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  3. With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most controversial issue across the United States today is the death pe

With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most controversial issue across the United States today is the death pe

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问题     With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most controversial issue across the United States today is the death penalty. Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder, while others maintain there is no convincing evidence that the death penalty reduces the number of murders.
    The principal argument advanced by those opposed to the death penalty, basically, is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is the mark of a brutal society, and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent to crime anyway.
    In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary evil. Throughout recorded history there have always been those extreme individuals in every society who were capable of terribly violent crimes such as murder. But some are more extreme than others.
    For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in a fit of blind rage, but quite another to coldly plot and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of relative degree. While it could be argued with some conviction that the criminal in the first instance should be merely isolated from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.
    The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to debate. But the overwhelming majority of citizens believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is reinforced by evidence which shows that the death penalty deters murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was consistently imposed in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100 000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been imposed only once, and the murder rate has risen to 10. 4 murders for each 100 000 population. The sharp climb in the state’s murder rate, which began when executions stopped, is no coincidence (巧合). It is convincing evidence that the death penalty does deter many murderers. If the bill reestablishing the death penalty is vetoed (否决), innocent people will be murdered— some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is literally a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of innocent people must be protected.
The principal purpose of this passage is to______.
选项 A、criticize the government
B、argue for the value of the death penalty
C、speak for the majority
D、initiate a veto
答案B
解析 主旨题。文章第一段指出，人们对死刑持两种观点：有效威慑谋杀或不能减少谋杀的数量。第三段中，作者表明自己的观点(in our opinion)，死刑虽残酷但必要。接着在第四段中举例说明，有些人是预谋实施残酷的谋杀，他们应得到严惩。在最后一段又进一步说，绝大多数的民众认为死刑能保护他们，并且有证据证明死刑的确威慑谋杀(以加利福尼亚州为例)。因此得出结论，如果恢复死刑的议案被否决，无辜的人将会受害。所以本文是在论证死刑的价值，即B。
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