In each of the past five years, Barraland's prison population has increased. Yet, according to offic...

题目信息

In each of the past five years, Barraland's prison population has increased. Yet, according to official government statistics, for none of those years has there been either an increase in the number of criminal cases brought to trial, or an increase in the rate at which convictions have been obtained. Clearly, therefore, the percentage of people convicted of crimes who are being given prison sentences is on the increase.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

A:In Barraland the range of punishments that can be imposed instead of a prison sentence is wide.

B:Over the last ten years, overcrowding in the prisons of Barraland has essentially been eliminated as a result of an ambitious program of prison construction.

C:Ten years ago, Barraland reformed its criminal justice system, imposing longer minimum sentences for those crimes for which a prison sentence had long been mandatory.

D:Barraland has been supervising convicts on parole more closely in recent years, with the result that parole violations have become significantly less frequent.

E:The number of people in Barraland who feel that crime is on the increase is significantly greater now than it was five years ago.

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正确答案： C:Ten years ago, Barraland reformed its criminal justice system, imposing longer minimum sentences for those crimes for which a prison sentence had long been mandatory.

过去五年的每一年，B的囚犯（关到监狱里去了）人数在增长。然而根据官方统计，这些年中刑事案件的审讯量（总的案件）和最终被定罪（定罪包括赔偿啊假释啊进监狱啊啥的）的比率都没有提高。所以，进监狱的罪犯（即囚犯）的百分比在增加。

他的逻辑就是每年违法的人恒定，但是在监狱的人每年都在增长，所以判徒刑（即进监狱）的人占总违法人的比例增加了。

逻辑关系：

因为：监狱里犯人数量每年在增长，而总犯罪量每年不变

所以：被判徒刑的罪犯的比例增加。

削弱：要找一个选项能解释为什么不是由于罪犯比例增加导致的监狱犯人人数增加

A.可免于徒刑的惩罚的范围很广。不能解释为什么监狱人多

B.一个很牛的监狱建设计划致使监狱人过多的情况被消除。未能解释为什么人多了。

C.司法系统改革，加长了有期徒刑的最小年限（说明囚徒要服刑的时间多了，每年新囚徒人数不变，自然监狱里囚犯多了）

D.近年管理假释犯人严格，导致假释违规的现象不频

笔记