GMAT阅读资料第21篇
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2007-05-15 08:35 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood1 of Sleeping Car Porters, he began a ten-year battle to win recognition from the Pullman Company, the largest private employer of Black people in the United (5) States and the company that controlled the railroad industry's sleeping car and parlor2 service. In 1935 the Brotherhood became the first Black union recognized by a major corporation. Randolph's efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions and (10) toward themselves as an identifiable group; eventually, Randolph helped to weaken organized labor3's antagonism4 toward Black workers.

  In the Pullman contest Randolph faced formidable obstacles. The first was Black workers' understandable ( 15) skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership. An additional obstacle was the union that Pullman itself had formed, which weakened support among Black workers for an independent entity5.

  (20) The Brotherhood possessed6 a number of advantages, however, including Randolph's own tactical abilities. In 1928 he took the bold step of threatening a strike against Pullman. Such a threat, on a national scale, under Black leadership, helped replace the stereotype7 of the Black (25)worker as servant with the image of the Black worker as wage earner. In addition, the porters' very isolation8 aided the Brotherhood. Porters were scattered9 throughout the country, sleeping in dormitories in Black communities; their segregated10 life protected the union's internal (30) communications from interception11. That the porters were a homogeneous group working for a single employer with single labor policy, thus sharing the same grievances12 from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood and encour- aged13 racial identity and solidarity14 as well. But it was only (35) in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money eventually allowed the Brotherhood to become recognized as the porters' representative.
 Not content with this triumph, Randolph brought the (40) Brotherhood into the American Federation15 of Labor, where it became the equal of the Federation's 105 other unions. He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions16. Such restrictions were eventually found unconstitutional in 1944.

  1. According to the passage, by 1935 the skepticism of Black workers toward unions was

  (A) unchanged except among Black employees of railroad-related industries.

  (B) reinforced by the actions of the Pullman Company's union

  (C) mitigated17 by the efforts of Randolph

  (D) weakened by the opening up of many unions to Black workers.

  (E) largely alleviated18 because of the policies of the American Federation of Labor.

  2. In using the word "understandable" (line 14), the author most clearly conveys

  (A) sympathy with attempts by the Brotherhood between 1925 and 1935 to establish an independent union.

  (B) concern that the obstacles faced by Randolph between 1925 and 1935 were indeed formidable

  (C) ambivalence19 about the significance of unions to most Black workers in the 1920's.

  (D) appreciation20 of the attitude of many Black workers in the 1920's toward unions.

  (E) regret at the historical attitude of unions toward Black workers

3. The passage suggests which of the following about the response of porters to the Pullman Company's own union?

  (A) Few porters ever joined this union.

  (B) Some porters supported this union before 1935.

  (C) Porters, more than other Pullman employees, enthusiastically supported this union.

  (D) The porters' response was most positive after 1935.
    (E) The porters' response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions.

  4. The passage suggests that if the grievances of porters in one part of the United States had been different from those of porters in another part of the country, which of the following would have been the case?

  (A) It would have been more difficult for the Pullman Company to have had a single labor policy.

  (B) It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to control its channels of communication.

  (C) It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to uild its membership.

  (D) It would have been easier for the Pullman Company's union to attract membership.

  (E) It would have been easier for the Brotherhood to threaten strikes.

  5. The passage suggests that in the 1920's a company in the United States was able to

  (A) use its own funds to set up a union

  (B) require its employees to join the company's own union

  (C) develop a single labor policy for all its employees with little employee dissent21.

  (D) pressure its employees to contribute money to maintain the company's own union

  (E) use its resources to prevent the passage of federal legislation that would have facilitated the formation of independent unions.

  6. The passage supplies information concerning which of the following matters related to Randolph?

  (A) The steps he took to initiate the founding of the Brotherhood

  (B) His motivation for bringing the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor

  (C) The influence he had on the passage of legislation overturning race restrictions in 1944

  (D) The influence he had on the passage of legislation to bar companies from financing their own unions
      (E) The success he and the Brotherhood had in influencing the policies of the other unions in the American Federation of Labor



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 brotherhood 1xfz3o     
n.兄弟般的关系,手中情谊
参考例句:
  • They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
  • They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。
2 parlor v4MzU     
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅
参考例句:
  • She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
  • Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店?
3 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
4 antagonism bwHzL     
n.对抗,敌对,对立
参考例句:
  • People did not feel a strong antagonism for established policy.人们没有对既定方针产生强烈反应。
  • There is still much antagonism between trades unions and the oil companies.工会和石油公司之间仍然存在着相当大的敌意。
5 entity vo8xl     
n.实体,独立存在体,实际存在物
参考例句:
  • The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
  • As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体,公司必须纳税。
6 possessed xuyyQ     
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的
参考例句:
  • He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
  • He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。
7 stereotype rupwE     
n.固定的形象,陈规,老套,旧框框
参考例句:
  • He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
  • There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。
8 isolation 7qMzTS     
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离
参考例句:
  • The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
  • He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后,生活比较孤寂。
9 scattered 7jgzKF     
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
参考例句:
  • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。
10 segregated 457728413c6a2574f2f2e154d5b8d101     
分开的; 被隔离的
参考例句:
  • a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
  • The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。
11 interception wqSzGI     
n.拦截;截击;截取;截住,截断;窃听
参考例句:
  • Aerial photography can provide valuable information on precipitation, evapotraspiration, interception, and runoff. 航空摄影可提供有关降水量、蒸发蒸腾量、入渗和径流量的有价值的资料。
  • Light interception and distribution in hedgerow orchards with different alleyway widths is indicated in Fig. 56. 图56显示篱壁果园不同行间宽度的光能截取和分配的情况。
12 grievances 3c61e53d74bee3976a6674a59acef792     
n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 );苦衷;不满;牢骚
参考例句:
  • The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
14 solidarity ww9wa     
n.团结;休戚相关
参考例句:
  • They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
  • The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。
15 federation htCzMS     
n.同盟,联邦,联合,联盟,联合会
参考例句:
  • It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
  • Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。
16 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
17 mitigated 11f6ba011e9341e258d534efd94f05b2     
v.减轻,缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney's offer of a subsidy. 由于悉尼提供补助金,所以到那里的花费就减少了。 来自辞典例句
  • The living conditions were slightly mitigated. 居住条件稍有缓解。 来自辞典例句
18 alleviated a4745257ebd55707de96128297f486e1     
减轻,缓解,缓和( alleviate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • It is always completely alleviated by total gastrectomy. 全胃切除永远完全缓解症状。
  • Toxicity problem in manufacturing and storage might be alleviated by coating beryllium with aluminum. 但如果用铝包覆铍,则可避免加工过程中及储存期间的中毒问题。
19 ambivalence ixVzV     
n.矛盾心理
参考例句:
  • She viewed her daughter's education with ambivalence.她看待女儿的教育问题态度矛盾。
  • She felt a certain ambivalence towards him.她对他的态度有些矛盾。
20 appreciation Pv9zs     
n.评价;欣赏;感谢;领会,理解;价格上涨
参考例句:
  • I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
  • I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。
21 dissent ytaxU     
n./v.不同意,持异议
参考例句:
  • It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
  • He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。
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