All the students in this class passed the English exam ________ the exception of Li
A. on
B. in
C. for
D. with
Few would argue with Ford’s statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as “the entertainment industry” or “show business.”
The positive side of Henry Ford’s statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance (大量地) because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system crates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life.
The negative side of Henry Ford’s statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business—referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the fight to form. unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing—the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high—creates feelings of insecurity for many.
第26题:The United States is a typical country ________.
A. which encourages free trade at home and abroad
B. where people’s chief concern is how to make money
C. where all businesses are managed scientifically
D. which normally works according to the federal budget
Passage Two:Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.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. McGuire. 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 (赞许)“the industrial spirit-the great vital force of every nation,” On September 5 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.
第56题:Judging from the passage, McGuire was ________.
A. a moderate labor leader
B. an extreme-anarchist in the labor movement
C. a devoted socialist fighting against exploitation of man by man
D. a firm anti-capitalist demanding the elimination of wage slavery
What can we know about the present epidemic ---swine flu?
A. The genes of the flu virus come from pigs.
B. It will soon spread and cause a pandemic.
C. There has been further change in the genes of the viruses.
D. It is similar to the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919.