考研英语阅读理解精读100篇unit64
“This is not the type of place where this happens," city council president George Carlton told a reporter, after the horror became public in his hometown, Sylacauga, Ala. He echoed what was said in Jasper, Texas, a year ago. Few people then had ever heard of Jasper. A week ago, even fewer could have pointed out Sylacauga on a map. A tiny city of 13,000, halfway between Birmingham and Montgomery, Sylacauga was known for its white marble quarries, textile mills and ice-cream factory. But last week Sylacauga, like Jasper, became a chapter in the recent history of hatred.
According to police, Steven Eric Mullins, 25, and Charles Monroe Butler Jr., 21, plotted for two weeks to murder Billy Jack Gaither, 39. On Feb. 19, they arranged to meet him at a Sylacauga bar and lured him to a secluded area. There they beat him and dumped him into the trunk of his car. They then drove about 15 miles to Peckerwood Creek in Coosa County. There, says Coosa County Sheriff's Deputy Al Bradley, "they took him out of the trunk, took an ax handle and beat him to death." They set two old tires aflame, says Bradley, "then they put the body on the fire." They did it all, the deputy says, because Gaither was gay.
Gaither's death has become a rallying point for gay-rights organizations' and state legislators' pushing a bill that would extend Alabama's three-year-old hate-crimes law beyond race, color, religion and national origin to cover crimes related to sexual orientation as well. "It's unfortunate that somebody had to lose his life in order for this legislation to pick up momentum here in the state of Alabama," says state Representative Alvin Holmes, who failed to get the original law amended when it was passed in 1996. Holmes filed for extending the law after Matthew Shepard, a gay student, was beaten and left to die on a fence in Wyoming last October, an incident that sparked national outrage. Even Wyoming failed to pass hate-crime legislation in the wake of the Shepard lynching. Like Shepard, Gaither did not hesitate to admit being gay, though he adhered quietly to Sylacauga's Southern dispositions. And friends dispute Mullins' and Butler's allegations that a sexual proposition incited the murder. Gaither's brother Randy told CNN: "Regardless of his personal life or anything, he doesn't deserve to be killed for this."
"The message people are getting is that gay people are second-class citizens," says Tracey Conaty, spokesperson for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Before Gaither's murder, activists were planning a major national pro-gay offensive. From March 21 to March 27, the task force will launch its "Equality Begins at Home" campaign, with 250 grass-roots events in all 50 states aimed at passing anti-gay-bashing legislation. Says Conaty: "These laws reflect the conscience of a community and send an important message." The March events, says Urvashi Vaid, director of the task force's policy institute, will involve straight people concerned about neighbors denied basic human rights. Adds Vaid: "It's more than just a gay thing."
注（1）：本文选自By Sylvester Monroe Time; 03/15/99, Vol. 153 Issue 10, p47, 2/3p, 3c, 1bw
