賭博-Gambling
Gambling
Gambling is actually playing games of chance, such as cards, for money. People regard gambling as wrong, although at first sight it is difficult to show it is wrong. It is true that in a game of chance, one of the parties must lose money, however, the gain of the other cannot be called robbery since both parties willingly agree to run the risk.
Perhaps a comparison of gambling with dueling will help us see why gambling is evil. In a duel, as in a game of chance,both parties willingly agree to run a risk. But in civilized countries, duelinglis a crime because law and order in the state wil break down if every citizen can take the law into his own hands and avenge an injury himself. Gambling is condemned for the same reason: the effect of gambling is injurious not only to the individual but also to society.
The evils of gambling are in fact many. It discourages habits of industry by holding out before men the hope of getting rich quickly without work. Besides this, it often becomes a habit which can throw a man and his family into misery. Moreover, it often ends up in theft and robbery, even in crimes of violence. Therefore, it must be regarded as a social evil.
[點評]
作者在第一段里告訴我們什么是賭博，在第二段里將賭博與決斗作了比較，說明它是犯罪，在第三段里講述了賭博帶來的后果。文章思路清楚、明確，比喻恰當、貼切，語言明白、易懂。
[參考譯文]
賭博
賭博就是為了錢而玩風(fēng)險游戲，比如玩紙牌。盡管，乍一看也看不出賭博有什么不正當之處，但人們還是把賭博看作是不正當之事。事實正是如此：在風(fēng)險游戲中，一方肯定要輸錢，而贏的一方也不能叫做強盜，因為雙方都情愿冒這個險。
將賭博和決斗做一比較也許會使我們明白為什么說賭博是罪惡。在一場決斗中，和一場風(fēng)險游戲中一樣，雙方都甘心情愿冒險。但是在文明國家中，決斗就是犯罪。因為如果每個公民都將法律掌握在自己的手中，自己去報仇，那么國家的法律和秩序就會崩潰。賭博被認為是不正當?shù)囊彩浅鲇谕瑯拥脑颍嘿�博造成的后果不僅對個人是有害的，而且對社會也是有害的。
賭博的罪惡之處其實很多。它在人們面前展現(xiàn)出可以不勞動而快速致富的希望，從而使人們想丟掉勤勞奮斗的好習(xí)慣。除此之外，它還經(jīng)常使人家破人亡。還有，它總是帶給人的結(jié)局是：偷盜、搶劫、甚至暴力犯罪。所以，我們必須將它看作是一種對社會有極大壞處的因素。