单选题 California is having problems with its death penalty. It hasn't executed anyone since 2000, when a federal court ruled that its method of lethal injection was improper and could cause excessive pain. The state spent five years coming up with a better method — and last month, a judge threw that one out too. One indication of just how encumbered California's capital-punishment system is: the prisoner who brought the latest lethal-injection challenge has been on death row for 24 years.
It isn't just California. The Death Penalty Information Center reported last month that the number of new death sentences nationally was down sharply in 2011, dropping below 100 for the first time in decades. It also reported that executions were plummeting— down 56% since 1999.
There has long been an idea about how the death penalty would end in the U. S. : the Supreme Court would hand down a sweeping ruling saying it is unconstitutional in all cases. But that is not what is happening. Instead of top-down abolition, we seem to be getting it from the bottom up— governors, state legislatures, judges and juries quietly deciding not to support capital punishment. New Jersey abolished its death penalty in 2007. New Mexico abolished its death penalty in 2009. There are now 16 states — or about one-third of the country — that have abolished capital punishment.
There are several reasons we seem to be moving toward de facto abolition of the death penalty. A major one has been the growing number of prisoners on death row who have been exonerated— 139 and counting since 1973, according to a list maintained by the Death Penalty Information Center. Even many people who support capital punishment in theory balk when they are confronted with clear evidence that innocent people are being sentenced to death.
Another factor is cost. Money is tight these days, and more attention is being paid to just how expensive death-penalty cases are. A 2008 study found that California was spending $137 million on capital cases — a sizable outlay, particularly since it was not putting anyone to death.
According to the polls, a majority of the country has not yet turned against the death penalty — but support is slipping. In 1994, 80% of respondents in a GaUup poll said they supported the death penalty for someone convicted of murder. In 2001, just 61% did. In polls where respondents are given a choice between the death penalty or life without parole and restitution, a majority has gone with the non-death option.
Many opponents of the death penalty are still hoping for a sweeping Supreme Court ruling, and there is no denying that it would have unique force. Five Justices, with a stroke of their pens, could end capital punishment nationwide. But bottom-up, gradual abolition has other advantages. What we are seeing is not a small group of judges setting policy. It is a large number of Americans gradually losing their enthusiasm for putting people to death.

单选题 The top-down abolition in Paragraph 3 refers to ______.
A. the abolition of death penalty on a national scale
B. the abolition of death penalty decided by the supreme court
C. the abolition of death penalty at state level
D. the abolition of death penalty by referendum
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节事实题
[解析] 作者在前两段中介绍了死刑在美国的各州逐渐被废弃。在第三段中主要分析了现阶段废除死刑的形式。因为死刑在美国一直是一个有争议的话题，所以人们长期以来都在想象美国最终会以什么样的形式废除死刑。想象中的情形大多是这样的：高等法院将出台一项统一裁决，规定在任何情况下判决死刑均为非法。但实际上现实的情况却不是这样的，死刑并非top-down被废除，而是相反，以一种bottom—up的方式被废除。可见人们想象当中的由高等法院出台法律取缔死刑的方式是一种自上而下的(top-down)的死刑取缔方式，而相反地，现在各州自行的没有经过法律明文规定的取缔方式就是所谓的bottom—top取缔模式。因此，本题的正确答案应该选[B]。
单选题 In the eyes of supporters for capital punishment, it is ______ that there are innocent people sentenced to death because of erroneous judgment.
A. unacceptable B. inevitable C. rare D. undeniable
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】人物态度题
[解析] 文章第四段中作者介绍了各州不再热衷于判处死刑的第一个原因，那就是冤假错案的增多。自1973年起，先前被判死刑后又被无罪赦免的事件共有139例之多。作者指出，即使是那些支持死刑的人(people who support capital punishment)在听到无辜的人被误判死刑的确凿证据的时候，也不免踌躇(balk)。本题题干问的正是这些人对于无辜的人被判死刑的感想，正确答案应该选[A]。他们虽然支持死刑，但是也认为这样的误判是无法容忍、不能接受的。
单选题 The word "exonerate" is most closely in meaning to ______.
A. confess the guilt B. prove the innocence
C. execute the death D. postpone the execution
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】词汇题
[解析] exonerate一词出现在文章的第四段。作者在第四段分析了死刑逐渐被各州废除的第一个原因：...the growing number of prisoners on death row who have been exonerated—139 and counting since 1973。“越来越多的囚犯被exonerated...”而下文又出现了这样的句子，Even many people who support capital punishment in theory balk when they are confronted with clear evidence that innocent people are being sentenced to death．“甚至很多死刑的支持者在面对无辜的人被判处死刑的铁证时也倒吸一口凉气。”可见exonerate应该指对判处死刑的人进行赦免，宣布无罪。正确答案应该选[B]。
单选题 Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage?
A. California has abolished death penalty because it fails to fred proper execution means.
B. The execution of death penalties has dropped below 100 since 1999.
C. Americans are no longer die-hard fans of death penalty.
D. There is an economic consideration behind the trend of repealing death penalty.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】判断题
[解析] [A]表述是正确的。第一段中以加州为例，提出了现在美国很多州都不再热衷于判处人死刑的现象。加州自2006年起，就没有执行过一例死刑，最初的原因是因为联邦法院认为加州施行的注射行刑方法有失妥当。其后，加州一直寻求更人道的方法，但是又一直被法官否决。[B]的说法错误。在第二段中，作者提到了两个年份，一个是2011年，一个是1999年，另外还有两个数字，一个是100，一个是56%，题干混淆了年份对应的事件。原文中说的是2011年全国新增死刑判决总数首次跌破100例，而不是自1999年之后死刑执行次数跌破100。[C]的表述正确。文章倒数第二段中，作者提到美国就死刑展开的民意调查。调查结果显示，死刑支持率正在不断流失。1994年，有80%的受访者支持死刑，2001年，这一比例下降至61%。而且如果让受访者在死刑和终身监禁两个选项之间进行选择，大多数受访者会选择非死刑选项。可见，许多的美国人已经不再是死刑的忠实追随者。[D]表述正确。作者在文章第五段介绍了政府倾向于废除死刑的第二个原因，那就是经济考虑。执行死刑需要花费巨大的成本，这对于捉襟见肘的政府来说是一笔不小的开支。
单选题 It seems that the author ______ the gradual abolition of death penalty.
A. is satisfied with B. is concerned about
C. harbors reservations about D. is overwhelmed by
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】作者态度题
[解析] 作者在整篇文章中似乎只是在客观陈述现象，但是也有个别地方流露了他的态度和观点。文章最后一段中，作者再次对现在美国出现的自下而上废除死刑的做法发表了观点。作者认为，由高等法院出台统一裁决废除死刑，当然执行力可能更强，但是现在这种自下而上逐步取消死刑的做法有其优势，因为它反映了普遍的民意，也见证了美国人对极刑的态度发生的转变。从这些语句中，我们都不难感觉到作者对于这种自下而上逐步取消死刑的方式感到满意。正确答案选[A]。