阅读理解

YOU CAN'T DO IT EVEN IF IT HURTS NOBODY

　　Who do you think breaks the law in our society? If you believe that only tough guys commit crimes, you may have to think again．Unlike in the movies, we can't divide the world into bad guys and model citizens．Real life is much more complex．In the same way that diseases range from the common cold to fatal forms of cancer, crimes vary in degree．For example, smoking in an elevator will inconvenience people, but much less than threatening them with a gun．

　　In addition to breaking the law themselves, people tolerate various levels of crime．Why can we tolerate some crimes? It may be that, by seeing others do something, we accept it more easily．For instance, most people will find it easier to speed on a highway when everybody else is driving over the speed limit．When people celebrate a sports championship, if they see someone breaking store windows, they might start breaking windows themselves or even steal from the store．So the people around us influence how much law-breaking we can tolerate．

　　We must also wonder whether seeing violence on television or reading about it in the newspapers every day makes us tolerate crime more than we should．We become used to seeing blood on the news on television, or in full color in newspapers and magazines．Because we see thousands of dead people on TV, maybe we just try to ignore the situation behind the violence．If so many citizens tolerate violence and crime, or even commit crimes themselves, it may simply be because of the human mind．Our minds may not care about specific laws．Instead, our minds may have a system of values that usually prevents us from hurting other people to improve our own lives．Yet, when it comes to respecting the rights of a mass of anonymous(不知名的)individuals, we might not be so responsible．While most people would not steal a wallet containing ＄50，they may not mind cheating on taxes, because cheating on taxes does not hurt anyone person．It hurts society, but "society" remains an abstract(抽象的)idea that is not as real asa neighbor or a friend's friend．

　　When we realize that many people have misunderstandings of law-breaking, we could think it is surprising that so many people have a criminal record．How could we improve the level of honesty in our society? Would strict laws help make our society better? Probably not．Honesty will have to come from social pressure：in the family, at school, on the job, each and every one of us can encourage honesty by showing which behavior is unacceptable．And teaching respect should become everyone's responsibility．