单选题 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. 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 lawmaker's 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 feelings 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.
单选题 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
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。本文两处提及McGuire这个人物，但从该题选择项提供的信息考虑，根据第二段倒数第二句“With socialists demanding an end to 'wage slavery' and anarchists singing the praises of the virtues of dynamite, middle-of-the-roaders like Samuel Gompers and McGuire seemed attractively mild by comparison.”显然，与社会主义者和无政府主义者相比，McGuire属于中间道路者，也即温和派。所以A选项符合题意。
单选题 We can see from the first paragraph that the first Labor Day march ______.
  • A. immediately won nationwide support
  • B. involved workers from 30 states
  • C. was opposed by many factory owners
  • D. was organized by the UBCA
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。根据文章第一段倒数第二句“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...”可以看出，此游行遭到许多老板的反对，所以C项正确。A、B和D均未提及，应排除。
单选题 Which of the following is the key factor in the immediate approval of Labor Day as a national holiday?
  • A. The lawmakers' respect for the workers.
  • B. The worker's determination to have a holiday of their own.
  • C. The socialists' demands for thorough reform.
  • D. The politicians' fear of the workers' anger.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。本题要求判断“劳动日”立即被承认为全国性节日的原因。关键句为文章第二段第一句“The quick adoption of the scheme may have indicated less about the state lawmaker's respect for working people than about a fear of risking their anger.”(“劳动日”很快被采纳，更大程度上表明国家法律制定者害怕激起工人阶级的愤怒，并非体现他们对工人阶级的尊重。)
单选题 We learn from the passage that the establishment of Labor Day ______.
  • A. was accepted by most bosses as a compromise
  • B. marked a turning point in the workers' struggle for more rights
  • C. indicated the improvement of the workers' welfare
  • D. signaled the end of "wage slavery"
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。关键句为文章最后一句“One Can imagine practical capitalists seeing Labor Day as a bargain: A one-day party certainly cost them less than paying their workers decent wager.”(人们可以想象到注重实利的资本家把“劳动日”看成一种交易：给予工人一天的集会当然要比付给他们体面的工资划算得多。)所以A项最符合题意。
单选题 McGuire proposed Labor Day in order to ______.
  • A. draw people's attention to the striking contrast between the rich and the poor
  • B. make prominent the important role of the working class in society
  • C. win for the workers the right to shorter working hours
  • D. expose the exploitation of the workers by their bosses
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。关键句为文章第一段第四句“he proposed a holiday that would applaud 'the industrial spirit—the great vital force of every nation'”(他提出一个节日是要赞美“工业精神——每个国家的主力军”)，故B项符合题意。