The Bill of Rights is really a list of promises by the government to the people. There is no similar list of constitutional obligations of the people to the government. Nevertheless, for a democracy to work, citizens must be willing to participate in the political process. When Americans work for a better environment, support political candidates, or speak out or organize on public issues, whether they dissent from established policy or support it, they are participating in the democratic process. Their opinions and actions are inputs to the political system. Freedom to dissent is an important aspect of democracy. In fact, it may be argued that one of the most important responsibilities Americans have is to exercise the rights protected by the Constitution, including those of free speech and dissent. Voting in elections, participating in political party activity and community programs, forming and expressing political opinions, either singly or through groupsall are necessary to the workings of a healthy political system. Many Americans, however, lament that the system is not responsive enough to their interests. They complain that politicians are only interested in getting reelected and lining their own pockets. Often, they are right. But sometimes those who feel this way fail to take as simple a step as registering to vote. Frequently it does seem that the political system is slow to respond to pressures for change, and that ordinary citizens have no way to express themselves to influence political leaders. Yet, at times, individual citizens have shown that it is not only possible to fight City Hall but, occasionally, to win. The author believes that expressing political opinions
a. helps keep our political system healthy and strong.
b. should not be encouraged in America. c. should only be done by approved groups.
d. adds to the problems of running our government.
Ques. 2The Bill of Rights is really a list of promises by the government to the people. There is no similar list of constitutional obligations of the people to the government. Nevertheless, for a democracy to work, citizens must be willing to participate in the political process. When Americans work for a better environment, support political candidates, or speak out or organize on public issues, whether they dissent from established policy or support it, they are participating in the democratic process. Their opinions and actions are inputs to the political system. Freedom to dissent is an important aspect of democracy. In fact, it may be argued that one of the most important responsibilities Americans have is to exercise the rights protected by the Constitution, including those of free speech and dissent. Voting in elections, participating in political party activity and community programs, forming and expressing political opinions, either singly or through groupsall are necessary to the workings of a healthy political system. Many Americans, however, lament that the system is not responsive enough to their interests. They complain that politicians are only interested in getting reelected and lining their own pockets. Often, they are right. But sometimes those who feel this way fail to take as simple a step as registering to vote. Frequently it does seem that the political system is slow to respond to pressures for change, and that ordinary citizens have no way to express themselves to influence political leaders. Yet, at times, individual citizens have shown that it is not only possible to fight City Hall but, occasionally, to win. In the third paragraph, the word lament means
a. regret.
b. applaud. c. respect.
d. appreciate.
Ques. 3The Bill of Rights is really a list of promises by the government to the people. There is no similar list of constitutional obligations of the people to the government. Nevertheless, for a democracy to work, citizens must be willing to participate in the political process. When Americans work for a better environment, support political candidates, or speak out or organize on public issues, whether they dissent from established policy or support it, they are participating in the democratic process. Their opinions and actions are inputs to the political system. Freedom to dissent is an important aspect of democracy. In fact, it may be argued that one of the most important responsibilities Americans have is to exercise the rights protected by the Constitution, including those of free speech and dissent. Voting in elections, participating in political party activity and community programs, forming and expressing political opinions, either singly or through groupsall are necessary to the workings of a healthy political system. Many Americans, however, lament that the system is not responsive enough to their interests. They complain that politicians are only interested in getting reelected and lining their own pockets. Often, they are right. But sometimes those who feel this way fail to take as simple a step as registering to vote. Frequently it does seem that the political system is slow to respond to pressures for change, and that ordinary citizens have no way to express themselves to influence political leaders. Yet, at times, individual citizens have shown that it is not only possible to fight City Hall but, occasionally, to win. In the first paragraph, the word dissent means
a. obey.
b. disagree.
c. distrust.
d. approve.
Ques. 4The Bill of Rights is really a list of promises by the government to the people. There is no similar list of constitutional obligations of the people to the government. Nevertheless, for a democracy to work, citizens must be willing to participate in the political process. When Americans work for a better environment, support political candidates, or speak out or organize on public issues, whether they dissent from established policy or support it, they are participating in the democratic process. Their opinions and actions are inputs to the political system. Freedom to dissent is an important aspect of democracy. In fact, it may be argued that one of the most important responsibilities Americans have is to exercise the rights protected by the Constitution, including those of free speech and dissent. Voting in elections, participating in political party activity and community programs, forming and expressing political opinions, either singly or through groupsall are necessary to the workings of a healthy political system. Many Americans, however, lament that the system is not responsive enough to their interests. They complain that politicians are only interested in getting reelected and lining their own pockets. Often, they are right. But sometimes those who feel this way fail to take as simple a step as registering to vote. Frequently it does seem that the political system is slow to respond to pressures for change, and that ordinary citizens have no way to express themselves to influence political leaders. Yet, at times, individual citizens have shown that it is not only possible to fight City Hall but, occasionally, to win. The main idea of this passage is
a. citizens must participate in order for democracy to work.
b. politicians are only interested in being reelected. c. our Constitutional rights are very important.
d. it is sometimes possible to fight City Hall and win.
