Upper-Intermediate - Capital Punishment (D0496)

现在有些人胆子真大，为了一点小事就去抢劫、杀人。还好我们有死刑。
xiànzài yǒuxiē rén dǎnzi zhēn dà ，wèile yīdiǎn xiǎoshì jiù qù qiǎngjié 、shārén 。háihǎo wǒmen yǒu sǐxíng 。
Nowadays, some people have a lot of nerve. Over some trifle they will commit robbery or murder. Good thing we have the death penalty.

你怎么能这么说？死刑多么残酷！这种古老的刑罚，一点也不适合现在的社会，早该被废除了。其实大多数发达国家都在某种程度上废除了死刑，中国也该这样。
nǐ zěnme néng zhème shuō ？sǐxíng duōme cánkù ！zhèzhǒng gǔlǎo de xíngfá ，yīdiǎn yě bù shìhé xiànzài de shèhuì ，zǎo gāi bèi fèichú le 。qíshí dàduōshù fādáguójiā dōu zài mǒuzhǒng chéngdù shàng fèichú le sǐxíng ，Zhōngguó yě gāi zhèyàng 。
How can you say such a thing? The death penalty is so brutal. This kind of archaic punishment doesn't fit in at all with society today. It should have been abolished a long time ago. Actually, the vast majority of developed countries have to some extent abolished capital punishment--China should too.

荒唐！美国、日本还不保留着死刑？没有死刑，那些杀人放火的坏人就更无法无天了。到时候社会还有什么安定？老百姓还怎么过日子？
huāngtang ！Měiguó 、Rìběn hái bù bǎoliú zhe sǐxíng ？méiyǒu sǐxíng ，nàxiē shārén fànghuǒ de huàirén jiù gèng wúfǎwútiān le 。dào shíhou shèhuì hái yǒu shénme āndìng ？lǎobǎixìng hái zěnme guò rìzi ？
That's absurd. The United States and Japan still have capital punishment, don't they? Without the death penalty, those evildoers committing murder and arson would be even more lawless. When that happens what stability will there be in society? How will the average citizen be able to live?

话也不能这么说。我看过好多研究统计，都说死刑与犯罪的升降并不具有必然的关系。好多人犯罪是迫不得已，再说碰到冤案怎么办？白白死一个无辜的人？
huà yě bùnéng zhème shuō 。wǒ kàn guo hǎo duō yánjiū tǒngjì ，dōu shuō sǐxíng yǔ fànzuì de shēngjiàng bìngbù jùyǒu bìrán de guānxi 。hǎo duō rén fànzuì shì pòbùdéyǐ ，zàishuō pèngdào yuān'àn zěnme bàn ？báibái sǐ yī ge wúgū de rén ？
You can't say that. I've seen a lot of research statistics, and they all say that the death penalty isn't necessarily related to the crime rate. A lot of people commit crimes because they are compelled to. Furthermore, what about when you run into a mistaken conviction? Kill an innocent person for nothing?

你懂什么？惩罚特别严重的犯罪，死刑是无法替代的。对于那些特别严重的犯罪行为，冷血杀手不受到法律的惩罚，这公平吗？
nǐ dǒng shénme ？chéngfá tèbié yánzhòng de fànzuì ，sǐxíng shì wúfǎ tìdài de 。duìyú nàxiē tèbié yánzhòng de fànzuì xíngwéi ，lěngxiě shāshǒu bù shòudào fǎlǜ de chéngfá ，zhè gōngpíng ma ？
What do you know? For offenses with especially serious penalties, the death penalty is irreplaceable. With regard to those especially grave crimes, if cold-blooded killers don't receive the punishment of the law, is that just?

我们不能用这种报复的观念去看问题。所有的生命都是宝贵的，死刑违反人道主义原则。
wǒmen bùnéng yòng zhèzhǒng bàofù de guānniàn qù kàn wèntí 。suǒyǒu de shēngmìng dōu shì bǎoguì de ，sǐxíng wéifǎn réndàozhǔyì yuánzé 。
We can't look at this problem using that kind of a concept of retaliation. All life is precious--the death penalty violates the principles of humanitarianism.

你这是自相矛盾。被害人的生命也是宝贵的，凭什么被杀呢？再说了，中国这几年已经控制和减少死刑了，也改革了死刑的执行。这些还不够尊重生命？
nǐ zhè shì zìxiāngmáodùn 。bèihàirén de shēngmìng yě shì bǎoguì de ，píng shénme bèi shā ne ？zàishuō le ，Zhōngguó zhè jǐ nián yǐjīng kòngzhì hé jiǎnshǎo sǐxíng le ，yě gǎigé le sǐxíng de zhíxíng 。zhèxiē hái bùgòu zūnzhòng shēngmìng ？
You are contradicting yourself. The life of the victim is also precious, and he or she was killed for what? Besides, in the past few years China has already controlled and reduced the use of the death penalty, and has also reformed the implementation of the death penalty. Isn't this showing enough respect for life?

我们应该彻底废除死刑，这样也能让社会大众体会到关爱生命的原则。
wǒmen yīnggāi chèdǐ fèichú sǐxíng ，zhèyàng yě néng ràng shèhuì dàzhòng tǐhuì dào guān'ài shēngmìng de yuánzé 。
We should completely abolish the death penalty, in this way allowing society as a whole to appreciate the principles of concern and the value for life.

你少在这儿胡说八道。等哪天杀人放火的事发生在自己身上，你就知道死刑的必要了。
nǐ shǎo zài zhèr5 húshuōbādào 。děng nǎ tiān shārén fànghuǒ de shì fāshēng zài zìjǐ shēnshàng ，nǐ jiù zhīdào sǐxíng de bìyào le 。
You should talk a little less if you don't know what you're talking about. Wait until the day comes when murder or arson affects you personally, then you will realize the necessity of capital punishment.

Vocabulary

抢劫	qiǎngjié	to rob
残酷	cánkù	cruel
废除	fèichú	to abolish
荒唐	huāngtang	absurd
无法无天	wúfǎwútiān	lawless
迫不得已	pòbùdéyǐ	to have no choice
无辜	wúgū	innocent
惩罚	chéngfá	punishment
自相矛盾	zìxiāngmáodùn	to contradict oneself
胡说八道	húshuōbādào	to talk nonsense
剥夺	bōduó	to deprive
监禁	jiānjìn	to take into custody; to jail
坐牢	zuòláo	imprisoned
释放	shìfàng	to release
冤枉	yuānwang	to wrong someone
减刑	jiǎnxíng	to reduce a sentence
死缓	sǐhuǎn	stay of execution
无期徒刑	wúqītúxíng	life imprisonment
有期徒刑	yǒuqītúxíng	fixed term of imprisonment