常春藤解析英语 30 To Own Or Not To Own?　枪枝管制

To Own Or Not To Own?　枪枝管制

by Kevin Lustig

In light of the recent shootings at Virginia Tech, a lot of attention has been paid to the issue of gun laws. Could stronger gun laws _(1)_ this tragedy? Nobody can say for sure. Looking at the results of the various approaches to gun control in countries around the world, one can see that the evidence is mixed.

In the United States, gun ownership is considered a basic right that _(2)_ appears in the Constitution. While laws vary, Americans in most states can own a variety of guns, including handguns and rifles. Taiwan, on the other hand, is the exact _(3)_ of the US. Using, owning, selling, and making almost all types of firearms is illegal in Taiwan.

_(4)_ the results of these different systems, Taiwan and the US are similar in some ways. In 2005, the US had 5.6 homicides for every 100,000 people to Taiwan's 3.97. Both Taiwan and the US are well below the top nations in the world _(5)_ murders. However, America experienced almost 7.5 times as many violent crimes per 100,000 people as Taiwan did.

The United States and Taiwan are very different places and gun laws alone can't possibly explain all the variations in crime _(6)_ the two. However, as we see in this case, there is some evidence that violence and gun ownership are _(7)_. The debate will surely continue. Hopefully, as more data is analyzed, the conclusions that are reached will help prevent future tragedies.

1. (A) prevent (B) have prevented (C) be preventing (D) have been prevented

2. (A) yet (B) hardly (C) even (D) somewhat

3. (A) oppose (B) opposition (C) opponent (D) opposite

4. (A) As for (B) As with (C) As if (D) As though

5. (A) on account of (B) in place of (C) in terms of (D) on behalf of

6. (A) within (B) over (C) between (D) among

7. (A) accompanied (B) connected (C) affected (D) concerned

原来如此

1. Could stronger gun laws have prevented this tragedy?

理由:

a. 作者在本句中提出假设性问题：

更严格的枪枝管制法能否防止这场悲剧发生?

然而事实上，枪击案已经发生，因此本空格旨在测试与过去事实相反的假设语气，故主要子句中须用助动词的过去式，再加『have + 过去分词』。

例: If he had taken your advice, he might have avoided the mistake.

(要是他当时听了你的建议，也许就能避免这个错误了。)

b. 根据上述，可知应选 (B)。

2. In the United States, gun ownership is considered a basic right that even appears in the Constitution.

理由:

a. (A) yet adv. 尚(与 not 并用)

例: It's already three days late and I still haven't finished my report yet.

(已经晚了三天，但我还没完成我的报告。)

(B) hardly adv. 几乎不

例: I hardly ever eat raw fish.

(我几乎不吃生鱼。)

(C) even adv. 甚至

(D) somewhat adv. 有一点

注意:

somewhat 为一般副词，使用时通常置于形容词或副词之前修饰。

例: A toad is somewhat like a frog.

(蟾蜍和青蛙有点相似。)

b. 根据语意及用法，可知应选 (C)，表在美国，拥有枪枝被视为基本权利，『甚至』在宪法中都有明文规定之意。

3. Taiwan, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of the US.

理由:

a. (A) oppose vt. 反对

= be opposed to...

= object to...

例: The National Pet Association is opposed to the abuse of all living things.

(全国宠物协会反对虐待任何生物。)

(B) opposition n. 反对

opposition party　　反对党

(C) opponent n. 对手

(D) opposite n. 相反 & a. 相反的

opposite sex　　异性

例: You go this way, and I'll go in the opposite direction.

(你往这边走，而我跟你反方向。)

b. 空格前有形容词 exact，故根据语意与词性，可知应选 (D)。

4. As for the results of these different systems, Taiwan and the US are similar in some ways.

理由:

a. (A) As for sb/sth, S + V　　就某人∕某物而言，……

例: As for Sheila, she wants to go hiking in the mountains this weekend.

(就席拉来说，她这个周末想到山区健行。)

(B) As with sb/sth, S + V　　如同某人∕某物一样，……

例: As with all new employees, you'll have to go through two weeks of training.

(和所有新员工一样，你得经过两周的训练。)

(C) as if + S + V　　彷佛∕好像……

= as though + S + V

例: Dave walked in and started to tell people what to do as if he were the boss.

(戴维走进来开始告诉大家怎么做，彷佛他是老板。)

b. 根据语意，可知应选 (A)。

5. Both Taiwan and the US are...in the world in terms of murders.

理由:

a. (A) on account of...　　因为∕由于……

= as a result of...

= because of...

= due to...

例: Julia was late on account of the traffic jam.

(茱莉亚因塞车而迟到。)

(B) in place of...　　取代……

例: My teacher said that we were going to the movies today in place of having class.

