8、Three women, praised as heroes for reporting bad practices at their places of work—The FBI, World Com and Enron Corporation—have been named “Persons of the Year” by Time Magazine at the end of 2002. They are Coleen Rowley from the FBI, Sherron Watkins, who worked at the now-closed Enron Corporation, and Cynthia Cooper, who made bad accounting（会计） methods at World Com known to the public. The magazine chose the three women as they value truth and have shown courage---“for believing that the truth is one thing that must be moved off the books and for stepping in to make sure that it wasn’t.” Time managing editor Jim said the women stand for an important struggle facing the US—how to rebuild trust in disgraced（丢脸的） places. “All three are sticking to what is right. All three of them are made of very strong character,” Jim said.

Rowley, 48, wrote a letter to FBI Director in May, pointing out faults of the FBI for taking no notice of signs before Sept. 11, 2001, which suggested an attack. Cooper, 38, was a World Com internal auditor（内部审计员）. She warned the company’s board in June of US $ 3.8 billion in accounting mistakes. A month later, the telecommunications giant declared the largest bankruptcy（破产） in US history. Watkins, 43, sent memos（备忘录） in August 2001 warning Enron chairman that improper accounting could cause the company to collapse. The company later declared bankruptcy and Watkins gave up her job as a vice president in November.

Time’s cover story on the three women compares them with Sept.11 firefighters as heroes chosen by chance. “They were people who did right just by doing their jobs right.”

The 2002 picks are unusual because the vast majority of the magazine’s Persons of the Year have been well-known public figures—world leaders, war heroes, corporate chiefs. Rowley, Cooper and Watkins are nationally unknown before 2002. They said some coworkers now hate them for uncovering the mistakes of their leaders.?

 “There is a price to be paid,” Cooper said. “There have been times that I could not stop crying.”

1．What do the three women have in common?

    A．They have to struggle to rebuild trust in their work places.?

    B．They are connected with accounting dishonors.?

    C．They have something to do with the Sept. 11 attacks.?

    D．They are connected with the firefighters.?

2．What does the underlined word “collapse” （paragraph 3） probably mean?

    A．Use something up completely.?

    B．Fail suddenly and completely.?            

    C．Put forward for consideration.?

    D．Give up one’s position.?

3．Why is the choice of “Persons of the Year 2002” unusual?

    A．They are well-known public figures.?

    B．They are white-collar women.?

    C．They were not famous before.?

    D．They are hated by their coworkers.?

4．Which of the following statements is true according to the article?

    A．Enron Corporation declared the largest bankruptcy in US history.?

    B．Sherron gave up her work for Enron one month after she sent out warnings.?

    C．There were no signs of an attack before September 11.?

    D．The three women are praised as heroes for their telling the truth bravely.?

5．What would be the best title for the text?

    A．A Story about Three Women

    B．Honor from Truth?

    C．The Cause of Bankruptcy

    D．A Struggle Facing the US