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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

admin2012-08-22  45
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.
It can be inferred that the author thinks that______.
选项 A、the veto of the bill reestablishing the death penalty is of little importance
B、the value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime is not to be debated
C、the death penalty is the most controversial issue in the United States today
D、the second type murderers (in Para. 4) should be sentenced to death
答案D
解析 推断题。第四段中说，盛怒之下冲动杀人是一回事，而残酷地谋划并杀害一人或多人则是另一回事。对于前一种情况下的罪犯，可以有理由主张只将其与社会隔离(即投入监狱)，但这却不应该是后一种杀人犯应得的报应。这意味着，后一种杀人犯应被判死刑，所以选D。A意为：否决恢复死刑的议案意义不大。而最后一段中说如果恢复死刑的议案被否决，无辜的人将会被杀害。B意为：死刑对犯罪的威慑作用不会被争论。而文章中说，关于死刑对犯罪的威慑作用可能有公开争论。C意为：死刑是当今在美国最引起争议的问题。而文章第一句说，可能除了“权利平等”之外，死刑是当今在美国最引起争议的问题。
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