Day after day my men and I struggle to hold back a tidal wave of crime. Something has gone terribly wrong with our once-proud American way of life. It has happened in the area of values. A key ingredient is disappearing, and I think I know what it is: accountability (責任感).

　　My job as a police pfficer is to impose accountability on people who refuse, or have never learned, to impose it on themselves. But as every policeman knows, external control on people's behavior is far less effective than internal restraints such as guilt, shame and embarrassment.

　　Fortunately there are still communities—smaller towns, usually—where schools maintain discipline and where parents hold up standards that proclaim:

　　"In this family certain things are not tolerated—they simply are not done!"

　　Yet more and more, especially in our large cities and suburbs, these inner restraints are loosening. Your typical robber has none. He considers your property his property; he takes what he wants, including your life if you enrage him.

　　The main cause of this break-down is a radical shift in attitudes. Thirty years ago, if a crime was committed, society was considered the victim. Now, in a shocking reversal, it's the criminal who is considered victimized: by his underprivileged upbringing, by the school that didn't teach him to read, by the church that failed to reach him with moral guidance, by the parents who didn't provide a stable home.

　　I don't believe it. Many others in equally disadvantaged circumstances choose not to engage in criminal activities. If we free the criminal, even partly, from accountability, we become a society of endless excuses where no one accepts responsibility for anything.

　　Americans desperately need more people who believe that the person who commits a crime is the one responsible for it.

　　21. What the wise man said suggests that______.

　　A. it's certain that evil will prevail if good men do nothing about it

　　B. it's unnecessary for good people to do anything in face of evil

　　C. it's only natural for virtue to defeat evil

　　D. it's desirable for good men to keep away from evil

　　22. According to the author, if a person is found guilty of a crime, ______.

　　A. society is to be held responsible

　　B. modern civilization is responsible for it

　　C. the standards of living should be improved

　　D. the criminal himself should bear the blame

　　23. Compared with those in small towns, people in large cities have A. better sense of discipline B. more mutual respect C. less effective government D. less self-discipline

　　24. The writer is sorry to have noticed that______.

　　A. people in large cities tend to excuse criminals

　　B. people in small towns still stick to old discipline and standards

　　C. today's society lacks sympathy for people in difficulty

　　D. people in disadvantaged circumstances are engaged in criminal activities

　　25. The key point of the passage is that

　　A. stricter discipline should be maintained in schools and families

　　B. more good examples should be set for people to follow

　　C. more people should accept the value of accountability

　　D. more restrictions should be imposed on people

　　21. A 22. D 23. D 24. A 25. C

　　When we think of Hollywood—a term I use loosely to describe American movie production in general, not simply films made in Los Angeles—we think of films aimed at amusing audiences and making money for producers.

　　During the early years of the new century, as workers won their demands for higher wages and a shorter working week, leisure assumed an increasingly important role in everyday life. Amusement parks, professional baseball games, nickelodeons ((美)門票一律5分的“無分戲院“(電影院)), and dance halls attracted a wide array of men and women anxious to spend their hard earned dollars in the pursuit of fun and relaxation. Yet of all these new cultural endeavors, films were the most important and widely attended source of amusement. For a mere five or ten cents, even the poorest worker could afford to take himself and his family to the local ickelodeon or storefront theatre. Taking root in urban working-class and immigrant neighborhoods, cinemas soon spread to middle-class districts of cities and into small communities throughout the nation. "Every little town that has never been able to afford and maintain an opera house," observed one journalist in 1908, "now boasts one or two Bijou Dreams. " By 1910 the appeal of films was so great that nearly one-third of the nation flocked to the cinema each week; ten years later, weekly attendance equaled 50 percent of the nation's population.

　　Early films were primarily aimed at entertaining audiences, but entertainment did not always come in the form of escapist fantasies. Many other issues were also portrayed on the screen. "Between 1900 and 1917," observes Kevin Brownlow, "literally thousands of films dealt with the most pressing problems of the day—white slavery, political corruption, gangsterism, loansharking, slum landlords, capital vs. labor, racial prejudice, etc. " While most of these films were produced by studios and independent companies, a significant number were made by what we might call today "special interest groups". As films quickly emerged as the nation's most popular form of mass entertainment, they attracted the attention of a wide range of organizations, which recognized the medium's enormous potential for disseminating propaganda to millions of viewers.

　　26. Hollywood may not be used to describe_______.

　　A. American movie production in general

　　B. films nfade in Los Angeles

　　C. an area in Los Angeles, famous because many popular films have been produced there

　　D. films aimed at amusing audiences and making money for them

　　27. It may be inferred from the passage that _______.

　　A. most of the film-goers were working people

　　B. films were more interesting than professional baseball games

　　C. people were eager to spend their money on amusement and relaxation

　　D. films were the most important and widely enjoyed amusement

　　28. "Bijou Dreams" in the 2nd paragraph probably refers to_______.

　　A. opera houses B. amusement parks

　　C. cinemas D. small and pretty places

　　29. It can be concluded from the last paragraph that_______.

　　A. many of the social and political problems were reflected on the screen of the films

　　B. films often dealt with the most important problems of the day

　　C. films quickly became a very popular form of entertainment

　　D. because of the large attendance, films had a great influence on a large number of people

　　30. The passage is about_______.

　　A. the term—Hollywood B. American movie production

　　C. the history and function of the film D. the early films

　　26. D 27. A 28. C 29. D 30. C