2015年6月英语四级阅读练习及答案(4)
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Section C
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices markedA.,B., C. andD.. You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
An industrial society, especially one as centralized and concentrated as that of Britain, is heavily dependent on certain essential services: for instance, electricity supply, water, rail and road transport, the harbors. The area of dependency has widened to include removing rubbish, hospital and ambulance services, and, as the economy develops, central computer and information services as well. If any of these services ceases to operate, the whole economic system is in danger.
It is this economic interdependency of the economic system which makes the power of trade unions (工会)such an important issue. Single trade unions have the ability to cut off many countries' economic blood supply.
This can happen more easily in Britain than in some other countries, in part because the labor force is highly organized. About 55 percent of British workers belong to unions, compared to under a quarter in the United States.
For historical reasons, Britain's unions have tended to develop along trade (行业) and occupational lines, rather than on an industry-by-industry basis, which makes a wages policy, democracy in industry and the improvement of procedures for fixing wage levels difficult to achieve.
There are considerable strains and tensions in the trade union movement, some of them arising from their outdated and inefficient structure. Some unions have lost many members because of their industrial changes.
Others are involved in arguments about who should represent workers in new trades. Unions for skilled trades are separate from general unions, which means that different levels of wages for certain jobs are often a source of bad feelings between unions. In traditional trades which are being pushed out of existence by advancing technologies,unions can fight for their members' disappointing jobs to the point where the jobs of other union members are threatened or destroyed. The printing of newspapers both in the United States and in Britain has frequently been halted by the efforts of printers to hold on to their traditional highly-paid jobs.
Trade unions have problems of internal communication just as managers in companies do, problems which multiply in very large unions or in those which bring workers in very different industries together into a single general union. Some trade union officials have to be re-elected regularly; others are elected, or even appointed, for life. Trade union officials have to work with a system of "shop stewards" (工厂工人代表) in many unions, "shop stewards" being workers elected by other workers as their representatives at factory or work level.
56. Why is the trade union power crucial in Britain?
A. Because the economy is very interdependent.
B. Because the unions have been established a long time.
C. Because there are more unions in Britain than elsewhere.
D. Because there are many essential services offered by the unions.
57. Because of their out-of-date organization, some unions find it difficult to __________.
A. bargain for high enough wages
B. get new members to join
C. learn new technologies
D. change as industries change
58. Disagreements arise between unions because some of them__________.
A. try to win over members of other unions
B. ignore agreements
C. protect their own members at the expense of others
D. take over other unions' jobs
59. Why does the author compare the trade unions with managers in companies?
A. They are both influential in company affairs.
B. They both face problems of internal communication.
C. They both work with a system of "shop stewards".
D. They both work efficiently.
60. The title which best expresses the idea of the text would be __________.
A. British Trade Unions and Their Drawbacks
B. A Centralized and Concentrated Society
C. The Power of Trade Unions in Britain
D. The Structure of British Trade Unions
练习题:2015年6月英语四级高频词汇试题(七套)|选词填空练习题(八套)