I'm learning Python and the simple ways to handle lists is presented as an advantage. Sometimes it is, but look at this:

```
>>> numbers = [20,67,3,2.6,7,74,2.8,90.8,52.8,4,3,2,5,7]
>>> numbers.remove(max(numbers))
>>> max(numbers)
74

```

A very easy, quick way of obtaining the second largest number from a list. Except that the easy list processing helps write a program that runs through the list twice over, to find the largest and then the 2nd largest. It's also destructive - I need two copies of the data if I wanted to keep the original. We need:

```
>>> numbers = [20,67,3,2.6,7,74,2.8,90.8,52.8,4,3,2,5,7]
>>> if numbers[0]>numbers[1]):
...    m, m2 = numbers[0], numbers[1]
... else:
...    m, m2 = numbers[1], numbers[0]
...
>>> for x in numbers[2:]:
...    if x>m2:
...       if x>m:
...          m2, m = m, x
...       else:
...          m2 = x
...
>>> m2
74

```

Which runs through the list just once, but isn't terse and clear like the previous solution.

So: is there a way, in cases like this, to have both? The clarity of the first version, but the single run through of the second?