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象2003年真题 Text 4
1. What is implied in the first two paragraphs?
[A] there are many murders in the recent history of hatred
[B]the murder also happened in Jasper one year ago
[C] it is another case of the gay being tortured to death
[D]the city council president comes from Sylacauga
2. The author uses the example of Matthew Shepard to show that ________.
[A] it is difficult to extend the hate-crime legislation
[B]people want to extend the hate-crime law
[C]the gays are really in a terrible fix
[D] people are indifferent to the gay student
3. Alvin Holmes’ attitude toward the gay victims is _________.
[A]indifferent
[B]sympathetic
[C]outrageous
[D]considerate
4. Similar to Matthew Shepard, Gaither’s death ________.
[A]aroused people’s sympathy for the gay
[B] sharpened people’s awareness
[C]gave legislation some momentum
[D]failed to have any change in the legislation
5. The text intends to express the idea that __________.
[A] people should be concerned about their gay neighbors
[B]the gay people shouldn’t be regarded as second-class citizens
[C] the legislation for the gay still has a long way to go
[D]more pro-gay campaigns should be launched
答案：CABDC
篇章剖析
本文采用提出问题-----分析问题的模式。第一段和第二段提出问题，详细阐述一起同性恋谋杀案的发生经过。第三段和第四段指出被害人的死造成的影响和反应。第五段指出激进分子的做法及其影响。
词汇注释
homosexual[hEJmEJ5sekFJEl] n.同性恋
echo[`ekEJ]vt.摹仿, 重复
rallying [5rAlIN]point n.聚集点,号召力
legislator[5ledVIsleItE(r)]n.立法者
momentum[mEJ5mentEm]n.动力, 要素
in the wake of adv.尾随, 紧跟, 仿效
lynching[`lIntFIN]n.处私刑
allegation[AlI5^eIF(E)n]n.主张，断言, 辩解
offensive[E5fensIv]n.进攻, 攻势
grass-roots[`^rB:s`rU:ts;`^rAs-]adj.一般民众的, 由乡间民间来进行的
难句突破
1．Gaither's death has become a rallying point for gay-rights organizations' and state legislators' pushing a bill that would extend Alabama's three-year-old hate-crimes law beyond race, color, religion and national origin to cover crimes related to sexual orientation as well.
主体句式：Gaither’s death has become a rallying point …
结构分析：在for引导的介词短语中，that引导定语从句来修饰bill; related to sexual orientation as well来修饰crimes.
句子译文：盖瑟的死成了争取同性恋权利组织和州立法委员强烈要求通过一项议案的号召力。这项议案可能会将阿拉巴马实施三年的反仇视罪法的范围扩展到种族、肤色、宗教信仰和国家来源以外，把针对与性倾向有关的罪行也包括在反对之列。
题目分析
1．答案为C，属推理判断题。选项A，B，D都属于细节问题，在文中都可找到对应的信息。选项C归纳了前两段的内容。
1． 案为A，属推理判断题。文中对应信息是“Even Wyoming failed to pass hate-crime legislation in the wake of the Shepard lynching”。
2． 案为B ，属情感态度题。文中对应信息是“"It's unfortunate that somebody had to lose his life in order for this legislation to pick up momentum here in the state of Alabama”。
3． 答案为D，属推理判断题。原文对应信息“Gaither's death has become a rallying point for gay-rights organizations' and state legislators' pushing a bill that would extend Alabama's three-year-old hate-crimes law beyond race, color, religion and national origin to cover crimes related to sexual orientation as well.”Gaither的被害虽然对立法有一定的影响，却还没有一定的改观。
5．答案为C，属主旨大意题。要综观全文，不要受到一些细节方面的干扰。
参考译文
这桩惨案在市参议会议长乔治·卡尔顿的家乡阿拉巴马州锡拉科加被公诸于众后，他这样对记者说：“这个地方不应该发生这样的事”。他是在重复一年前在德克萨斯州杰士伯说过的话。几乎没有人听说过杰士伯这个地方。一周以前，甚至没有人能在地图上找出锡拉科加的位置。锡拉科加是一座拥有13,000人口的小镇，位于伯明翰和蒙哥马利之间，以大理石采石场、纺织厂和冰淇淋厂而著名。同杰士伯一样，锡拉科加上周也上了最近发生仇视事件的“光荣”榜。
据警方说，为谋杀39岁的比利•杰克•盖瑟，25岁的史蒂文•埃里克•马林斯和21岁的小查尔斯•门罗•巴特勒密谋了两周时间。2月19日那天，他们先安排与他在锡拉科加的一个酒吧见面，然后把他骗到一个隐蔽的地点。在那儿，他们先是猛揍他，随后把他扔进汽车后备箱，驾车行使了15英里到了库萨县的拍克武德小河边。库萨县副警长阿尔•不拉德利说：“他们把他从后备箱里拖出来，拿出斧柄将他打死”。随后他们点燃了两个旧轮胎。不拉德利说：“点燃轮胎后，他们就把尸体放到了火上烧”。副警长说，这两个人这样做只是因为盖瑟是同性恋。
