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Comprehension check

The two editorials express different opinions about capital punishment.

Opinion A: Execution is a better form of punishment than life in prison.

Opinion B: Life in prison is a better form of punishment than execution.

Look at the main ideas below. Tick those which were used to support the opinion you read about in your editorial. Look at the text again to make sure that your answers are based on information from the reading.

_______ 1. Execution may cause an innocent person to die.

_______ 2. Prisoners are able to enjoy life, and this is not fair.

_______ 3. Not all people who kill are cruel.

_______ 4. Capital punishment is revenge.

_______ 5. A prisoner is no longer free.

_______ 6. People naturally want to live.

_______ 7. Racial prejudice affects capital punishment.

_______ 8. Prison can sometimes improve a person.

_______ 9. Execution may teach other people not to commit crimes.

_______ 10. Execution is more expensive than life imprisonment.

 

Match the main ideas you ticked in the previous exercise with the details below. Write the number of the main idea next to the detail.

___3___ a. Some murders are mistakes, caused by anger or fear.

_______ b. The government spends millions of tax dollars on execution decisions.

_______ c. Most people would rather go to prison than be executed.

_______ d. Caryl Chessman learned not to hate while in prison.

_______ e. The message of execution is that murderers will not be allowed to live.

_______ f. The government can make mistakes when it decides if a person is

guilty or not.

_______ g. Prisoners have the basic pleasures of eating and sleeping.

_______ h. Executing the murderer is a violent act.

3. Look back at the ideas you listed in the pre-reading task. Which ideas did you predict correctly? Discuss your predictions with your group.

When you have finished, find a partner from the other group and swap information about the opinions presented in the two editorials.

 

5. What kind of person wrote "Life in Prison Is Still Life: Why Should a Killer Live?" Look at the following list of qualities, and circle two or three you think best describe this person.

  • believes in forgiveness
  • cares about prisoners
  • believes in fairness
  • cares about victims
  • hopes to change people
  • wants to protect society

 

6. What kind of person wrote "Why Do We Kill People to Show That Killing People Is Wrong?" Look at the following list of qualities, and circle two or three you think best describe this person.

  • cares about prison workers
  • believes freedom is important
  • cares about prisoners' families
  • wants other countries to follow the United States
  • believes mistakes are unusual
  • hopes that people will change

/From North Star: reading and writing. Second edition. Laurie Barton, Carolyn Dupaquier Sardinas/

 

Writing 2

Look at the survey ‘Capital punishment in the USA’ conducted by Harris. Write a survey report describing some of the information it contains, and giving some possible explanation for the data.
The Harris Poll. Dec. 10-16, 2003. N=993 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3
“Do you believe in capital punishment, that is, the death penalty, or are you opposed to it?”
  Believe in it Opposed to it Not sure  
12/03  
7/01  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         
“Do you feel that executing people who commit murder deters others from committing murder, or do you think such executions don’t have much effect?”
  Deters others Not much effect Not sure  
12/03  
7/01  
 
 
 
 
 
         
“In general, would you like to see an increase or decrease in the number of convicted criminals who are executed, or no change?”
  Increase Decrease No change Not sure
12/03
7/01
         
“Do you think that innocent people are sometimes convicted of murder, or that this never happens?”
  Sometimes Never Not sure  
12/03  
7/01  
 
 
           

/http://www.pollingreport.com/crime.htm/

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1010

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