Passage Two Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:
A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer, I have some urgent things to say to good people.
Days after days my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our onceproud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A key ingredient is disappearing, and I think I know what it is: accountability. Accountability isn’t hard to define. It means that every person is responsible for his or her actions and liable for their consequences. Of the many values that hold civilization together—honesty, kindness, and so on—accountability may be the most important of all. Without it, there can be no respect, no trust, no law—and, ultimately, no society.
My job as a police officer is to impose accountability on people who refuse, or have never learned, to impose it on themselves. But as every policeman knows, external controls on people’s behavior are far less effective than internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment.
Fortunately there are still communities—smaller towns, usually—where schools maintain discipline and where parents hold up standards that proclaim:“In this family certain things are not tolerated—they simply are not done!”
Yet more and more, especially in our larger , these inner restraints are loosening. Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property; he takes what he wants, including your life if you enrage him.
The main cause of this breakdown is a radical shift in attitudes. Thirty years ago, if a crime was committed, society was considered the victim. Now, in a shocking reversal, it’s the criminal who is considered victimized: by his underprivileged upbringing, by the school that didn’t teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with moral guidance, by the parents who didn’t home. I don’t believe it. Many others in equally disadvantaged circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountability, we become a society of endless excuses where no one accepts responsibility for anything.
We in America desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.
26.What the wise man said suggests that ____. A) it’s unneccesary for good people to do anything in face of evil B) it’s certain that evil will prevail if good men do nothing about it C) it’s only natural for virtue to defeat evil D) it’s desirable for good men to keep away from evil
27.According to the author, if a person is found guilty of a crime, ____. A) society is to be held responsible B) modern civilization is responsible for it C) the criminal himself should bear the blame D) the standards of living should be improved
28.Compared with those in small towns, people in large cities have ____. A) less selfdiscipline B) better sense of discipline C) more mutual respect D) less effective government
29.The writer is sorry to have noticed that ____. A)people in large cities tend to excuse criminals B)people in small towns still stick to old discipline and standards C)today’s society lacks sympathy for people in difficulty D)people in disadvantaged circumstances are engaged in criminal activities
30.The key point of the passage is that ____. A)stricter discipline should be maintained in schools and families B)more good examples should be set for people to follow C)more restrictions should be imposed on people’s behavior D)more people should accept the value of accountability
Passage Two 内容概要:作者作为一名警察，认为美国社会日益升高的犯罪率和人们日益缺乏责任感有关。在文明社会的各种基本美德中，责任感最重要。警察的工作就是让人们树立责任观念。因为人们的道德自律比外部强制在构建有序社会中要有效得多。小城镇比大城市的人们更有道德自律和责任感。而大城市的人缺乏责任感，人们把罪错更多归咎于外部因素。因此大城市的犯罪率比小城镇要高。作者最后得出结论，美国社会最需要的是增强人们的责任感。本文是典型的论述文。其中心思想就是：美国人应加强道德自律，增强责任观念。 26.【答案】B。 【试题分析】综合推断题。 【详细解答】智者的话表面意思是面对邪恶，好人什么都不必做，深层含义是：美德终将占胜邪恶。结合全文，作者发现越来越多的美国人似乎听信了这句话，对罪犯往往采取宽容的态度，导致犯罪率不断攀升。因此此话实际结果是好人无得邪恶必盛。故选B。 27.【答案】C。 【试题分析】综合推断题。 【详细解答】根据倒数第三段、第二段。作者认为现在人们把罪犯当作外部环境的受害者。该为罪行负责的不是罪犯，而是学校、教会、父母。“I don’t believe it”,作者明确表示不赞同，并举了反例：成长在这些不利环境里的人并不是人人都犯罪，从而说明由于缺乏责任感而造成犯罪。因此作者的观点显然是C(罪犯本人该受责骂。) 28.【答案】A。 【试题分析】明示信息题。 【详细解答】倒数第四段中有Yet more and more, especially in our larger cities and suburts, these inter restraints are loosening.而inner restraints 根据第五段internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment, 可知就是selfdiscipline, 自律之意，故选A。 29.【答案】A。 【试题分析】综合推理题。 【详细解答】根据倒数第三段作者惊讶地发现，和三十年前人们认为社会是犯罪的受害者相反，今天的人们认为罪犯是不良环境的受害者。因此人们是在宽恕罪犯。故选A。 30.【答案】D。 【试题分析】综合理解题。 【详细解答】全文阐述的观点就是人们应更多地建立责任感，增强道德自律，才能从根本上减少犯罪。
, these inner restraints are loosening. Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property; he takes what he wants, including your life if you enrage him.
home.