盖瑟的死成了争取同性恋权利组织和州立法委员强烈要求通过一项议案的号召力。这项议案可能会将阿拉巴马实施三年的反仇视罪法的范围扩展到种族、肤色、宗教信仰和国家来源以外，把针对与性倾向有关的罪行也包括在反对之列。州议员阿尔文•福尔摩斯(他没能在1996年该法律被通过时促使议会对原法律进行修正)说：“非得用某人的死来在这儿，在阿拉巴马州获取使某项法律得以通过的动力实在是件令人遗憾的事”。去年十月，怀俄明州发生了一件令国人十分愤慨的事。一个名叫马修•谢巴德的同性恋学生遭人毒打，眼睁睁地看着他死在围墙上。这件事发生之后，福尔摩斯曾提议扩展这一法律的范围。甚至在谢巴德被人用私刑处死之后，怀俄明州也没能通过反仇视罪法。尽管盖瑟不声不响地保持着南方人的性格，但是他跟谢巴德一样，毫不隐瞒自己是同性恋这一事实。马林斯和巴特勒对性倾向引发这起谋杀的说法遭到朋友的反驳。盖瑟弟弟告诉CNN记者：“不管他的个人生活或其它方面怎么样，他都不应该为此而被处死。”
“人们获得的启示是同性恋是二等公民。” 美国国家男女同志特遣队的发言人特蕾西•科纳缇如是说。
在盖瑟被谋杀之前，一些激进分子就在策划发动一个大型的全国范围的支持同性恋的攻势。从3月21日到27日，特遣队将发动一场“平等从家庭开始”的运动。他们收集了50个州250桩发生在基层的事件，目的在于敦促议会通过反粗暴对待同性恋法。科纳缇说：“这些法律反映了一个社区的正义感，并传达了一条重要的信息”。特遣队政策研究所所长吾尔瓦西•瓦伊德认为，“三月事件”会使那些关心被剥夺了基本人权邻居的正直人参与其中。瓦伊德还说：“这不仅仅是一件同性恋的事情。”
考研英语阅读理解精读100篇unit65
The image was riveting, as justice John Paul Stevens, a Chicago native, presented it. A gang member and his father are hanging out near Wrigley Field. Are they there "to rob an unsuspecting fan or just to get a glimpse of Sammy Sosa leaving the ball park?" A police officer has no idea, but under Chicago's anti-gang law, the cop must order them to disperse. With Stevens writing for a 6-to-3 majority, the Supreme Court last week struck down Chicago's sweeping statute, which had sparked 42,000 arrests in its three years of enforcement.
The decision was a blow to advocates of get-tough crime policies. But in a widely noted concurring opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor suggested that a less draconian approach--distinguishing gang members from innocent bystanders--might pass constitutional muster. New language could target loiterers "with no apparent purpose other than to establish control over identifiable areas, to intimidate others from entering those areas or to conceal illegal activities," she wrote. Chicago officials vowed to draft a new measure. "We will go back and correct it and then move forward," said Mayor Richard Daley.
Chicago officials, along with the League of Cities and 31 states that sided with them in court, might do well to look at one state where anti-gang loitering prosecutions have withstood constitutional challenges: California. The state has two antiloitering statutes on the books, aimed at people intending to commit specific crimes--prostitution and drug dealing. In addition, a number of local prosecutors are waging war against gangs by an innovative use of the public-nuisance laws.
In cities such as Los Angeles and San Jose, prosecutors have sought injunctions against groups of people suspected of gang activity. "The officers in the streets know the gang members and gather physical evidence for lengthy court hearings," says Los Angeles prosecutor Martin Vranicar. If the evidence is enough to convince a judge, an injunction is issued to prohibit specific behavior--such as carrying cell phones or pagers or blocking sidewalk passage--in defined geographical areas. "It works instantly," says San Jose city attorney Joan Gallo, who successfully defended the tactic before the California Supreme Court. "A few days after the injunctions, children are playing on streets where they never were before."
