2. 外语
  3. The picnics, speeches, and parades of today’ s Labor Day were all part of the first celebration, held in New York City in 1882.

The picnics, speeches, and parades of today’ s Labor Day were all part of the first celebration, held in New York City in 1882.

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问题     The picnics, speeches, and parades of today’ s Labor Day were all part of the first celebration, held in New York City in 1882. Its promoter was an Irish - American labor leader named Peter J. Mcgurie. A carpenter by trade, Mcguire had worked since the age of eleven, and in 1882 was president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners(UBCJ). Approaching the City’ s Central Labor Union that summer, he proposed a holiday that would applaud(~)"the industrial spirit--the great vital force of every nation," On September 5th his suggestion bore fruit, as an estimated 10,000 workers, many of them ignoring their bosses’ warnings ,left work to march from Union square up Fifth Avenue to 42nd Street. The event gained national attention, and by 1893 thirty states had made Labor Day an annual holiday.
    The quick adoption of the scheme may have indicated less about the state lawmakers’ respect for working people than about a fear of risking their anger. In the 1880s the United States was a land sharply divided between the immensely wealthy and the very poor. Henry George was accurate in describing the era as one of "progress and poverty." In a society in which factory owners rode in private Pullmans while ten-year-olds slaved in the mines, strong anti - capitalist feeling ran high. Demands for fundamental change were common throughout the labor press. With socialists demanding an end to "wage, slavery" and anarchists(无政府主义)singing the praises of the virtues of dynamite(炸药), middle -of- the roaders like Samuel. Gompers and Mcguire seemed attractively mild by comparison. One can imagine practical capitalists seeing Labor Day as a bargain: A one-day party certainly cost them less than paying their workers decent wages.
Which of the following is the key factor in the immediate approval of Labor Day as a national holiday?
选项 A、The lawmakers’ respect for the workers.
B、The workers’ determination to have a holiday of their own.
C、The socialists’ demands for thorough reform.
D、The politicians’ fear of the workers’ anger.
答案D
解析 本题问及同意劳动节为全国性节日的关键因素。根据文章第二句开头，“这个方案的迅速采纳与其说是显示州立法者对丁人的尊重，不如说是他们对工人们不断上升的愤怒的恐惧。”这里所说的立法者是各州议会的议员，当然都是政治家，所以D选项正确。选项A正好与文章的意思相反，错选A是没有读出less…than…结构。选项B“人们要有一个他们自己的节日的决定”在文章中没有提及。C“社会主义者要求彻底的改革”也不是文章所说的原因。
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大学英语四级

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