Who do you think breaks the law in our society? If you believe that only tough guys commit crimes, you may have to think again．Unlike in the movies, we can't divide the world into bad guys and model citizens．Real life is much more complex．In the same way that diseases range from the common cold to fatal forms of cancer, crimes vary in degree．For example, smoking in an elevator will inconvenience people, but much less than threatening them with a gun．
In addition to breaking the law themselves, people tolerate various levels of crime．Why can we tolerate some crimes? It may be that, by seeing others do something, we accept it more easily．For instance, most people will find it easier to speed on a highway when everybody else is driving over the speed limit．When people celebrate a sports championship, if they see someone breaking store windows, they might start breaking windows themselves or even steal from the store．So the people around us influence how much law-breaking we can tolerate．
We must also wonder whether seeing violence on television or reading about it in the newspapers every day makes us tolerate crime more than we should．We become used to seeing blood on the news on television, or in full color in newspapers and magazines．Because we see thousands of dead people on TV, maybe we just try to ignore the situation behind the violence．If so many citizens tolerate violence and crime, or even commit crimes themselves, it may simply be because of the human mind．Our minds may not care about specific laws．Instead, our minds may have a system of values that usually prevents us from hurting other people to improve our own lives．Yet, when it comes to respecting the rights of a mass of anonymous(不知名的)individuals, we might not be so responsible．While most people would not steal a wallet containing ＄50
，they may not mind cheating on taxes, because cheating on taxes does not hurt anyone person．It hurts society, but "society" remains an abstract(抽象的)idea that is not as real asa neighbor or a friend's friend．
When we realize that many people have misunderstandings of law-breaking, we could think it is surprising that so many people have a criminal record．How could we improve the level of honesty in our society? Would strict laws help make our society better? Probably not．Honesty will have to come from social pressure：in the family, at school, on the job, each and every one of us can encourage honesty by showing which behavior is unacceptable．And teaching respect should become everyone's responsibility．
(1)
According to the author, "Real life is much more complex．" probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
there is a wide range of people and crimes in the real life
B．
smoking in an elevator goes against laws in the real life
C．
there are much more crimes than diseases in the real life
D．
some model citizens sometimes break laws in the real life
(2)
What does the author think of the people who cheat on taxes?
[ ]
A．
They take no notice of the human mind．
B．
They break the laws unaccepted in their minds．
C．
They hurt other people to improve their own lives．
D．
They aren't concerned with some particular laws．
(3)
People tolerate violence and crime because ________．
[ ]
A．
their behavior is the same as that of most other people
B．
they pay no attention to the truth behind the crimes
C．
most unlawfiil acts are not harmful to the individual
D．
they hold mistaken beliefs about law-breaking
(4)
What is the author's purpose in writing this passage?
Everyone was born with his own built-in burglar alarm．It’s called the sense of sight and sound．Unfortunately, many of us go around with the alarm switched off．
We don’t see the stranger wandering outside the house next door．
We don’t notice the sounds from the flat upstairs．
(Weren’t they supposed to be on holiday?)
The police can only do so much to prevent crime．There never can be enough of them to guard every home in every town．So they need your help in fighting with the burglars(窃贼)，the vandals, and the car thieves．
Not, of course, by setting out to have a go every time you see something suspicious．It’ll always be the job of the police to arrest criminals．
But by acting as a line of communication between them and your community．For instance, you probably know far more about your immediate neighborhoods than the police ever could．
A stranger in someone’s garden would probably be far more obvious to you than it would to even the local police, if, of course, you were on the look-out．
That’s the whole idea behind the Neighborhood Watch schemes, springing up around the country to create a spirit of watchfulness within a community, anything suspicious being reported to the police．
It’s early days yet, but results so far are very encouraging．The crime figures are already dropping in many of the areas running the scheme．And all due to people like you．
(1)
The underlined word“them”refers to“________”．
[ ]
A．
criminals
B．
the police
C．
neighbours
D．
strangers
(2)
The advertisement points out that many people________．
[ ]
A．
are not ready to help the police
B．
are not as watchful as they could be
C．
don’t look after their gardens well
D．
don’t tell their neighbors about their holidays
(3)
One of the ways we could help prevent crime is to________．
[ ]
A．
turn on the alarm system in our home
B．
try to stop criminals from escaping
C．
look out for people behaving suspiciously
D．
inform the police if we hear noises upstairs
(4)
The purpose of the advertisement is to ________ in their neighborhood．
[ ]
A．
ask people to join the police force
B．
advise people how to protect their homes
C．
warn people about the increasing risk of crime
D．
encourage people to be on watch for possible crime
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