Drunken driving—sometimes called America’s socially accepted form of murder—has become a national epidemic（流行病）. Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years. A drunken driver is usually referred to as one with 0.10-blood alcohol content or roughly three beer glasses of wine or shots of whisky drunk within two hours. Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were lenient in most courts, but the drunken killing has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially concerning young children, that public opinion is no longer so tolerant（忍受）.

Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing a trend（逆转潮流）in the 1960s to reduce it to 18. After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18—20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21.

Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop “responsible attitudes” about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink.

Though new laws have led to increased arrests and tests in many areas already, to a marked drop in accidents, some states are also punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks. A bar in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who was “obviously drunk” and later drove off the road, killing a nine-year-old boy.

As the accidents continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years national prohibition（禁令）of alcohol that began in 1919, which President Hoover called the “noble experiment”. They forgot that legal prohibition didn’t stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption（腐败）and organized crime. As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution.

1.What can be inferred from the fact of the traffic accidents in New Jersey?

2.The underlined word “lenient” in the first paragraph means          .

3.As regards drunken driving, public opinion has changed because        .

4.Which of the following statements best shows the writer’s opinion of drunken driving?

Drunken driving sometimes called American's socially accepted form of murder has become a national epidemic（流行病）．Every hour of every day about three Americans on average are killed by drunken drivers, adding up to an incredible 250,000 over the past ten years．A drunken driver is usually referred to as one with 0．10-blood alcohol content or roughly three beers, glasses of wines or shots of whisky drunk within two hours．Heavy drinking used to be an acceptable part of the American manly image and judges were lenient in most courts, but the drunken killing has recently caused so many well-publicized tragedies, especially concerning young children, that public opinion is no longer tolerant．
Twenty states have raised the legal drinking age to 21, reversing a trend （逆转潮流） in the 1960s to reduce it to 18．After New Jersey lowered it to 18, the number of people killed by 18-20-year-old drivers more than doubled, so the state recently upped it back to 21．
Reformers, however, fear raising the drinking age will have little effect unless accompanied by educational programs to help young people to develop "responsible attitudes" about drinking and teach them to resist peer pressure to drink．
Some states are punishing bars for serving customers too many drinks．A bar in Massachusetts was fined for serving six or more double brandies to a customer who was "obviously drunk" and later drove off the land, killing a nine-year-old boy．
As the accidents continue to occur daily in every state, some Americans are even beginning to speak well of the 13 years national prohibition （禁令） of alcohol that began in 1919, which President Hoover called the "noble experiment"．They forget that legal prohibition didn't stop drinking, but encouraged political corruption （腐败） and organized crime．As with the booming drug trade generally, there is no easy solution．
【小题1】It can be inferred from the passage that drunken driving has become a major problem in the United States because___．

Some people believe that international sports create goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international competitions encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the tragic incident involving the murder of athletes, but the Games were also ruined by lesser incidents caused mainly by minor national competitions.

　One country received its second-place medals with visible indignation（愤慨）after a hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the loser’s objection to the final decision. They were sure that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents’ victory was unfair. Their manager was very angry and he said, “This wasn’t hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished.” The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension（停赛）of the team for at least three years.

　The American basketball team announced that they would not give up the first place to Russia, after a disputable end to their competition. The game had ended in disturbance. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play. A Russian player popped the ball into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury discussed the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals.

　Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sports are played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals, or in non-national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism（爱国主义）.

1.According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ________.

2.What did the manager mean by saying “Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished”?

3.By taking the basketball game for example, the author wants to prove that ________.

4.What conclusion can be drawn from the passage?

California police discovered five people died in _________ they say appeared to be a murder.

“I’ve changed my mind. I wanted to have a telescope, but now I want my dad back.” Lucien Lawrence’s letter to Father Christmas, written after his father had been knifed to death outside his school gate, must have touched everyone’s heart. Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn’t see the stars in the sky. When those we love depart from us, we cannot see the stars for a while.

But Lucien, the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone, you will see them again. And, in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father there too, either in your mind or heart. I find that my parents, who died years ago, still linger (留连) in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive. I still live to please them and I’m still surprised by their reactions. I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud, or rather so pleased with myself that I couldn’t wait to cable my parents. The reply was a long time in coming, but when it did, all my mother said was “I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children!” I haven’t forgotten. The values of my parents still live on.

It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care. Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence has been to face the aggressors（入侵者）, and to lay down my life for those in my care? How many people would want me back for Christmas? It’s a serious thought, which gives me pause.

I pray silently, sometimes, in the dead of night, that ancient cry of a poet “Deliver my soul from the sword and my darling from the power of the dog.” Yet I know death comes to us all, and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan to live together, but live as if we will die tomorrow. We live on, I’m sure, in the lives of those we loved, and therefore we ought to have a care for what they will remember and what they will treasure. If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true, there might be fewer knives on our streets today.

1. According to the whole text we can see that the first paragraph ___________.

2.In the second paragraph the author mainly wants to explain to us____________.

3.What feeling did the author’s mother express in her reply?

4.In the author’s opinion, the value of a person’s life is _____________.

5. What does the writer mean by the sentence taken from an old poem?