it once it stops.
D) To prevent car theft by sending a radio signal to the car owner.(C)
32. By saying “The pattern of vehicle crime has changed” (Lines 1-2. Para. 3), Martyn Randall suggests that ________.
A) it takes a longer time for the car thief to do the stealing
B) self-prepared tools are no longer enough for car theft
C) the thief has to make use of computer technology
D) the thief has lost interest in stealing cars over 10 years old(B)
33. What is essential in making a modem car tougher to steal?
A) A coded ignition key.
B) A unique ID card.
C) A special cellphone signal.
D) A GPS satellite positioning receiver.(A)
34. Why does the tracking system set a 100-metre minimum before sending an alarm to the operations centre?
A) To leave time for the operations centre to give an alarm.
B) To keep police informed of the car’s movements.
C) To give the driver time to contact the operations centre.
D) To allow for possible errors in the GPS system.(D)
35. What will the operations centre do first after receiving an alarm?
A) Start the tracking system.
B) Contact the car owner.
C) Block the car engine.
D) Locate the missing car.(B)
这是一篇讲述汽车防盗系统的说明文。文章开头另辟蹊径，以场景描述开篇，叙述一个偷车贼在偷车逃跑的过程中如何受困于防盗系统。这个场景言简意赅，概括了本篇所述的防盗系统的三个要点：immobiliser (锁止器)，a control centre(控制中心)，以及其结果not be able to start it again(不可启动)。第一段以场景描述形象地向读者介绍了本篇讨论的核心内容，引起读者的阅读兴趣，随后的第二段马上以专业语言对这一系统进行描述。这种布局法显然好于开篇就直接介绍防盗系统的工作原理。
接下来的一段援引一个安全专家的话介绍了英国国内汽车偷盗现象的现状：因为车上安装了一套技术装置(a set of technical fixes)，使得现在的偷车贼无法再用以前的方法轻松地偷车成功。
第四段进一步讲解了这套技术装置的原理，并指出这种技术使与车辆有关的犯罪发生率下降了31%(achieve a 31% drop in vehicle-related crime)。第三、四这两段说明的目的是为后文新的防盗系统的出现做好铺垫——因为旧有的方法不再奏效，许多偷车贼开始使用一种更为原始的方式：getting hold of the owner’s keys(偷钥匙)，本文的所介绍的防盗系统就是为了应付这种偷盗方式而出现的——这是第五段的内容。
文章的最后两段具体说明了这种系统的工作方式。第六代说明的是汽车失窃的第一阶段：发出信号“send a signal to an operations centre that it has been stolen”。第七段说明第二阶段：工作人员确认失窃，并协助警方追捕盗贼。
