Looking in from abroad, much of the world has historically been baffled by America’s gun laws. In no other country can a mentall

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问题     Looking in from abroad, much of the world has historically been baffled by America’s gun laws. In no other country can a mentally unstable person access a Glock pistol as easily as suspected Arizona shooter Jared Loughner did. And in no other country is the number of people who own guns as high as in the United States, where there are 90 guns for every 100 people.
    The Second Amendment that guarantees the right to bear arms is part of America’s founding fabric. So is senseless violence brought about by guns also American?
    That was the question posed at today’s White House press briefing by Russian journalist Andrei Sitov, the Washington Bureau Chief for Moscow-based Itar-Tass. Predictably, the query irked(惹恼)many in the room, including White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
    "I think there’s agreement on all sides of the political spectrum that violence is never, ever acceptable," Gibbs said from the podium. What happened in Tucson "was not in keeping with the important bedrock(基础的)values on which this country was founded," he said.
    Several other reporters scoffed(嘲笑)at the suggestion as well. But much more scoffing over the last week came from overseas, where foreign news agencies reacted to the Tucson tragedy with an element of saying "we could have predicted this".
    "The Tucson shooting, in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, is another tragic commentary on the poisonous political climate that has developed in the United States, allied to the country’s pervasive(普遍存在的)gun culture," read an editorial published in New Zealand. In the Sydney Morning Herald, journalist Rod Tiffen stated what seems like an obvious point missed over the past week: "There is a strong correlation between the number of guns in a society and deaths resulting from them."
    Ed Pilkington, a writer for the U.K.’s Guardian asked it more simply, "What is it with guns and America? Why does the most advanced democracy, which prides itself on being a bastion of reason and civilization in a brutal and ugly world, put up with this carnage in its own back yard?"
    Which raises the question, is Sitov right? Is occasional violent tragedy an unpleasant byproduct(副产品)of a free society? I walked out of the briefing room with Sitov, who appeared to realize the impact that his question had on the roomful of Americans. "It’s an obvious question and nobody asks that question," he told me through his thick Russian accent. "This is a cost that your country pays for freedom."
What do we learn from the first paragraph?

选项 A、The use of guns has become a hot topic in the United States now.
B、The U.S. is now the country with the highest rate of privately-owned guns.
C、People with mental disorder are banned to use guns in the U.S.
D、Many countries have followed America’s example in making their gun laws.

答案B

解析 根据题干中的the first paragraph将本题出处定位于首段。该段末句提到,世界上也没有任何一个国家的民众像美国民众这样持有如此众多的枪支,在美国,平均每百人拥有多达90支枪。由此可知,美国是世界上私人枪支拥有率最高的国家,故答案为B)。美国的枪支使用成为国外热议的话题,而非美国人热议的话题,故排除A)。由首段第2句可知,在美国精神不稳定的人可以轻易获得手枪,故排除C)。首句提到世界上大多数国家都一直对美国的枪支法案感到困惑,而非在制定枪支法案时效仿美国,故排除D)。
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