2015考研英语阅读专项训练：报刊文章精选题目 (3)
下面为考生提供考研英语暑期阅读专项训练题，报刊文章阅读及解析，希望通过大量的阅读，切实提高阅读速度和做题技巧。2015考研英语阅读专项训练：报刊文章精选题目 (3)
The savage murder of a gay man stuns a state where hate-crime laws do not
protect homosexuals
"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?
there are many murders in the recent history of hatred
the murder also happened in Jasper one year ago
it is another case of the gay being tortured to death
the city council president comes from Sylacauga
2. The author uses the example of Matthew Shepard to show that
________.
it is difficult to extend the hate-crime legislation
people want to extend the hate-crime law
the gays are really in a terrible fix
people are indifferent to the gay student
3. Alvin Holmes' attitude toward the gay victims is _________.
indifferent
sympathetic
outrageous
considerate
4. Similar to Matthew Shepard, Gaither's death ________.
aroused people's sympathy for the gay
sharpened people's awareness
gave legislation some momentum
failed to have any change in the legislation
5. The text intends to express the idea that __________.
people should be concerned about their gay neighbors
the gay people shouldn't be regarded as second-class citizens
the legislation for the gay still has a long way to go
more pro-gay campaigns should be launched
答案：C A B D C
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 n.同性恋
echo vt.摹仿, 重复
rallying point n.聚集点,号召力
legislator n.立法者
momentum n.动力, 要素
in the wake of adv.尾随, 紧跟, 仿效
lynching n.处私刑
allegation n.主张，断言, 辩解
offensive n.进攻, 攻势
grass-roots adj.一般民众的, 由乡间民间来进行的
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