Althoughthetopmeninsmugglingbusinessmustworktogether,mostofasyndicate'ssmallfry,especiallythemules,knowonlytheirimmediatecontacts.Ifcaughtthereislittletheycangiveaway.Amuleprobablywillnotevenknowthenameofthepersonwhogiveshimhisinstructions,norhowtogetintouchwithhim.Usuallyheevendoesnotknowthepersontowhomhehastomakedelivery.Hewillbetoldjusttosittightinacertainhotelorbaruntilsomeonecontactshim.Inthiswayifheisblown,comingthroughairportcustomshecannotunwittinglyleadagentstothenextlinkinthechain.Allthepersonsatthereceivingenddoistohangaroundtheairportamongthewaitingcrowd,andseethatthemulecomesthroughsafely.Ifhedoesnot,heisdimplywrittenoffasaloss.Tomakeidentificationofmuleseasier,severalsyndicateshavedevisedtheirown"clubties"sothatamulewearingonecanimmediatelybepickedout.
Mulesoftenreceivecarefultrainingbeforeembarkingontheirfirstjourney.OneBeirutorganization,forexample,usesaroomwiththreeairlineseatsinit.Therethetraineemulessitforhoursonendwearingweightedsmugglingvestsbeneaththeirclothes,sothattheybecomeaccustomedtostandingupafteralongflightinanaturalway,andwithoutrevealingwhattheyarecarrying.AnoutfitinBrusselsmaintainedacomfortableapartmentwherethemulescouldrelaxandgetafirmgriponthemselvesonthenightbeforetheirfirstjourney;theywerehelpedtodressbeforesettingoutfortheairportinthemorning.Moreoftenthannotacourierwillnotknowpreciselywhereheisgoingorwhatflightnumberisuntilheisactuallyhandedhisticketsattheairport.Thispreventsthecarelessboastinsomebarortoagirlfriendthenightbefore.
Mulesoccasionallyrunoffwiththegoodstokeeptheprofitthemselves.Asinsuranceagainstthis,asyndicateoftensendsahigh-uponthesameplanetokeepawaryeyeoncouriers,particularlynewones.Eventhenthingscangobadlywrong.OneinternationalcurrencysmugglerwhowashavingtroublegettingmoneyoutofBritainwasofferedhelpbyagroupofmenwhosaidtheywereinapositionto"fixthing"–forafeeofcourse.Foolishly,thesmuggleragreedtoaccepttheirhelp.WhenhegottoLondon’sHeathrowAirport,hehandedovertooneofthemenablacksuitcasecontainingnearly$90,000incash,destinedforFrankfurt.Justtokeepaneyeonthings,thesmugglerwentalongonthesameplane.WhentheylandedatFrankfurthewashandedbackhissuitcase.Hebeatastraightpathtothemen'stoilet,openedthecase,andfoundonlyoldclothes.Thecourierhadswitchedsuitcaseenroute,butthesmugglercouldhardlyruntothepoliceandcomplainthat"themanwhowassmugglingmoneyoutofEnglandformehasstolenit."
1.Whatisa“mule”?
[A]Apersonwhosendssmugglinggoodsforasyndicateiscalledmule.
[B]Apersoninchargeofsmugglinggoodsiscalledmule.
[C]Apersonwhomakesdeliveryforasyndicateiscalledmule.
[D]Apersonwhoreceivesinstructionsfromasmuggleriscalledmule.
2.Thesentence“ifheisblown”inline(6)isclosestinmeaningto
[B]ifheisrecognized,butnotnecessarilyarrested.
[C]ifheisrecognizedandarrested.
3.Whydoestheauthorgiveanexampleinthelastparagraph?
[A]Toshowhowasmuggleriscaught.
[B]Toshowasmugglerisafraidofthepolice.
[C]Toshowtokeepawaryeyeoncouriersisuseless.
[D]Toshowmulesmaykeeptheprofitforthemselves.
1.Cmule，骡子是为走私集团交货人的称呼，绰号。A.是为走私集团具体运送走私货物的人。只运送，不交货不能成为骡子。B.负责走私货物的人。也不对，负责者不一定运送和交货。D.从走私者那里接受指示的人。更不对。
2.Bblown原义为：欠账了的，被炸毁的，坏了等。这里指：走私分子在过海关，机场检查处出事，不一定被逮捕。A.逮捕。C.认出，逮捕。D.逃跑。都不符合blown原义。
3.D说明走私分子会把利益归己。最后一段第一句“有时，走私分子带着货物逃跑，把利益归己”。走私集团为防范此事，常常派遣高级人物监视走私人，特别是新走私者，也于事无补。这段的具体例子：“走私者和委托人同机飞行，到法兰克福机场，9万美金也是不翼而飞，走私者已经捞到手。”就是说明走私者可以为自己留下财路。A.走私者被捕之事，例子中没有提及。B.走私者不去警察局报案，并不易定是害怕警察局，而是报不了。C.监督毫无用处。是副线。
4.D单个干。这在第一段一开始就点明：“走私商的上层人物(头面人物)必须一起工作，而大多数辛迪加的小组织，特别是走私分子，他们只知道他们的直接联系人。一旦他们被逮捕，就没有什么可以出卖的。一个骡子甚至连给他指示的人的姓名都不知道，也不知道如何和此人联系”。A.共同干。B.独立干，走私分子不是独立，大多数是在监督之下。C.有意识地干，上下都是有意识地干。
