TPO托福阅读真题讲解（二）

Paragraph 4

The first generation to experience these changes did not adopt the new attitudes easily. The factory clock became the symbol of the new work rules. One mill worker who finally quit complained revealingly about "obedience to the ding-dong of the bell-just as though we are so many living machines." With the loss of personal freedom also came the loss of standing in the community. Unlike artisan workshops in which apprentices worked closely with the masters supervising them（与D选项表达意思矛盾）, factories sharply separated workers from management. Few workers rose through the ranks to supervisory positions（是C选项中的Opportunities for advancement的一种同义表达）, and even fewer could achieve the artisan's dream of setting up one's own business. Even well-paid workers sensed their decline in status.

4. In paragraph 4, the author includes the quotation from a mill worker in order to
　　○Support the idea that it was difficult for workers to adjust to working in factories
　　○To show that workers sometimes quit because of the loud noise made by factory machinery
　　○Argue that clocks did not have a useful function in factories
　　○Emphasize that factories were most successful when workers revealed their complaints

解析：注意本段中的前两句话The first generation to experience these changes did not adopt the new attitudes easily. The factory clock became the symbol of the new work rules.（经历这些变化的第一代工作无法很容易就能采取这些新态度。工厂中的钟表变成了新的工作秩序的象征。
　　然后，就是mill worker所发出的抱怨了。随后，With the loss of personal freedom also came the loss of standing in the community这句话又表现出个人自由的丧失意味着在社会中地位的丧失。这一切都说明了，第一代工人是多么地不适这种工厂环境。因此，答案应为：A。

5. All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 4 as consequences of the new system for workers EXCEPT a loss of
　　○Freedom　　○Status in the community
　　○Opportunities for advancement
　　○Contact among workers who were not managers
　　解析：看一下绿色阴影部分，可知本题应该选D。

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Paragraph 5

In this newly emerging economic order, workers sometimes organized to protect their rights and traditional ways of life. Craft workers such as carpenters, printers, and tailors formed unions, and in 1834 individual unions came together in the National Trades' Union. The labor movement gathered some momentum in the decade before the Panic of 1837, but in the depression that followed, labor's strength collapsed. During hard times, few workers were willing to strike* or engage in collective action. And skilled craft workers, who spearheaded the union movement, did not feel a particularly strong bond with semiskilled factory workers and unskilled laborers. More than a decade of agitation did finally bring a workday shortened to 10 hours to most industries by the 185O’s, and the courts also recognized workers' right to strike, but these gains had little immediate impact.

6. The phrase gathered some momentum in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　○Made progress　　○Became active　　○Caused changes　　○Combined forces

解析：题干中momentum意为“动力，冲力”。因此，gathered some momentum意为“聚集一些动力”，再看一下这句话后面的句子but（通常含有but的句子，在句义表达上都与前面表达的意思相反） in the depression that followed, labor's strength collapsed，由此可推知get momentum应该为collapsed的反义词。因此，答案应为A。

7. The word spearheaded in the passage is closest in meaning to
　　○Led　　○Accepted　　○Changed　　○Resisted

解析：注意一下本题中的动宾关系，And skilled craft workers, who spearheaded the union movement, did not feel a particularly strong bond with semiskilled factory workers and unskilled laborers。根据上文，从这句话中可知the union movement为应为一个人所领导的一次运动，因此，正确答案应为A。

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