2、    On November 8，all flags in Finland were flown at half-mast(半旗)．People were showing their respect to the victims of a high school tragedy．The day before，an 18-year-old boy opened fire at his high school， killing seven other students and the principal before ending his own life.

   The first school shooting in Finland since 1989 stunned the nation where gun crime is rare and people enjoy a high standard of living．While the police are busy searching for the killer's motives，another issue is creating debate in the North European country――the right to carry a gun．

    Finland is one of a few developed Western countries that allow private possession of guns．The right to bear arms is deeply rooted in Finnish culture．Anyone older than 15 can buy a gun from certain shops，and gun clubs are popular places to hang out． The high school shooter was a member of the Helsinki Shooting Club，which has 1，500 members   

    Descendants(子孙)of hunters，Finns have survived by hunting and fishing for thousands of years．But today hunting is just done for entertainment．And its land，half of which is covered by forest，provides an ideal site for hunting．   

    In Finland，there are about 56 guns for every 100 people．That figure is higher than any other country in the world except for the United States and Yemen．In comparison with those two nations，however，Finland has largely avoided bloodshed caused by firearms，at least until last week．However，the recent event proved the need for stricter gun laws．   

    Petri Oinonen，a gun dealer，said the shooting did not surprise him．“It was only a question of when this was going to happen，not if it was going to happen．”

 

56．The underlined word “stunned” in paragraph 2 probably means         ．

  A．shocked    B．excited    C．announced   D．stopped

57．Which of the following statements is NOT true about Finland?

  A．There was a school shooting in Finland in 1989

  B．Finland has much bloodshed caused by firearms．

  C．The ancestors of Finnish people are mainly hunters

  D．Finland has the world's third rate of gun ownership．

58．According to Petri Oinonen，we can learn         ．

    A．the school shooting was really an unexpected event to him

    B．Finnish people were asking the question when this would happen again

    C．a disaster like this was sure to happen because of loose gun laws

    D．nobody knew whether this was going to happen again

59．What would be the best title for the text?

  A．School shooting：a disaster!

  B．Finns，think again about gun possession!

  C．Finland，a danger to the world!

  D．Finns，protect yourselves!