I have only once been in trouble with the law. The whole process of being arrested and tak

发布时间:2020-08-17 08:55:57

I have only once been in trouble with the law. The whole process of being arrested and taken to court was a rather unpleasant experience at the time, but it makes a good story now. What makes it rather disturbing was the arbitrary circumstances both of my arrest and my subsequent  fate in court.
It happened in February about twelve years ago. I had left school a couple of months before that and was not due to go to university until the following October. I was still living at home at the time.
One morning I was in Richmond, a suburb of London near where I lived. I was looking for a temporary job so that I could save up some money to go traveling. As it was a fine day and I was in no hurry, I was taking my time, looking in shop windows, strolling in the park, and sometimes just stopping and looking around me. It must have been this obvious aimlessness that led to my downfall.
It was about half past eleven when it happened. I was just walking out of the local library, having unsuccessfully sought employment there, when I saw a man walking across the road with the obvious intention of talking to me. I thought he was going to ask me the time. Instead, he said he was a police officer and he was arresting me. At first I thought it was some kind of joke.
But then another policeman appeared, this time in uniform, and I was left in no doubt.
“But what for?” I asked.
“Wandering with intent to mit an arrestable offence.” he said.
“What offence?” I asked.
“Theft.” he said.
“Theft of what?” I asked.
“Milk bottles,” he said, and with a perfectly straight face too!
“Oh,” I said.
It turned out there had been a lot of petty thefts in the area, particularly that of stealing milk bottles from doorsteps.
Then I made my big mistake. At the time I was nineteen, had long untidy hair, and regarded myself as part of the sixties’ “youth counterculture”. As a result, I wanted to appear cool and unconcerned with the incident, so I said, “How long have you been following me?” in the most casual and conversational tone I could manage. I thus appeared to them to be quite familiar with this sort of situation, and it confirmed them in their belief that I was a thoroughly disreputable (品行不端的)character.
A few minutes later a police car arrived.
“Get in the back,” they said. “Put your hands on the back of the front seat and don’t move them.”
They got in on either side of me. It wasn’t funny any more.
At the police station they questioned me for several hours. I continued to try to look worldly and familiar with the situation. When they asked me what I had been doing, I told them I’d been looking for a job. “Aha,” I could see them thinking, “unemployed”.
Eventually, I was officially charged and told to report to Richmond Magistrates’ Court the following Monday. Then they let me go.
I wanted to conduct my own defense in court, but as soon as my father found out what had happened, he hired a very good lawyer. We went along that Monday armed with all kinds of witnesses, including my English teacher from school as a character witness. But he was never called on to give evidence. My “trial” didn’t get that far. The magistrate (法官) dismissed the case after fifteen minutes. I was free. The poor police had never stood a chance. The lawyer even succeeded in getting costs awarded against the police.
And so I do not have a criminal record. But what was most shocking at the time was the things my release from the charge so clearly depended on. I had the “right” accent, respectable middle-class parents in court, reliable witnesses, and I could obviously afford a very good lawyer. Given the obscure nature of the charge, I feel sure that if I had e from a different background, and had really been unemployed, there is every chance that I would have been found guilty. While asking for costs to be awarded, my lawyer’s case quite obviously revolved (回转) around the fact that I had a “brilliant academic record”.
Meanwhile, just outside the courtroom, one of the policemen who had arrested me was gloomily plaining to my mother that another youngster had been turned against the police. “You could have been a bit more helpful when we arrested you,” he said to me reproachfully (责备地).
What did he mean? Probably that I should have looked outraged and said something like, “Look here, do you know who you’re talking to? I am a highly successful student with a brilliant academic record. How dare you arrest me!” Then they, probably, would have apologized perhaps even taken off their caps, and let me on my way.
【小题1】Judging from the first paragraph, the writer’s attitude towards his story is     .A.angryB.sadC.amusedD.more than just one of the above【小题2】The first man who came up to him was     .A.a uniformed policemanB.a policeman in plainclothesC.not a policemanD.a good joker【小题3】The court never asked the author’s English teacher to give evidence because     .A.the time for the trial was limited to fifteen minutes onlyB.the author wanted to conduct his own defense in courtC.the case was dismissed before the trial reached that stageD.he was found to be unqualified as a character witness【小题4】The author believes that he would most probably have been declared guilty if     .A.the magistrate had been less gentleB.he had really been out of workC.he had been born in a lower— class family D.both B and C【小题5】 In the opinion of one of the policeman who had arrested the author, the whole thing might not have occurred if     .A.he had protested strongly at the timeB.he had begged to be allowed to go homeC.he hadn’t wandered aimlesslyD.he had tried to look cool【小题6】We can see from the passage that the author     .A.has broken the law only onceB.has never broken the lawC.has broken the law on more than one occasionD.once broke the law without knowing itD 

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(答案→)D 
解析:文章介绍作者在找工作的时候,遇到两个警察,作者的态度让他们误会并被逮捕,但是作者的家庭地位让法官将他释放。
【小题1】推理题:从第一段的句子中出现的形容词:unpleasant , good ,disturbing, arbitrary 可知作者的态度是复杂的,选D
【小题2】细节题:从第四段的句子:when I saw a man walking across the road with the obvious intention of talking to me.I thought he was going to ask me the time.Instead, he said he was a police officer and he was arresting me.可知第一个朝作者走过来的是便衣警察,选B
【小题3】细节题:从文章的句子:We went along that Monday armed with all kinds of witnesses, including my English teacher from school as a character witness.But he was never called on to give evidence.My 'trial' didn't get that far.The magistrate (法官) dismissed the case after fifteen minutes.可知法庭没有让作者的英语老师作证因为案件在审理到那个阶段之前就结束了,选C
【小题4】细节题:从倒数第三段的句子:I feel sure that if I had e from a different background, and had really been unemployed, there is every chance that I would have been found guilty.可知作者认为如果他真的失业了,或是如果他来自贫穷的家庭,可能他就会被判有罪,选D
【小题5】细节题:从倒数第二段的句子:'You could have been a bit more helpful when we arrested you,' he said to me reproachfully (责备地) .可知这个警察认为如果当时作者强烈抗议这件事就不会发生了,选A
【小题6】推理题:从第三段的内容,可知作者只是随便在街上走,而没有犯罪,选B
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