历年考研英语真题mp3之完形填空(2001)

2001

The government is to ban payments to witnesses by newspapers seeking to buy up people

involved in prominent cases (1) such as the trial of Rosemary West.

In a significant (2) tightening of legal controls over the press,

Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor,

will introduce a (3) draft bill that will propose making payments to witnesses (4) illegal

and will strictly control the amount of (5) publicity

that can be given to a case (6) before a trial begins.

In a letter to Gerald Kaufman,

chairman of the House of Commons Media Select Committee，

Lord Irvine said he (7) agreed with a committee report this year

which said that self regulation did not (8) offer sufficient control.

(9) Publication of the letter came two days

after Lord Irvine caused a (10)flash of media protest

when he said the (11) interpretation of privacy controls

contained in European legislation would be left to judges (12) rather than to Parliament.

The Lord Chancellor said introduction of the Human Rights Bill,

which (13) makes the European Convention on Human Rights legally (14)binding in Britain,

laid down that everybody was (15)entitled to privacy

and that public figures could go to court to protect themselves and their families.

"Press freedoms will be in safe hands (16) with our British judges," he said.

Witness payments became an (17) issue after West was sentenced to 10 life sentences in 1995.

Up to 19 witnesses were (18) said to have received payments for telling their stories to newspapers.

Concerns were raised (19) that witnesses might be encouraged to exaggerate their stories in court to (20) ensure guilty verdicts.