发布时间： 2016年06月03日
For hundreds of years，the criminal law has been built around the idea that wrongdoers must be punished for their crimes.The most basic argument for punishment is that it preserves law and order and respects for authority.From this point of view，punishment does two things.It upholds the law，and it prevents others from thinking they can get away with doing the same thing without punishment.Punishment is based on the idea that many people have a barely controlled desire to act in forbidden ways.
One of the best ways to reduce crime is to reform or rehabilitate habitual criminals.The main problem is not the first offender or the petty thief but the repeated offender who commits increasingly serious crimes.According to criminologists，crime would decrease greatly if all such offenders could be turned away from wrongdoing.But U.S.prisons have had little success in rehabilitating inmates.About two-thirds of the people arrested in any year have a previous criminal record.
Rehabilitation of criminals could probably be improved greatly if experts could provide the right kind of program for different types of offenders.Criminals vary widely in the kinds of crimes they commit，their emotional problems，and their social and economic backgrounds.Not all offenders can be helped by the same treatment.Many require the aid of physicians，psychiatrists，or psychologists.Others respond well to educational or vocational training.In the early 1990s，there were about 1，300，000 criminals in U.S.city，county，state，and federal correctional institutions，and about 500，000 more were out on parole.Society spent more than $15 billion to operate prisons and related institutions yearly，but only a small part of this sum went to provide treatment.Nearly all the funds were used to feed and clothe prisoners and to keep them under control.
Since the 1ate 1970s，however，there has been a trend toward punishment rather than rehabilitation of offenders.Prison sentences are longer.Capital punishments have been used more frequently since the U.S.Supreme Court lifted a death penalty ban in 1976.Nevertheless，crime prevention should aim to prevent people from becoming criminals in the first place.Such a goal probably would benefit from reform programs in urban slums.These programs would include improved housing，schools，and recreation programs and increased job opportunities.
There are many other ways to reduce crime.People can be educated or persuaded to take greater precautions against crime.They can be taught，for example，how to protect their homes from burglary.Automobile thefts would drop sharply if drivers removed their keys and locked their cars when leaving them.Better lighting helps discourage purse-snatchings and other robberies on city streets and in parks.Many experts believe that strict gun-licensing laws would greatly reduce crime.
1.The belief that people tend to behave in forbidden ways____.
[A] leads to the formulation of the criminal law
[B] makes people value order above all else
[C] convinces people that crimes should be eliminated from the society
[D]is a false one that should not be taken seriously
2.In the second paragraph the author implies____.
[A] the U.S.prison system is not working effectively enough to reform criminals
[B] the best way to reduce crime rate is to rehabilitate habitual criminals
[C] reforming criminals in prison will turn them away from wrongdoing
[D] crimes would decrease if people‘s desire could be healthily channeled
3.The author speculates that rehabilitation can be made more effective if____.
[A] reform is directed to the criminals‘ emotional problems
[B] rehabilitation is aimed at changing the economic and social environment
[C] rehabilitation is facilitated by physicians，psychiatrists or psychologists
[D] crimes are dealt with in the ways that suit each kind
4.According to the author，punishment is a better means than rehabilitation in reducing crime rate____.
[A] so it should be used in place of rehabilitation
[B] so stricter sentences are absolutely necessary
[C] yet it does not work well in many cases
[D] but preventing crime is even more effective
5. The author concludes the passage by pointing out that____.
[A] the present gun-licensing laws are held responsible for most of the crimes
[B] educational failure accounts for most of the present offences
[C] more help should be provided for released criminals
[D] the long-term reduction of crime rate depends on multiple improvements
1.[A]意为：导致刑法的制定。第一段最后一句指出，(法律)惩罚是基于这样一种认识：许多人几乎无法控制自己的欲望，总想以不容许的方式行事。这里的含义是：为了制止人们这种想法和行为，制定法律来约束他们是必要的。
2.[A] 第二段第四、五句指出，但是美国监狱在改造罪犯方面不成功。每年被逮捕的人中有约2/3的人有前科。
3.[D] 第三段第一句指出，如果专家们能为不同的罪犯提供合适的改造方案，会大大地改进对罪犯的改造。注意：本句是一个虚拟句，表达作者的建议，它同时也是本段的主题句。
4.[D] 第四段提到，自20世纪70年代末以来，人们更重视惩罚而不是改造，死刑的适用更加频繁，但是，阻止犯罪应该首先防止人们成为罪犯。这句话(第四句)表达了作者的观点。
5.[D] 最后一段提到，人们自身也应该加强防范犯罪的意识，政府部门、法律部门也应该做出努力。可见，减少犯罪是一个综合治理问题。
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