【正文】 es that sad fact the cornerstone of his metaphysic. But it is one thing to die, and quite another thing to lie for long months and even years under the shadow of death. No sane man would choose such a finish. All of us, despite the Prayer Book, long for a swift and unexpected end. Unhappily, a murderer, under the irrational American system, is tortured for what, to him, must seem a whole series of eternities. For months on end he sits in prison while his lawyers carry on their idiotic buffoonery with writs, injunctions, mandamuses, and appeals. In order to get his money (or that of his friends) they have to feed him with hope. Now and then, by the imbecility of a judge or some trick of juristic science, they actually justify it. But let us say that, his money all gone, they finally throw up their hands. Their client is now ready for the rope or the chair. But he must still wait for months before it fetches him. That wait, I believe, is horribly cruel. I have seen more than one man sitting in the death house, and I don’t want to see any more. Worse, it is wholly useless. Why should he wait at all? Why not hang him the day after the last court dissipates his last hope? Why torture him as not even cannibals would torture their victims? The mon answer is that he must have time to make his peace with God. But how long does that take? It may be acplished, I believe, in two hours quite as fortably as in two years. There are, indeed, no temporal limitations upon God. He could forgive a whole herd of murderers in a millionth of a second. More, it has been done. 1. What is the author’s point in this essay? Sum up the author’s argument in 50 words. (4%)2. How does the author put forward his argument? What does he do before he proposes his own idea about the death penalty? (4%)3. What method does the author use to refute the first argument proposed by the uplifters, that the death penalty should be abolished because it is unpleasant? How do you characterize the supporting details the author provides throughout the essay? (4%)4. What is the author’s real objection to the death penalty? Sum up his description of how the death penalty is carried out currently within 50 words. (4%)5. Does the author expect his audience to agree with him? Where in the essay does he indicate his audience may disagree? (4%)高級(jí)英語第一冊(cè)試題B. Vocabulary: Choose the appropriate word to fill in the blank. You may have to change the form of the word in some sentences. (10%)1. To ask what the _______ of puters are is like asking what are the applications of electricity.usage application practice2. Most Americans remember Mark Twain as the father of Huck Finn39。s idyllic cruise through _______ boyhood.endless permanent eternal3. It would be ______, but no more than waiting here for certain detection.perilous hazardous parlous chancy4. It grows louder and more _____ until you round a corner and see a fairyland of dancing flashes, as the burnished copper catches the light of _____ lamps and braziers.distinct, innumerable clear, countless distinct, numerable5. I was offered my teaching job back but I ________. Later I became a geologist for an oil pany.refused rejected declined6. I was again crushed by the thought that I stood on the _______ of the first atomic bombardment. spot site place area7. Just as the Industrial Revolution took over a(n) _________ range of tasks from men’s muscles and enormously expanded productivity, so the microputer is rapidly assuming huge burdens of drudgery from the human brain. immense enormous numerous huge8. The poor old man died of _______ at the hand of the slaveowner.mistreatment illtreatment9. Mark Twain had bee a very _______ man during his later life, which was reflected in his writings. He believed that the world was wrong, where people achieved nothing.sarcastic ironic cynical sentimental 10. This is the _________ lawyer who is likely to win the whole nation’s attention.clever intelligent remarkable brilliant11. The _________ of puters are increasing at a fantastic rate. able capable 12. If he does guess correctly, he will price the item high, and _______ little in the bargaining.produce resign surrender yield13. The few Americans and Germans seemed just as _____ as I was.constrain curb inhibit withhold14. They would also like to _____ the atomic museum.demolish destroy ruin smash15. There must be no mistake, no _____ or dallying because of her own smallness of mind.irresolution hesitancy wavering vacillation(優(yōu)柔寡斷）16. The taxi driver _______ at me in the rearview mirror when I got on the car.smile laugh grin stare17. Motors and bicycles threaded their way among the ______ of the people entering and leaving the market.crowd throng18. I see the Russian soldiers standing on the ________ of their native land, guarding the fields.threshold frontiers entrance19. The _______ I am thinking of particularly is entered by a Gothicarched gateway of aged brick and stone.bazaar market mart exchange20. The house detective’s piggy eyes surveyed her ________ from his grossjowled face. sardonic sarcastic ironical II. Sentence and Structure (30%)A. Paraphrase the following. Use brief words. (20%)1. a man who became obsessed with the frailties of the human race2. My life is much simplified thereby3. Serious looking men spoke to one another as if they were oblivious of the crowds about them.4. little donkeys thread their way among the throngs of people5. The obese body shook in an appreciative chuckle.6. The puter might appear to be a dehumanizing factor, but the opposite is in fact true.7. The house detective’s piggy eyes surveyed her sardonically from his gross jowled face.8. The