Ques. 5All it takes is a few nightly news stories showing young bodies being wheeled out of schools on gurneys to convince the world that violence in our schools is increasing. Certainly, it is shocking when a couple of adolescents open fire in a school with semiautomatic weapons. It is shocking when a sixteen-year-old in Pearl, Mississippi, stabs his mother to death and then shoots two classmates to death and wounds several others. When adolescents are depicted on the evening news, it is often in the context of violence, particularly at schools. In fact, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, crime in the nation's schools has been decreasing since 1993. Victimization rates at schools have dropped from 48 crimes per 1,000 students to 43 crimes per 1,000 students. The fact is, only one-half of 1 percent of juveniles are arrested for violent crime in any given year today. School shootings are still extremely rare; they are not on the increase. In the 1992-1993 school year, there were fifty-five school-associated violent deaths. In the 2001-2002 school year, there were only four. Indeed, adolescents are not really killing other adolescents at an increasing rate. They rarely kill one another. Less than 3 percent of homicides in the United States involve an individual under the age of eighteen killing another person under eighteen. Nevertheless, Americans believe that juveniles are responsible for 43 percent of all homicides. In fact, they are responsible for only 9 percent. The Wall Street Journal took a poll a few years ago. Seventy-one percent of respondents believed that a killing was likely in their schools. In reality, the chances of that happening are one in a million. Perhaps as a result of a misguided perception about school violence, we are in an era of zero tolerance. Authorities seize not only weapons and illegal drugs at school, but also nail clippers, asthma inhalers, and headgear. Even though less than 1 percent of all violent incidents involving teen-agers occur on school grounds, authorities believe that zero tolerance is necessary. As a consequence, a large number of innocent schoolchildren are being accused of violating the rules. Sometimes, accusations border on the bizarre. In one case, a six-year-old was apprehended for bringing a weapon to school. The weapon was a plastic knife given to him by his grandmother so that he could spread peanut butter on his sandwich. The main purpose for writing this passage is to
a. present facts about drug abuse among adolescents.
b. argue that school violence isn't as bad as described in the media. c. praise the news media for providing accurate reporting.
d. discuss methods of controlling violence in schools.
Ques. 6All it takes is a few nightly news stories showing young bodies being wheeled out of schools on gurneys to convince the world that violence in our schools is increasing. Certainly, it is shocking when a couple of adolescents open fire in a school with semiautomatic weapons. It is shocking when a sixteen-year-old in Pearl, Mississippi, stabs his mother to death and then shoots two classmates to death and wounds several others. When adolescents are depicted on the evening news, it is often in the context of violence, particularly at schools. In fact, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, crime in the nation's schools has been decreasing since 1993. Victimization rates at schools have dropped from 48 crimes per 1,000 students to 43 crimes per 1,000 students. The fact is, only one-half of 1 percent of juveniles are arrested for violent crime in any given year today. School shootings are still extremely rare; they are not on the increase. In the 1992-1993 school year, there were fifty-five school-associated violent deaths. In the 2001-2002 school year, there were only four. Indeed, adolescents are not really killing other adolescents at an increasing rate. They rarely kill one another. Less than 3 percent of homicides in the United States involve an individual under the age of eighteen killing another person under eighteen. Nevertheless, Americans believe that juveniles are responsible for 43 percent of all homicides. In fact, they are responsible for only 9 percent. The Wall Street Journal took a poll a few years ago. Seventy-one percent of respondents believed that a killing was likely in their schools. In reality, the chances of that happening are one in a million. Perhaps as a result of a misguided perception about school violence, we are in an era of zero tolerance. Authorities seize not only weapons and illegal drugs at school, but also nail clippers, asthma inhalers, and headgear. Even though less than 1 percent of all violent incidents involving teen-agers occur on school grounds, authorities believe that zero tolerance is necessary. As a consequence, a large number of innocent schoolchildren are being accused of violating the rules. Sometimes, accusations border on the bizarre. In one case, a six-year-old was apprehended for bringing a weapon to school. The weapon was a plastic knife given to him by his grandmother so that he could spread peanut butter on his sandwich. Certainly, it is shocking when a couple of adolescents open fire in a school with semiautomatic weapons. This sentence is a statement of
a. opinion.
b. fact.
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