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　　If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.

　　There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.

　　At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.

　　In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.

　　Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.

　　As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.

　　John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.

　　文章出處：

　　http://www.economist.com/node/18359864

　　這是出自經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人雜志2011年3月11號(hào)的一篇文章，題為：

　　Enemies of progress ：The biggest barrier to public- sector reform are the unions

　　36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that

　　從第一段能推出什么

　　[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.

　　Teamsters依然有大量的會(huì)員

　　[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.

　　Jimmy Hoffa曾經(jīng)是一名公務(wù)員

　　[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.

　　工會(huì)已經(jīng)增加了其公共行業(yè)的會(huì)員

　　[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.

　　政府已經(jīng)提升了其同工會(huì)會(huì)員之間的關(guān)系。

　　解析：段落推理題 優(yōu)先對(duì)應(yīng)主題和轉(zhuǎn)折;但是都沒有，只能逐個(gè)排除：

　　[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.

　　Teamsters依然有大量的會(huì)員

　　文中沒有提及

　　[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.

　　Jimmy Hoffa曾經(jīng)是一名公務(wù)員

　　he would probably represent civil servant他可能會(huì)代表公務(wù)員，并不意味著他是公務(wù)員。

　　[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.

　　工會(huì)已經(jīng)增加了其公共行業(yè)的會(huì)員

　　only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do.

　　現(xiàn)在有36%確實(shí)增加了。正解!

　　[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.

　　政府已經(jīng)提升了其同工會(huì)會(huì)員之間的關(guān)系。

　　沒有提及政府和工會(huì)會(huì)員之間的關(guān)系排除。

　　37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?

　　根據(jù)第二段，下面那個(gè)答案是正確的

　　[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.

　　公共行業(yè)的工會(huì)在采取行動(dòng)是會(huì)更加謹(jǐn)慎

　　[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.

　　公共行業(yè)的工會(huì)會(huì)員需要教育

　　[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.

　　工黨同公共行業(yè)的工會(huì)長(zhǎng)期斗爭(zhēng)

　　[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.

　　公共行業(yè)的工會(huì)很少由于他們的行為而惹麻煩。

　　解析：細(xì)節(jié)題中的which 題，只能一個(gè)個(gè)排除：

　　先看[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.

　　公共行業(yè)的工會(huì)會(huì)員需要教育

　　文中說到了Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree.但是并沒有說需要教育。

　　再看[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.

　　工黨同公共行業(yè)的工會(huì)長(zhǎng)期斗爭(zhēng)

　　Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism.

　　選項(xiàng)和原文間的表述是相反的。

　　再看[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.

　　公共行業(yè)的工會(huì)很少由于他們的行為而惹麻煩。

　　First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences.

　　首先他們可以罷工而不遭受后果。

　　同義替換成功。

　　最后看[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.

　　公共行業(yè)的工會(huì)在采取行動(dòng)是會(huì)更加謹(jǐn)慎

　　這是一個(gè)很強(qiáng)烈的干擾項(xiàng)，很多同學(xué)會(huì)想對(duì)啊不遭受后果就是由于他們謹(jǐn)慎啊，但是文中并沒有提到工會(huì)很謹(jǐn)慎，這就是KK在課上常常講到的：

　　原文----選項(xiàng)A----選項(xiàng)B

　　最后答案只能選A而不能選B;B 為未提及選項(xiàng)NOT GIVEN!

　　38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is

　　從第四段可以推知公共行業(yè)的收入

　　[A] illegally secured.

　　非法的安全

　　[B] indirectly augmented.

　　間接的增加了

　　[C] excessively increased.

　　過度的增加了

　　[D]fairly adjusted.

　　公平的調(diào)整了

　　解析：細(xì)節(jié)題 對(duì)應(yīng)keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.保持收入小幅上漲，但是增加假期特別是已經(jīng)很慷慨的補(bǔ)助了。

　　主要是一個(gè)單詞大家不認(rèn)識(shí)augmented出題人開始耍無賴了，考研詞匯大綱中并無此單詞，不過根據(jù)另外一個(gè)副詞是可以推出答案的。

　　39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions

　　威斯康辛州的工會(huì)的例子表明工會(huì)

　　[A]often run against the current political system.

　　通常和現(xiàn)行的政治系統(tǒng)相違背

　　[B]can change people’s political attitudes.

　　能夠改變?nèi)藗兊恼�治態(tài)度

　　[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.

　　可能是公共領(lǐng)域改革的障礙

　　[D]are dominant in the government.

　　受到政府的主導(dǎo)

　　解析：例證題 找觀點(diǎn) Reform has been vigorously opposed;之后的例子就應(yīng)該圍繞改革來講。

　　40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of

　　John Donahue對(duì)于公共行業(yè)系統(tǒng)的他的態(tài)度是：

　　[A]disapproval.

　　不贊同

　　[B]appreciation.

　　欣賞

　　[C]tolerance.

　　容忍

　　[D]indifference.

　　漠不關(guān)心

　　解析：局部態(tài)度題，在轉(zhuǎn)折的地方but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America出現(xiàn)bigger problem 表明了態(tài)度為disapproval.

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