As rules, laws are people’s rights and responsibilities toward society. Laws are agreed on by society and made official by governments.
Some persons look on laws with fear, hatred, or annoyance. Laws seem to limit people’s freedom to do many things they would like to do. Though laws may prevent us from doing things we wish to do at the moment, laws make everyone’s life safer and more pleasant. Without laws we could not hold on to our property; we could not go to bed at night expecting to wake up in the morning and find that we had not been robbed; no stores in which we buy food, clothes, and other necessities could stay open and sell to us. Our banks would not be safe places to keep our money.
Social life would be impossible without laws to control the way people treat one another. It is not the laws that should be feared but the trouble that comes to everyone when laws are broken. Once this is understood, a citizen will not fear or hate the law. Understanding the need for good laws and the evil results of breaking laws is the first requirement of good citizenship and government.
Philosophers once believed that in prehistoric time people lived without laws in a “state of nature”. People were free to do as they pleased unless someone stronger stopped them by force. As a result, life became so dangerous and unsafe that leaders had to create laws to protect life and property.
This is no longer believed to be true. Scholars now think that as soon as people began living in small groups, they worked out rules for getting along with one another. In time everyone accepted and supported the rules. Manners, customs and beliefs controlled the living habits and behavior of the group. Such rules and habits of life are called folkways.
Folkways are probably the real meaning of human laws, as well as of religion, morals, and education. As life became more complex, folkways became more complete guides to living. After thousands of years, some of the important folkways were put into writing as the earlier laws. And as life grew more and more complicated with faster transportation and the rise of modern industry and big cities, more human acts and interests had to be ruled by law. This led to a great increase in the number of laws.
But we know that unless laws are enforced, they cannot protect us. Poorly enforced laws invite crime and violence. So we agree that the best protection against crime is planned social change and law reform -- to reduce the causes of crime and to encourage people to obey the laws. Such a solution would join a sound system of law enforcement with forces working to prevent crime. To attain this goal, all citizens must understand the need for good laws and for their enforcement.
【小题1】Some persons look on laws with fear, hatred, or annoyance, because_____.A．they can’t do whatever they want toB．they feel it unnecessary to have lawsC．laws only protect those who worked out themD．laws and rules are too complicated to understand【小题2】Which of the following statement is NOT TRUE?A．Without laws we may fail to hold on to our propertyB．In prehistoric time people lived happily without laws in a “state of nature”.C．Human laws, as well as of religion, morals, and education, are believed to originate from Folkways.D．Good citizens and government should be aware of the need for good laws and the evil results of breaking laws【小题3】A sound system of law enforcement is necessary because_____.A．some citizens fear or hate the law.B．poorly enforced laws cause crime and violence.C．we need someone stronger to stop crime by force.D．the evil results of breaking laws are getting fewer and fewer .【小题4】 What’s the best title of this passage?A．The Origin of LawsB．Enforcement of LawsC．Leaders and LawsD．Laws and rules.
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