单选题 In the USA, 85% of the population over the age if 21 approve of the death penalty. In the many states whcih still have the death penalty, some use the electric chair, which can take up to 20 minutes to kill, while others use gas or lethal injection.
The first of these was the case of Ruth Ellis who was hanged for shooting her lover in what was generally regarded as a crime of passion. The second was hanged for murders which, it was later proved, had been committed by someone else.
The pro-hanging lobby uses four main arguments to support its call for the reintroduction of capital punishment. First there is the deterrence theory, which argues that potential murderers would think twice before committing the act if they knew that they might die if they were caught. The armed bank robber might, likewise, go back to being unarmed.
The other two arguments are more suspect. The idea of retribution demands that criminals should get what they deserve: if a murderer intentionally set out to commit a crime, he should accept the consequences. Retribution, which is just another word for revenge, is supported by the religious doctrine of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
The arguments against the death penalty are largely humanitarian. But there are also statistical reasons for opposing it: the deterrence figures do not add up. In Britain,1903 was the the record year for executions and yet in 1904 the number of murders actually rose. There was a similar occurrence in 1946 and 1947. If the deterrence theory were correct, the rate should have fallen.
The other reasons to oppose the death penalty are largely a mather of individual conscience and belief. One is that murder is murder and that the state has no more right to take a lifer than the individual. The other is that Christianity advises forgiveness, not revenge.

单选题 All of the following death penalty methods are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT______.
A. the electric chair B. the lethal injection
C. the poisonous gas D. the shooting

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】意为：枪毙。该选择项的内容本文未提到。A意为：电椅。即：用电椅对犯人处以死刑。B 意为：注射镇定剂。C意为：毒气。
根据第一段第二句，在许多还施行死刑的州(从本文看当指美国的部分州)，有些州用电椅对犯人处以死刑，这种方式只需要20分钟就可以使犯人毙命；有些州使用毒气或注射镇定剂对犯人施以死刑。

单选题 According to the first four paragraphs, which of the following statements is NOT correct?
A. Ruth Ellis was shot by his lover, which was regarded as a crime of passion.
B. The death penalty may help the potential murderers to arouse moral awareness.
C. The intentional murderer should eat his own bitter fruit.
D. According to the religious doctrine, punishment should be as severe as the injury suffere.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】意为：露丝·埃利斯被其情人枪杀，这种犯罪被视作“因情犯罪”(a passion of crime)。第二段指出，死刑案例之一是露丝·埃利斯案件，露丝·埃利斯因枪杀自己的情人被处以绞刑，这类犯罪通常被视为“因情犯罪”。可见，受害者应该是露丝·埃利斯的情人，而不是她自己。B意为：施行死刑可以使可能犯罪的杀手良心发现。即：如果杀人犯清楚地知道杀人会偿命，他也许会因为恐惧死亡而终止犯罪。第三段指出，赞成极刑的人认为应该将极刑(capital punishment)重新写入刑法，他们用四种论点支持自己的主张，其中之一即所谓的终止理论(deterrence theory)，即：如果杀人犯知道被捕后会被处以死刑，他们在犯罪前就会三思而后行。同样，持枪抢劫银行的罪犯也可能回心转意。可见，这些人不赞成某些州废除死刑的做法，他们主张利用罪犯犯罪前可能产生的恐惧心理有效地遏制犯罪。C意为：故意杀人者应自食其果。第四段指出，另外两种论点就不那么令人信服了。“偿债”意味着罪犯应自食其果：如果杀人犯故意杀人，他应该承担由此产生的后果。“偿债”与“报复”(revenge)同义，与“以血还血，以牙还牙”的教义相一致。D意为：根据教义，应该量刑定罪。这就是所谓的“以血还血，以牙还牙。”

单选题 In paragraph 3,"deterrence"means______.
A. proclamation B. portes
C. prevention D. protection

单选题 We can learn from the last paragraph that______.
A. neither the state nor the individual has the right to take a life
B. the sate has the right to take a life but the individual does not
C. the death penalty has nothing to do with individual conscience and belief
D. the deterrence figures have added up and the execution rate has fallen

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】意为：无论是国家还是个人都无权杀人。最后一段指出，反对死刑的其他理由主要是与人的思想意识和信仰有关。一种人认为：杀人就是杀人(无论杀人者是谁)，国家和个人都无权杀害一条生命；另一种人认为：基督教劝人宽容，而不是报复。B意为：国家有权杀人，而个人没有。C意为：死刑与个人的思想意识及信仰无关。D意为：终止犯罪的人数增加了，判刑的人数降低了。选择项D表达的内容与最后一段无关，但倒数第二段提到：反对死刑主要是出于人道主义的原因，但是，也有统计数字作依据：(即使施行死刑)终止犯罪的人数也并未增加(the deterrence figures do not add up)。例如：英国1903年判以死刑的人突破历史记录，但是凶杀案第二年却实际有所增长；1946年和1947年的情况也是如此。这说明，“终止理论”实际上是缺乏事实根据的，因为，如果这种理论正确，(1904年和1947年的)犯罪率应该下降，而不是上升。

单选题 The passage is mainly about______.
A. the argument in favor of the death penalty
B. the argument against the death penalty
C. the argument about the abolition of the death penalty
D. the argument about the reintroduction of the death penalty

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】意为：有关重新将死刑写入法律的争论。文章第一、二段引出本文的议题，第三、四段主要讨论了赞成死刑的人的观点，第五、六段简述了反对死刑的人的观点。另请参阅第37题题解。A意为：支持死刑的论点。该选择项表达的意思片面，仅提到一种人的观点。B意为：反对死刑的论点。该选择项表达的意思片面，仅提到一种人的观点。C意为：有关废除死刑的争论。从文章第二句来看，美国许多州已废除了死刑；从第三段第一句来看，这里争论的不是废除死刑，而是重新引入死刑(the reintroduction of capital punishment)。