Add Littleton,Colorado,to the list of cities dazed with grief after a school slaughter.Two students

shot and killed 12 other students and a teacher before taking their own lives.The massacre was the largest in the history of this nation.This type of crime didn't exist 10 years ago.

Americans should stop acting surprised that these shooting happen in "nicer" neighborhoods.That's the only place they happen.None of the recent school massacres took place at an inner-city campus; they all occurred in smaller towns or suburbs.These killers haven't been from impoverished or extremely violent families.They don't appear to have been picked on(挨骂受罚) any worse than kids have been for generations.They chose alienation and destruction,and they found the tools to carry out their hate-filled plan.

Do not blame schools for these massacres.Schools simply take what they are sent.Question the killers' parents.The parents are supposed to teach their children respect and empathy for others' lives.Parents should help their offspring learn to handle taunt or conflict without resorting to violence.

All concerned adults should take a youth's threat to shoot someone as seriously as airport security guards take jokes about bombs.Students must be encouraged to tell teachers if a classmate threatens or jokes about violence.Administrators at schools around the country need to emphasize they will take such reports seriously,and that they will not identify any student who comes forward with such a report.

More gun regulations probably won't stop these shootings,but gun owners and sellers must take more responsibility for keeping weapons away from young people.Gun owners should keep their guns unloaded,locked up and hidden away.Most car owners don't leave their keys in the car even when they park in their own garage; gun owners should be at least as careful with weapons.

The federal government can't solve this problem.Schools alone can't solve it.More guns won't solve it.Americans must consciously create a culture that makes violence unacceptable.Parents need to stop allowing their children's minds to be polluted with violence.News media need to show more restraint and thought about how and what they report.

The Colorado massacre is a national tragedy.More's the pity if Americans do not stop,reflect and vow to make it the last school massacre.

1.One common feature of all the recent school massacres is that ______.

A) they have all been carefully planned by hateful youngsters

B) the killers have all failed to passed their exams

C) they all occur in places that appear to be all right

D) the killers are all from disadvantaged families

2.Children are less likely to become killers if ______.

A) their parents succeed in teaching them respect and empathy for others' lives

B) they study hard in school and get high scores

C) teachers stop telling meaningless jokes in class

D) they follow the rules set by administrators at schools around the country

3.Who does the author think should take the main responsibility for campus shootings

A) School authorities.

B) The federal government.

C) News media.

D) The killers' parents.

4.What is the most effective way to prevent school massacre from happening again

A) Reinforcing stricter laws and regulations.

B) Introducing security guards onto campus.

C) Creating a culture that makes violence unacceptable.

D) Keeping weapons away from young people.

5.From the passage we can infer that ______.

A) there were a lot of school massacres in inner-cities 10 years ago

B) many people turn a blind eye to school massacre

C) a youth's joke about violence is often ignored by other people

D) most gun owners like to leave their guns in their cars