So far, only a few hundred gang members have been targeted, out of an estimated 150,000 in Los Angeles alone. But experts say last week's decision set the parameters for sharper measures. Says Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe: "It just means they have to use a scalpel rather than an invisible mallet."
注（1）：本文选自By Margot Hornblower/Los Angeles With reporting by Timothy Roche/Chicago and Andrea Sachs/New York Time; 06/21/99, Vol. 153 Issue 24, p55, 2/3p, 1bw
注
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象2004年真题Text 2。
1. What does the author intend to illustrate with the example of the gang member and his father?
[A]How the antiloitering law works.
[B]How to maintain charming image.
[C]How tough the crime polices were.
[D]Why Chicago’s sweeping statute stroke down.
2. What can we infer from the first two paragraphs?
[A]Chicago’s antiloitering law shouldn’t be struck down.
[B]The cop was entitled to send the gangs away.
[C]Chicago officials yielded to the result of striking down the law.
[D]antiloitering law in Chicago was much too severe for the majority.
3. The third and fourth paragraphs suggest that ________.
[A]the League of Cities and 31 states should work with Chicago officials
[B]the injunctions in some cities brought back the safety on the street
[C]California successfully starts the battle against the gangs
[D]the police officers shoulder more responsibility than before
4. What does the author mean by “It just means they have to use a scalpel rather than an invisible mallet” (The Last Line, Paragraph 5)?
[A]The gang members should be given a get-tough attitude in the long run.
[B]The targeted gang members rather than all of them should be given a get-tough treatment.
[C] A scalpel can cut off the tumors of the society while the invisible mallet fails to.
[D]A scalpel is more powerful than the invisible mallet.
5. Which of the following is true according to the text?
[A]Chicago’s sweeping statute was struck down for its involving too many arrests.
[B]Chicago officials still maintained their get-tough crime policies.
[C]It was not safe for children to play on the street.
[D]California used a scalpel while other states used an invisible mallet to cope with the gangs.
答案：ADCBD
篇章剖析
本文采用提出问题---解决问题的模式。第一段和第二段提出芝加哥因为种种原因解除了禁止闲荡法令；第三段、四段和五段针对这一问题，指出加利福尼亚的做法是非常值得借鉴的。
词汇注释
loiter[5lCItE(r)]v.闲荡, 虚度, 徘徊
rivet[5rIvIt]v. 吸引（注意力）
disperse [dI5sp\:s]v.(使)分散, (使)散开, 疏散
statute [5stAtju:t]n.法令, 条例
enforcement [In`fR:smEnt]n.执行, 强制
concur[kEn5k\:(r)]v.同时发生
draconian [drE5kEJnIEn]adj.严酷的,极其残酷的；十分严厉的：
intimidate [In5tImIdeIt]v. 恐吓使胆怯；使害怕
innovative [`InEJveItIv]adj.创新的, 革新(主义)的
injunction [In5dVQNkF(E)n]n.命令, 指令, [律]禁令
parameter [pE5rAmItE(r)]n.参数, 参量, <口>起限定作用的因素
scalpel [5skAlp(E)l]n.解剖刀
mallet [5mAlIt]n.槌棒
难句突破
1.Chicago officials, along with the League of Cities and 31 states that sided with them in court, might do well to look at one state where anti-gang loitering prosecutions have withstood constitutional challenges: California.
