备战英语六级听力练习题第20期

 

Passage Three 

17.

A) They had lost their jobs as a result of the Industrial Revolution. 

B) They had been suffering from political and religious oppression. 

C) They wanted to flee from the widespread famine in Northern Europe. 

D) They wanted to make a fortune there by starting their own businesses.

18.

A) They might lose control of their members because of the increase in immigration. 

B) Their members might find it difficult to get along with the newcomers. 

C) The working condition of their members might deteriorate¹. 

D) Their members might lose their jobs to the newcomers.

19.

A) To impose restrictions² on further immigration. 

B) To improve the working conditions of immigrants. 

C) To set a minimum wage level for new immigrants. 

D) To put requirements on languages for newcomers.

20.

A) They were looked down upon by European immigrants. 

B) They had a hard time seeking equal job opportunities. 

C) They worked very hard to earn a decent living. 

D) They strongly opposed continued immigration.

答案及参考原文：

ADAC

After the early period of settlement, the first sharp increase in immigration took place in the 1830s and 1840s. This brought to America crafts people from northern Europe who lost employment in the Industrial Revolution(17), and then a great number of Irish people who fled from famine. German political refugees arrived shortly after. Many immigrants from northern and western Europe settled on farms in the Middle West. The Irish became construction labors⁴ on roads, bridges and railroads. In the 1880s, a tremendous tide of immigrants began to come in. This time, largely from southern and eastern Europe. To most Americans, these newcomers seemed far more strange than the early settlers. Their languages, customs and ways of life were very different from those of Americans. The newcomers moved into the poorest neighborhoods of the large cities. They tended to stay together and cling to their old ways. As they were accustomed to poverty, they were willing to work for very low wages. This made other workers, especially those in labor³ unions afraid that the immigrants would thus lower wage levels and take jobs away from them(18). Indeed, organized labor became one of the chief opponents of continued immigration. This opposition⁵ finally led to the passing of immigration laws in the 1920s which restricted further immigration(19). In 1965, these unfair laws were replaced by a new immigration act which granted equal opportunity to foreigners regardless of the place or origin. Asians, like Koreans and Vietnamese, then began to arrive. Many of these newcomers have worked very hard to establish themselves in their new land(20).

17. Why did northern European crafts people come to settle down in the United States?

18. What did the labor unions worry about?

19. What was the purpose of the immigration law passed in the 1920s?

20. What do we know from the passage about the Asian immigrants?

1 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。