单选题 German Chancellor(首相) Otto Von Bismarck may be most famous for his military and diplomatic talent, but his legacy(遗产) includes many of today"s social insurance programs. During the middle of the 19th century, Germany, along with other European nations, experienced an unprecedented rash of workplace deaths and accidents as a result of growing industrialization. Motivated in part by Christian compassion (怜悯) for the helpless as well as a practical political impulse to undercut the support of the socialist labor movement, Chancellor Bismarck created the world"s first workers" compensation law in 1884.
By 1908, the United States was the only industrial nation in the world that lacked workers" compensation insurance. America"s injured workers could sue tot damages in a court of law, but they still laced a number of tough legal barriers. For example, employees had to prove that their injuries directly resulted from employer negligence and that they themselves were ignorant about potential hazards in the workplace. The first state workers" compensation law in this country passed in 1911, and the program soon spread throughout the nation.
After World War Ⅱ, benefit payments to American workers did not keep up with the cost of living. In fact, real benefit levels were lower in the 1970s than they were in the 1940s, and in most states the maximum benefit was below the poverty level for a family of four. In 1970, President Richard Nixon set up a national commission to study the problems of workers" compensation. Two years later, the commission issued 19 key recommendations, including one that called for increasing compensation benefit levels to 100 percent of the states" average weekly wages.
In fact, the average compensation benefit in America has climbed from 55 percent of the states" average weekly wages in 1972 to 97 percent today. But, as most studies show, every 10 percent increase in compensation benefits results in a 5 percent increase in the numbers of workers who file for claims. And with so much more money floating in the workers" compensation system, it"s not surprising that doctors and lawyers have helped themselves to a large slice of the growing pie.

单选题 The world"s first workers" compensation law was introduced by Bismarck ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 根据第一段最后一句“Motivated in part by Christian compassion(怜悯) for the helpless as well as a practical political impulse to undercut the support of the socialist labor movement, Chancellor Bismarck created the world"s first worker"s compensation law in 1884.”得知Chancellor Bismarck是出于基督的怜悯(Christian compassion)和政治刺激(political impulse)的原因创立了世界上第一个工人赔偿法，所以选B项。

单选题 We learn from the passage that the process of industrialization in Europe ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】[解析] 此题用排除法。A项“工人日益反对使用机器生产”文中未提及；B项“导致了社会保障制度的发展”，B项错误在于，是工业发展中工伤事故的增加导致了社会保险制度的产生与发展，而非工业发展导致了社会保险制度的发展；C项“伴随着工伤事故的增加”，与文章中“experienced and unprecedented rash of growing industrialization”相符；D项“要求工人知道工厂中潜在的危险”与文中的“For example, employees had to prove that their injuries directly resulted from employer negligence and that they themselves were ignorant about potential hazards in the workplace.”并不符。

单选题 One of the problems the American injured workers faced in getting compensation in the early 19th century was that ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 根据第二段“America"s injured workers could sue for damages in a court of law, but they still faced a number of tough legal barriers. For example, employees had to prove that their injuries directly resulted from employer negligence and that they themselves were ignorant about potential hazards in the workplace.”可以判断出A项即是这段内容的改写；B项是After World War Ⅱ的情况，而题目问的是in the early 19th century的事；C项“美国不同的州有完全不同的补偿体制”文中未提及；D项是根据第二段第二句设计的=F扰项，D项中的have the courage不等于文中的face a number of tough legal barriers。

单选题 After 1972, workers" compensation insurance in the U. S. became more favorable to workers so that ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】[解析] 根据最后一段第二句“But, as most studies show, every 10 percent increase in compensation benefits results in a 5 percent increase in the numbers of workers who file for claims.”判断出D项符合。A项是根据笫三段中“...and in most states the maximum benefit levels was below...”设计的，与题目没有关系；B项和C项本身没错，但不是“workers" compensation insurance in the U.S. become more favorable to workers”的结果，注意题干中的so that表示结果。