主体结构：Chicago officials might do well to look at …
结构分析：“along with the League of Cities and 31 states”在句子中做伴随状语，其中that又引导定语从句进行修饰；主句中where又引导从句来修饰state。
句子翻译：只要芝加哥官员以及那些在法庭上支持他们的城市联盟和31个州去看看那个州—加州—的情况就可以处理好他们的问题。加州的反犯罪集团闲荡起诉案已经受住了宪法的挑战。
题目分析
1.答案为A，属推理判断题。文中对应信息“but under Chicago's anti-gang law, the cop must order them to disperse”,从第一段我们可以看出作者在介绍芝加哥的“禁止闲荡法令”是如何运做及被解除的。
2.答案为D，属推理判断题。第一段和第二段主要介绍芝加哥解除了“禁止闲荡法令”。从第一段“which had sparked 42,000 arrests in its three years of enforcement”，我们可以看出这一法令是非常严厉的；从第二段“But in a widely noted concurring opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor suggested that a less draconian approach--distinguishing gang members from innocent bystanders--might pass constitutional muster.”我们可以看出一项较宽松的法令即将出台。从这些地方我们可做出判断。
3.答案为C, 属推理判断题。第三段和第四段主要介绍了加利福尼亚州是如何与街头帮派行为做斗争的。
4.答案为B，属推理判断题。这篇文章中存在对比：芝加哥的肃清法令“sparked 42,000 arrests in its three years of enforcement”，重在大范围的打击；加利福尼亚州“So far, only a few hundred gang members have been targeted, out of an estimated 150,000 in Los Angeles alone.”重在小范围的清除。
5.答案为D，属推理判断题。分析同第四题。
参考译文
正如芝加哥法官约翰·保罗·斯蒂文斯所描述的那样，这种景象是非常吸引人的。一个犯罪集团成员和他的父亲在里格利球场附近闲荡，他们在那“是想抢劫一个毫无戒心的球迷呢，还是只为了目睹一下正在离场的塞米索萨棒球队的风采呢？”警官不得而知，但是根据芝加哥反犯罪集团法，警察必须命令他们散开。鉴于史蒂文法官上书要求以6比3的多数通过废除法令案，上个星期最高法院废除了芝加哥的肃清法令。这项法令在三年的实施时间里，引发了42,000起逮捕案。
这一决定对于那些主张严厉惩治犯罪的人来说，无疑是当头一棒。但是根据一种相当著名且普遍赞同的观点，法官桑德拉•戴•奥康纳认为，采取一种不太严厉的做法—把犯罪集团成员与无辜的旁观者加以区分的方法—可能更符合宪法的规定。她这样写道，议案中使用的新的措辞可能会把那些“除了控制可识别区域、恐吓他人不得进入该区域或隐瞒非法活动外没有其它明确目的”的闲荡者作为目标。芝加哥官员发誓要起草一项新措施。理查德•戴利市长说：“我们要回过头去对其进行纠正，然后再继续往前走。”
只要芝加哥官员以及那些在法庭上支持他们的城市联盟和31个州去看看那个州—加州—的情况就可以处理好他们的问题。加州的反犯罪集团闲荡起诉案已经受住了宪法的挑战。这个州已将两部禁止闲荡的法律编辑成册，该法律主要针对那些意欲犯如卖淫和贩毒等特种罪行的人。另外，当地一些检察官正创新性地应用公共妨害法向犯罪集团宣战。
在洛杉矶和圣何塞这样的城市，检察官已要求对那些被怀疑有团伙犯罪行为的犯罪集团成员实行禁令。洛杉矶检察官马丁•弗拉尼卡说：“大街上巡逻的警察熟悉犯罪集团的成员，并为漫长的法庭审讯收集物证。” 如果证据能足以使法官信服，就会颁布禁令，在特定区域里禁止某些特定的行为—比如携带手机或寻呼机或阻碍行人通道。曾在加利福尼亚最高法庭上成功为泰迪公司(The Tactic)进行辩护的圣何塞市律师琼•加洛说：“这马上就奏效了。禁止令颁布几天之后，孩子们就开始在他们以前未去过的大街上玩耍了。”
据估计，洛杉矶150,000个犯罪集团成员中，至今只有几百人被定为目标对象。但是专家们表示，上周的决定为实施更为严厉的措施确立了范围。哈福法律教授劳伦斯•特莱布说：“这只是意味着，他们须用手术刀，而不是用无形的木槌来解决这一问题了。”
