This is a dangerous world we live in. The number of murders goes up every year, people are dying of cancer, more people contract HIV, more teens are using drugs, etc. You know this because you have heard all the statistics on the news and in the paper.  But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean? The numbers are growing up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common? The fact is that without knowing the background statistics mean very little.

This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous. For example, several years ago a high school student reported the dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide. This chemical, found in most cancerous tumors(肿瘤), is often found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once. After reading his report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical! Every one of the above statements is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth. The students made the mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical’s full background.

The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said. When one finds a new fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths. Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave out information that is different to his view. For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe. Only 32 people may die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really the most dangerous? If you think about it, you realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of people who are in danger of a lightning strike. When you think about it, skiing is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at statistics. If we teenagers are to be left in this world, we had better be able to think critically, and form our own views, rather than be easily persuaded by another’s. To be warned is to be prepared.

In the first paragraph, what problem does the writer want to warn us?

A. We are now living in a dangerous world.

B. We get a lot of false statistics from the media.

C. Statistics alone without full background doesn’t give us an accurate pictures of things.

D. There are around us more and more murders, diseases, etc.

Why does the writer use the example in the second paragraph?

A. To argue that high school students are easily persuaded.

B. To show the danger of reporting only part of the information.

C. To prove what is necessary to us might be dangerous.

D. To warn us of the harmful substance around us.

Relative information is often left out because__________.

A. Relative information is not that important.

B. too much information will make readers feel confused.

C. the author is trying to show what he or she says is true.

D. readers are not able to analyze so much information at once.

What can we learn from the passage?

A. We should learn to think critically and look at problems from all sides.

B. Some measures must be taken to protect our dangerous world.

C. The growing trend of reporting only half-truths is getting out of control.

D. Teenagers ought to improve their ability of telling right from wrong.

With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most heated argument across the United States today is the death penalty (死刑). Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder(谋杀), while others think there is no enough proof that the death penalty reduces the number of murders. The argument advanced by those who are against the death penalty is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is a mark of a bad society and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent (威慑物) to crime (罪行) anyway.
In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary action. Throughout recorded history there have always been those peculiar persons in every society who made terrible crimes such as murder. But some are more dangerous than others. For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in time of blind anger, but quite another to coldly plan and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of different degree. While it could be argued with some reason that the criminal in the first instance should be merely kept from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.
The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion. But the majority of people believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is proved by the fact that the death penalty prevents murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was carried out from time to time in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100, 000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been done only once, and the murder rate has risen to10.4 murders for each 100, 000 population. The sharp climb in the state's murder rate, which began when killings stopped, does not happen by chance. It certainly shows that the death penalty does stop many murderers. If the law about death penalty is vetoed (否决), some people will be murdered----some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is really a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of people must be protected.
【小题1】The main purpose of this passage is to _________.

A.speak for the majority
B.argue against the value of the death penalty
C.speak ill of the government
D.argue for the value of the death penalty
【小题2】Which of the following is among the heated arguments across the USA besides death penalty?
A.Air pollution.B.The war against Iraq.
C.Equal rights.D.Election of president.
【小题3】The numbers in the last paragraph show that ______.
A.if they stick to death penalty, the number of murders will be reduced
B.death penalty almost stopped from 1954 to 1963
C.the population of California has risen
D.death penalty is of little value
【小题4】It can be inferred that the writer thinks that ______.
A.the death penalty is the most important problem in the United States today
B.the second type of murderers (in Paragraph 2) should be sentenced to death
C.the veto of the law about death penalty is of little importance
D.the value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime is not to be discussed

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