Question

A wise man once said that the only thing necessary for the victory of evil is for good men to do nothing. So, as a police officer, I have some urgent things to say to good people. Day after day my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud 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 declare: “In this family certain things are not tolerated --- they simply are not done!”

Yet more and more, especially in our larger cities and suburbs, 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 annoy 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 (被剝奪基本社會權利的) 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 provide a stable 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..

1.What the wise man said suggests that it’s __________.

A. unnecessary for good people to do anything in face of evil

B. certain that evil will be widespread if good men do nothing about it

C. only natural for good men to defeat evil

D. desirable for good men to keep away from evil

2. 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

3. Compared with those in small towns, people in large cities have ________.

A. less self-discipline B. better sense of discipline

C. more respect to each other D. less effective government

4. 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

5. 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 attention should be paid to people’s behavior

D. more people should accept the value of accountability

 

Answer 1

1.B

2.C

3.A

4.A

5.D

【解析】

試題分析: 本文從一名警察的角度分析了美國社會中犯罪活動猖獗的原因。作者認為將犯罪行為歸咎于外部環(huán)境因素是犯罪活動猖獗的主要原因，從而提出“更多的人應該認識到真正該為犯罪行為負責的是罪犯自己”。

1.B 細節(jié)理解題。作者以一句智者的話“邪惡的勝利就是善良之人無所作為”引入主題，然后在下文提出：人們對罪犯不應該再采取縱容的態(tài)度，為他們的犯罪行為尋找借口，而應該認識到真正對犯罪行為負責的應該是罪犯本人。由此判斷這位智者說的話意思是指如果好人縱容邪惡，那么邪惡就會泛濫。選B。

2.C推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第二段內(nèi)容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:可知在現(xiàn)在的社會人們往往認為是父母，社會或者惡劣的生活環(huán)境等這些外因造成了某些犯罪行為的發(fā)生，所以他們認為社會該對某些犯罪行為負責，答案選C。

3.A根據(jù)文章第六段內(nèi)容Yet more and more, especially in our larger cities and suburbs, these inner restraints are loosening.可知在大城市里人們的自律性更差些，答案選A。

4.A推理判斷題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)第三段內(nèi)容可知大城市里的人們自律性變差，約束力非常松散，所以他們往往會對某些罪犯存在同情心，更輕易地原諒罪犯，從而間接地縱容犯罪行為，故答案選A。

5.D文章開頭提出責任感的缺失和人們自我約束力的松散助長了犯罪的發(fā)生，認為對紀律和標準的堅持才是遏制犯罪的主要手段，然后在下文就此進行分析，而且在文章末尾作者提出We in America desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it..由此判斷文章的主要目的就是呼吁人們要更加自律，重視責任感的價值，答案選D。

考點：考查社會生活類短文閱讀。