(老师说我们今天要去看电影来取代上课。)

(C) in terms of...　　在……方面，就……来说

例: In terms of pets, my favorites are cats and small dogs.

(就宠物来说，我最喜欢的是猫和小狗。)

(D) on behalf of...　　代表……

例: Wallace attended the meeting on behalf of the boss.

(华勒斯代表老板参加会议。)

b. 根据语意，可知应选 (C)。

6. ...gun laws alone can't possibly explain all the variations in crime between the two.

理由:

a. (A) within prep. 在……之内

(B) over prep. 超过……

(C) between prep. 在……(两者)之间

例: The US president pushed for a quick peace agreement between the two sides.

(美国总统督促双方尽快达成和平协议。)

(D) among prep. 在……(三者或三者以上)之间

b. 由空格后的 the two 可知，本空格应选 (C)。

7. ...there is some evidence that violence and gun ownership are connected.

理由:

a. (A) accompany vt. 陪伴

accompany sb to...　　陪伴某人到……

例: Danny accompanied his daughter to school on her first day.

(丹尼的女儿第一天上学时，他陪她一块儿去。)

(B) connect vt. 使相关

be connected with...　　和……有关

例: The police are digging into all the old files connected with this case.

(警方正仔细查阅有关这案件的所有旧档案。)

(C) affect vt. 影响

(D) concern vt. 关注

be concerned about...　　关心……

例: The father is concerned about his son's future.

(那名父亲很关心自己儿子的未来。)

b. 根据语意，可知应选 (B)。

精解字词词组

1. in light of...　　鉴于……

例: The judge decided that the trial couldn't continue in light of the new evidence.

(鉴于新的证据，法官决定不再继续审判。)

2. approach n. 方法;步骤(其后常与介词 to 并用)

例: The new teacher's approach to teaching English was very interesting.

(那位新老师教英文的方法很有趣。)

3. vary vi. 变化

例: The price of flights varies with different airlines.

(飞机票价随不同航空公司而有所不同。)

4. a variety of...　　各式各样的……

例: The gym offers a variety of classes, including yoga and martial arts.

(这座健身房提供瑜珈和武术等各式各样的课程。)

5. well adv. 相当地

例: John said the store was a block down the street, but it was well beyond that.

(约翰说那家店只有一街之遥，但其实远远超过那距离。)

6. alone a. 仅仅，单单(置于名词后作后位修饰)

例: In July alone, the computer company made 10 million dollars.

(单就七月而言，那家计算机公司就赚了一千万元。)

7. analyze vt. 分析

例: I'm sure if we take some time to analyze the problem, we'll find a solution.

(我确定如果花点时间分析这个问题，我们就会找出解决之道。)

8. reach a conclusion　　达成结论

= come to a conclusion

例: We have to go through all of the information, so it will take a few days to reach a conclusion.

(我们必须先看完所有的数据，所以还要几天才能得到结论。)

单字小铺

1. issue n. 议题

2. various a. 各种的

3. mixed a. 掺杂的，混合的

4. ownership n. 所有权

5. constitution n. 宪法;(大写)美国宪法

6. handgun n. 手枪

7. rifle n. 来复枪

8. firearm n. 枪枝

9. homicide n. 凶杀

10. variation n. 差异，变化

11. debate n. 争辩

12. data n. 数据，数据

注意: data 本为 datum 的复数形，但现今常作不可数名词用。

词组小铺

1. pay attention to...　　注意……

2. on the other hand　　另一方面

3. 倍数词 + as...as...　　是……的几倍……

中文翻译&标准答案

鉴于维吉尼亚理工学院最近的枪杀事件，枪枝管制法的议题引起许多人的关注。更严格的枪枝管制法能否防止这场悲剧发生?没有人可以确定。看看世界各国各种不同枪枝管制的结果，就可以知道证据是分歧的。

在美国，拥有枪枝被视为基本权利，甚至在美国宪法中都有明文规定。虽然法律各异，大多数州的美国人可以拥有各式各样的枪枝，包括手枪和来复枪。反观台湾则和美国完全相反。使用、拥有、贩卖和制造任何型态的枪枝都是违法的。

就不同制度的结果来看，台湾和美国在某些方面很相似。2005 年，美国每十万人有 5.6 起凶杀案，而台湾有 3.97起。在谋杀案方面，台湾和美国都远低于世界上高谋杀率的国家。但美国每十万人所犯下的暴力案件却几乎是台湾的 7.5 倍。

美国和台湾两地大不相同，光是枪枝法规可能无法解释两者之间所有犯罪的差异。然而，从这个案例，我们可以看到暴力和拥有枪枝是有某些关连的。争论必定还会继续。希望透过更多数据分析所得的结论，有助于防范未来可能的悲剧。

标准答案: 1. (B)　2. (C)　3. (D)　4. (A)　5. (C)　6. (C)　7. (B)