Here’s the scary thing about the identity-theft ring that the feds cracked last week: there was nothing any of its estimated 40,000 victims could have done to prevent it from happening. This was an inside job, according to court documents. A lowly help-desk worker at Teledata Communications, a software firm that helps banks access credit reports online, allegedly stole passwords for those reports and sold them to a group of 20 thieves at $60 a pop. That allowed the gang to cherry-pick consumers with good credit and apply for all kinds of accounts in their names. Cost to the victims: $3 million and rising.

　　Even scarier is that this, the largest identity-theft bust to date, is just a drop in the bit bucket. More than 700,000 Americans have their credit hijacked every year. It's one of crime's biggest growth markets. A name, address and Social Security number--which can often be found on the Web--is all anybody needs to apply for a bogus line of credit. Credit companies make $1.3 trillion annually and lose less than 2% of that revenue to fraud, so there's little financial incentive for them to make the application process more secure. As it stands now, it's up to you to protect your identity.

　　The good news is that there are plenty of steps you can take. Most credit thieves are opportunists, not well-organized gangs. A lot of them go Dumpster diving for those millions of "pre-approved" credit-card mailings that go out every day. Others steal wallets and return them, taking only a Social Security number. Shredding your junk mail and leaving your Social Security card at home can save a lot of agony later.

　　But the most effective way to keep your identity clean is to check your credit reports once or twice a year. There are three major credit-report outfits: Equifax (at equifax.com), Trans-Union (www.transunion.com) and Experian (experian.com). All allow you to order reports online, which is a lot better than wading through voice-mail hell on their 800 lines. Of the three, I found TransUnion's website to be the cheapest and most comprehensive--laying out state-by-state prices, rights and tips for consumers in easy-to-read fashion.

　　If you're lucky enough to live in Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey or Vermont, you are entitled to one free report a year by law. Otherwise it's going to cost $8 to $14 each time. Avoid services that offer to monitor your reports year-round for about $70; that's $10 more than the going rate among thieves. If you think you're a victim of identity theft, you can ask for fraud alerts to be put on file at each of the three credit-report companies. You can also download a theft-report form at www.consumer.gov/idtheft, which, along with a local police report, should help when irate creditors come knocking. Just don't expect justice. That audacious help-desk worker was one of the fewer than 2% of identity thieves who are ever caught.

1.What is the trend of credit-theft crime?
　　[A]Tightly suppressed.
　　[B]More frightening.
　　[C]Rapidly increasing.
　　[D]loosely controlled.

2.The expression “inside job”(Line 6, Paragraph 1) most probably means _________.
　　[A]a crime that is committed by a person working for the victim
　　[B]a crime that should be punished severely
　　[C]a crime that does great harm to the victim
　　[D]a crime that poses a great threat to the society

3.The creditors can protect their identity in the following way except _________.
　　[A]destroying your junk mail
　　[B]leaving your Social Security card at home
　　[C]visiting the credit-report website regularly
　　[D]obtaining the free report from the government

4.Why is it easy to have credit-theft?
　　[A]More people are using credit service.
　　[B]The application program is not safe enough.
　　[C]Creditors usually disclose their identity.
　　[D]Creditors are not careful about their identity.

5.What is the best title of the text?
　　[A]The danger of credit-theft
　　[B]The loss of the creditors
　　[C]How to protect your good name
　　[D]Why the creditors lose their identity

　　答案：C　A　D　B　C

　　篇章剖析
　　本文以最大的一起信用卡窃盗案为切入点，指出窃用信用卡是一种非常严重的犯罪现象，并介绍了如何进行一些防范措施。第一段介绍了最大的一起信用卡窃盗案；第二段指出这一犯罪现象的严重性：这是最大的成长性犯罪市场之一，而且银行方面的防护措施薄弱；第三段、四段和五段详细介绍了一些防范措施。

　　词汇注释
　　identity-theft 个人身份信息被盗
　　fed n. [常作F-][美俚]联邦调查局人员; 联邦政府工作人员
　　ring n. 团伙；一帮
　　inside job n. (Slang) 监守自盗
　　pop adv. 每张地；每个地
　　bust [bQst] n. 逮捕；告破；突然搜查
　　a drop in the bucket 冰山一角，沧海一粟
　　hijack vt. 劫持，(像拦路抢劫似的)偷窃；诈骗，欺诈
　　credit n. 信用；(银行)存款
　　bogus [5bEJ^Es] adj. 假的；伪造的，如：a bogus certificate 伪造的证件
　　line of credit 信用限额，信贷限额
　　fraud [frC:d] n. 欺骗, 欺诈行为，诡计；骗子；假货
　　as it stands 按照现在情况, 事实是这样
　　Dumpster n. (邓普斯特尔商标)垃圾罐
　　go out过时，不流行
　　shred vt., vi. (shredded) 撕碎, 切碎, 破碎
　　irate [aI5reIt] adj. 发怒的；生气的
　　knock vt. 批评；找岔子
　　audacious [C:5deIFEs] adj.大胆的, 卤莽的, 蛮横无理的；大胆创新的

　　难句突破
　　A lowly help-desk worker at Teledata Communications, a software firm that helps banks access credit reports online, allegedly stole passwords for those reports and sold them to a group of 20 thieves at $60 a pop.

　　主体句式：a worker stole … and sold …

　　结构分析：本句是一个简单句。在这个句子中，“lowly”用做形容词，意思是“.地位低的, 卑贱的”；“a software firm that helps banks access credit reports online”是“Teledata Communications”的同位语，其中that引导定语从句来修饰a software firm，access的词性是动词，意思是“接近，进入获得接触（数据或程序）的途径”；“allegedly”的意思是“依其申述”；“a pop”的意思是“每张地；每个地”。

　　句子译文：据说，一家帮助银行在线访问客户信誉报告的软件公司——远程数据通信公司——的一个低级help-desk服务系统工作人员盗取了这些报告的密码，以每个60美元的价格卖给一个由20个小偷组成的团伙。

　　题目分析
　　1.答案为C，属事实细节题。句子“Even scarier is that this, the largest identity-theft bust to date,is just a drop in the bit bucket.”的意思是“甚至更令人震惊的是, 迄今为止最大的个人信息窃盗案的告破仅仅是冰山之一角。”；“It's one of crime's biggest growth markets.”的意思是“这是最大的成长性犯罪市场之一。”从这两句话我们可做出正确的选择。

　　2.答案为A，属猜词题。原文对应信息是“A lowly help-desk worker at Teledata Communications, a software firm that helps banks access credit reports online, allegedly stole passwords for those reports and sold them to a group of 20 thieves at $60 a pop.”。这句话对“inside job”做出了解释。

　　3.答案为D ，属事实细节题。选项D是某些债权人应享有的权利，而不是一种防范措施。

　　4．答案为B，属推理判断题。原文对应信息是：“A name, address and Social Security number--which can often be found on the Web--is all anybody needs to apply for a bogus line of credit. Credit companies make $1.3 trillion annually and lose less than 2% of that revenue to fraud, so there's little financial incentive for them to make the application p