Question

Possession of Private Guns in the United States

Christmas is approaching. But shooting massacres (残杀) cast a tragic shadow over the holiday season in the US.

On December 5, a gunman killed eight people, before taking his own life, at a shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska. On December 9, five people, including the gunman, died in two attacks in Colorado.

While people are busy trying to discover the killers’ motives (动机), another issue is causing heated debate in the country --- the weapon the killers used.

The US is one of just a few developed Western countries that allow private possession of guns. Any adult can buy army style weapons from a handgun to an AK-47.

“The right to own arms is a part of the Constitution (宪法). Many Americans believe it to be a fundamental freedom,” said Jonathan Haagen, who worked for Teens.

When the United States was still a group of colonies, they dealt with a lot of corruption (腐败) from the British. Therefore, American people considered it a great danger for the government to have control of all the weapons. Private gun ownership was important in their fight for freedom.

However, with more and more killings in schools and shopping malls, lots of Americans argue that they should do away with the right to bear arms. But the National Rifle Association (NRA) said this position violates (违反) the Constitution.

The NRA is fond of saying it is not guns but people who kill. In some cases, this is true. But in many other cases, owning guns is what causes the murder. According to the US Department of Justice, more than 10,000 crimes a year are committed with guns.

Possession of Private Guns in the United States
Original belief		Present situation
It was (71)____ for the government alone to control all the weapons.	It was important for people to own private guns to (72)____ for freedom.	The US is one of the few Western countries where any (73)____ has the freedom to possess private weapons.
		As a result, more than 10,000 crimes are committed with guns (74)_____. Three attacks alone in Nebraska and Colorado in December, for example, claimed altogether (75)____ people’s lives.	People have different (76)_____ towards owning private guns.
			Those in (77)____  of owning guns believe that it is the freedom given by the Constitution. Besides, the key factor in killing is (78)____ instead of guns.	(79)_____, those against owing private guns argue that the right to own guns should be removed, because a(n) (80)____ number of killings occur in schools and shopping malls.

Answer 1

71. dangerous        72. fight                       73. adult/grown-up        74. annually/yearly

75. 14                   76. attitudes                  77. favo(u)r                  78. people

79. However          80. increasing/growing