GMAT网络课堂阅读笔记-王昆嵩主讲[1]

Passage 1
Prior to 1975, union efforts to organize public sectorclerical workers, most of whom are women, were somewhat limited. The factors favoring unionization drives seem to have been either the presence of large numbers of workers, as in New York City, to make it worth the effort, or the concentration of small numbers in one or two locations, such as a hospital, to make it relatively² easy. Receptivity to unionization on the workers' part was also a consideration, but when there were large numbers involved or the clerical workers were the only unorganized group in a jurisdiction³, the multioccupational unions would often try to organize them regardless of the workers' initial receptivity. The strategic reasoning was based, first, on the concern that politicians and administrators⁵ might play off unionized against nonunionized workers, and, second, on the conviction that a fully⁶ unionized public work force meant power, both at the bargaining table and in the legislature. In localities where clerical workers were few in number, were scattered⁷ in several workplaces, and expressed no interest in being organized, unions more often than not ignored them in the pre-1975 period.
But since the mid-1970's, a different strategy has emerged. In 1977, 34 percent of government clerical workers were represented by a labor⁸ organization, compared with 46 percent of government professionals, 44 percent of government blue-collar workers, and 41 percent of government service workers. Since then, however, the biggest increases in public-sector¹ unionization have been among clerical workers. Between 1977and 1980, the number of unionized government workers in blue-collar and service occupations increased only about 1.5 percent, while in the white-collar occupations the increase was 20 percent and among clerical workers in particular, the increase was 22 percent.
What accounts for this upsurge in unionization among clerical workers? First, more women have entered the work force in the past few years, and more of them plan to remain working until retirement⁹ age. Consequently, they are probably more concerned than their predecessors¹⁰ were about job security and economic benefits. Also, the women's movement has succeeded in legitimizing the economic and political activism of women on their own behalf, thereby¹¹ producing a more positive attitude toward unions. The absence of any comparable increase in unionization among private-sector clerical workers, however, identifies the primary catalyst-the structural¹² change in the multioccupational public-sector unions themselves. Over the past twenty years, the occupational distribution in these unions has been steadily¹³ shifting from predominantly blue-collar to predominantly white-collar. Because there are far more women in white-collar jobs, an increase in the proportion of female members has accompanied the occupational shift and has altered union policy-making in favor of organizing women and addressing women's issues.

1.According to the passage, the public-sector workers who were most likely to belong to unions in 1977 were(A) professionals
(B) managers
(C) clerical workers
(D) service workers
(E) blue-collar workers

2.The author cites union efforts to achieve a fully unionized work force (line 13-19) in order to account for why
(A) politicians might try to oppose public-sector union organizing
(B) public-sector unions have recently focused on organizing women
(C) early organizing efforts often focused on areas where there were large numbers of workers
(D) union efforts with regard to public-sector clerical workers increased dramatically after 1975
(E) unions sometimes tried to organize workers regardless of the workers' initial interest in unionization

3. The author's claim that, since the mid-1970's, a new strategy has emerged in the unionization of public sector clerical workers would be strengthened if the author
(A) described more fully the attitudes of clerical workers toward labor unions
(B) compared the organizing strategies employed by private-sector unions with those of public-sector unions
(C) explained why politicians and administrator⁴ sometimes oppose unionization of clerical workers
(D) indicated that the number of unionized public-sector clerical workers was increasing even before the mid-1970's
(E) showed that the factors that favored unionization drives among these workers prior to 1975 have decreased in importance

4. According to the passage, in the period prior to 1975, each of the following considerations helped determine whether a union would attempt to organize a certain group of clerical workers EXCEPT
(A) the number of clerical workers in that group
(B) the number of women among the clerical workers in that group
(C) whether the clerical workers in that area were concentrated in one workplace or scattered over several workplaces
(D) the degree to which the clerical workers in that group were interested in unionization

(E) whether all the other workers in the same juries diction as that group of clerical workers were unionized

5. The author states that which of the following is a consequence of the women's movement of recent years?
(A) An increase in the number of women entering the work force
(B) A structural change in multioccupational public-sector unions
(C) A more positive attitude on the part of women toward unions
(D) An increase in the proportion of clerical workers that are women
(E) An increase in the number of women in administrative¹⁴ positions

6. The main concern of the passage is to
(A) advocate particular strategies for future efforts to organize certain workers into labor unions
(B) explain differences in the unionized proportions of various groups of public-sector workers
(C) evaluate the effectiveness of certain kinds of labor unions that represent public-sector workers
(D) analyzed¹⁵ and explain an increase in unionization among a certain category of workers
(E) describe and distinguish strategies appropriate to organizing different categories of workers

7. The author implies that if the increase in the number of women in the work force and the impact of the women's movement were the main causes of the rise in unionization of public-sector clerical workers, then
(A) more women would hold administrative positions in unions
(B) more women who hold political offices would have positive attitudes toward labor unions
(C) there would be an equivalent rise in unionization of private-sector clerical workers
(D) unions would have shown more interest than the have in organizing women
(E) the increase in the number of unionized public- sector clerical workers would have been greater than it has been

8. The author suggests that it would be disadvantageous to a union if
(A) many workers in the locality were not unionized
(B) the union contributed to political campaigns
(C) the union included only public-sector workers
(D) the union included workers from several jurisdictions¹⁶
(E) the union included members from only a few occupations

9. The author implies that, in comparison with working women today, women working in the years prior to the mid-1970's showed a greater tendency to
(A) prefer smaller workplaces
(B) express a positive attitude toward labor unions
(C) maximize job security and economic benefits
(D) side with administrators in labor disputes
(E) quit working prior of retirement age

1 sector
n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形
参考例句：
The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。 The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 relatively
adv.比较...地，相对地
参考例句：
The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。 The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 jurisdiction
n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权
参考例句：
It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。 Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

4 administrator
n.经营管理者，行政官员
参考例句：
The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。 He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

5 administrators
n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师
参考例句：
He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。来自辞典例句 Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。来自汉英文学 - 围城

6 fully
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。 They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 scattered
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。

8 labor
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。

9 retirement
n.退休，退职
参考例句：
She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。 I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 predecessors
n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身
参考例句：
The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。来自《简明英汉词典》 Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？来自《简明英汉词典》

11 thereby
adv.因此，从而
参考例句：
I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。 He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

12 structural
adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的
参考例句：
The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。 The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

13 steadily
adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地
参考例句：
The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。 Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

14 administrative
adj.行政的，管理的
参考例句：
The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。 He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

15 analyzed
v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析
参考例句：
The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。来自《简明英汉词典》 The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。来自《简明英汉词典》

16 jurisdictions
司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )；裁判权；管辖区域；管辖范围
参考例句：
Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。 James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。