ChinesePod
@ 40496 Capital Punishment
A 現在有些人膽子真大，為了一點小事就去搶劫、殺人。還好我們有死刑。
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.
B 你怎麼能這麼說？死刑多麼殘酷！這種古老的刑罰，一點也不適合現在的社會，早該被廢除了。其實大多數發達國家都在某種程度上廢除了死刑，中國也該這樣。
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 the 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.
A 荒唐！美國、日本還不保留著死刑？沒有死刑，那些殺人放火的壞人就更無法無天了。到時候社會還有什麼安定？老百姓還怎麼過日子？
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?
B 話也不能這麼說。我看過好多研究統計，都說死刑與犯罪的升降並不具有必然的關係。好多人犯罪是迫不得已，再說碰到冤案怎麼辦？白白死一個無辜的人？
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?
A 你懂什麼？懲罰特別嚴重的犯罪，死刑是無法替代的。對於那些特別嚴重的犯罪行為，冷血殺手不受到法律的懲罰，這公平嗎？
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?
B 我們不能用這種報復的觀念去看問題。所有的生命都是寶貴的，死刑違反人道主義原則。
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.
A 你這是自相矛盾。被害人的生命也是寶貴的，憑什麼被殺呢？再說了，中國這幾年已經控制和減少死刑了，也改革了死刑的執行。這些還不夠尊重生命？
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?
B 我們應該徹底廢除死刑，這樣也能讓社會大眾體會到關愛生命的原則。
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.
A 你少在這兒胡說八道。等哪天殺人放火的事發生在自己身上，你就知道死刑的必要了。
nǐ shǎo zài zhèr 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.
Key Vocabulary
搶劫 qiǎngjié
殘酷 cánkù
廢除 fèichú
荒唐 huāngtang
無法無天 wúfǎwútiān
迫不得已 pòbùdéyǐ
無辜 wúgū
懲罰 chéngfá
自相矛盾 zìxiāngmáodùn
胡說八道 húshuōbādào
Supplementary Vocabulary
剝奪 bōduó
監禁 jiānjìn
坐牢 zuòláo
釋放 shìfàng
冤枉 yuānwang
減刑 jiǎnxíng
死緩 sǐhuǎn
無期徒刑 wúqītúxíng
有期徒刑 yǒuqītúxíng
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