英語(yǔ)四級(jí)基礎(chǔ)閱讀訓(xùn)練 Text 11

Text 11

Adam Smith, writing in the 1770s, was the first person to see the importance of the division of labor and to explain part of its advantages. He gives as an example the process by which pins were made in England.

One man draws out the wire; another strengthens it; a third cuts it; a fourth points it; a fifth grinds it at the top to prepare it to receive the head. To make the head requires two or three operations. To put it on is a separate operation, to polish the pins is another. And the important business of making pins is, in this manner, divided into about eighteen operations, which in some factories are all performed by different people, though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them.

Ten men, Smith said, in this way, turned out twelve pounds of pins a day or about 4,800 pins per worker. But if all of them had worked separately and independently without division of labor, none of them could have made twenty pins in a day and perhaps not even one.

There can be no doubt that division of labor is an efficient way of organizing work. Fewer people can make more pins. Adam Smith saw this but he also took it for granted that division of labor is in itself responsible for economic growth and development and that it accounts for the difference between expanding economies and those that standing still. But division of labor adds nothing new; it only enables people to produce more of what they already have.

1.According to the passage, Adam Smith was the first person to_______.

A.take advantage of the division of labor

B.introduce the division of labor into England

C.understand the effects of the division of labor

D.explain the causes of the division of labor

2.Adam Smith saw that the division of labor_______.

A.enabled each worker to make pins more quickly and more cheaply

B.increased the possible output per worker

C.increased the number of people employed in factories

D.improved the quality of pins produced

3.Adam Smith mentioned the number 4,800 in order to_______.

A.show the advantages of the division of labor

B.show the advantages of the old craft system

C.emphasize how powerful the individual worker was

D.emphasize the importance of increased production

4.According to the writer, Adam Smith's mistake was in believing that division of labor_______.

A.was an efficient way of organizing work

B.was an important development in methods of production

C.certainly led to economic development

D.increased the production of existing goods

5.Which of the following could serve as an appropriate title for the passage?

A.Adam Smith, the English Economist

B.The Theory of Division of Labor

C.Division of Labor, an Efficient Way of Organizing Work

D.Adam Smith, the Last Discoverer of Division of Labor

長(zhǎng)難例句分析

［長(zhǎng)難例句］Adam Smith saw this but he also took it for granted that division of labor is in itself responsible for economic growth and development and that it accounts for the difference between expanding economies and those that standing still.

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句是兩個(gè)并列的句子連在一起。Adam Smith saw this是第一個(gè)句子。第二個(gè)句子則是but引出的轉(zhuǎn)折部分，其中he是主語(yǔ)，took it for granted是謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞，it是形式賓語(yǔ)，而真正的賓語(yǔ)是后面由that引導(dǎo)的兩個(gè)并列從句。第一個(gè)從句是主系表結(jié)構(gòu)，主語(yǔ)division of labor，系動(dòng)詞is，in itself作狀語(yǔ)，表語(yǔ)則是responsible for economic growth and development；第二個(gè)從句是主謂賓結(jié)構(gòu)，it作主語(yǔ)，謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞accounts for，賓語(yǔ)是the difference，而between expanding economies and those that standing still作后置定語(yǔ)，其中還有一個(gè)由that引導(dǎo)的定語(yǔ)從句修飾those。

［參考譯文］亞當(dāng)·斯密看到這一點(diǎn)，但他理所當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為勞動(dòng)分工是經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)和發(fā)展的根本原因，而且可以說(shuō)明擴(kuò)張的經(jīng)濟(jì)和停滯不前的經(jīng)濟(jì)之間存在的不同。

［長(zhǎng)難例句］There can be no doubt that division of labor is an efficient way of organizing work.

［結(jié)構(gòu)分析］本句是there be結(jié)構(gòu)，no doubt作表語(yǔ)，that引導(dǎo)的從句是no doubt的同位語(yǔ)從句。從句中主語(yǔ)是division of labor，表語(yǔ)是an efficient way of organizing work。

［參考譯文］勞動(dòng)分工無(wú)疑是一種組織工作的有效方式。

全文參考譯文

18世紀(jì)70年代亞當(dāng)·斯密開始寫作，他是最先看到勞動(dòng)分工的重要性并解釋了其優(yōu)點(diǎn)的人。他用英國(guó)大頭針的生產(chǎn)過(guò)程這個(gè)例子對(duì)其進(jìn)行了說(shuō)明。

一人拉出鐵絲；另一人拉緊；第三個(gè)人把它割斷；第四個(gè)人把它弄尖；第五個(gè)人在它的一端打磨，這樣可以讓它準(zhǔn)備好接頭。制作針頭需要兩至三道工序。把頭安上是一道單獨(dú)的工序，磨光這些針是另一道工序。照這樣，制作大頭針的工作被分成大約18道工序，在有些工廠都是由不同的工人分別完成的，雖然在其他的廠家同一個(gè)人有時(shí)要完成兩或三道工序。

斯密說(shuō)，10個(gè)人用這樣的方法一天可以生產(chǎn)12磅大頭針，即大約每名工人生產(chǎn)4800個(gè)。但是若全部的工人單獨(dú)工作而不進(jìn)行勞動(dòng)分工的話，一天之中，沒(méi)有人可以制作出20個(gè)大頭針：甚至有可能一個(gè)都沒(méi)有。

勞動(dòng)分工無(wú)疑是一種組織工作的有效方式。更少的人可以制作更多的大頭針。亞當(dāng)·斯密看到這一點(diǎn)，但他理所當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為勞動(dòng)分工是經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)和發(fā)展的根本原因，并且可以說(shuō)明擴(kuò)張的經(jīng)濟(jì)和停滯不前的經(jīng)濟(jì)之間存在的不同。但是勞動(dòng)分工并未增添新的東西，它只是讓人們能夠生產(chǎn)出更多他們已經(jīng)有的產(chǎn)品來(lái)。

題目答案與解析

1.按照本篇文章，亞當(dāng)·斯密是第一個(gè)_________ 的人。

A.利用勞動(dòng)分工　　　　B.把勞動(dòng)分工引入英國(guó)

C.理解勞動(dòng)分工作用　　D.解釋勞動(dòng)分工由來(lái)

【答案】C

【解析】本題的依據(jù)是文章第一段的第一句...was the first person to see the importance of the division of labor and to explain part of its advantages，C項(xiàng)中的understand就等于原文中的see，因此C項(xiàng)為正確答案。

2.亞當(dāng)·斯密看到勞動(dòng)分工_________。

A.使工人們生產(chǎn)大頭針?biāo)俣雀?，成本更便?/p>

B.增加了每名工人的可能產(chǎn)量

C.增加了工廠雇傭工人的數(shù)量

D.提高了生產(chǎn)的大頭針的質(zhì)量

【答案】B

【解析】本題可參照文章的第三段。從中可知，通過(guò)勞動(dòng)分工工人們能極大地提高產(chǎn)量。因此正確答案為B。

3.亞當(dāng)·斯密說(shuō)起4800這一數(shù)字的目的是_________。

A.顯示勞動(dòng)分工的優(yōu)勢(shì)　　　B.顯示舊的工藝系統(tǒng)的優(yōu)勢(shì)

C.強(qiáng)調(diào)工人個(gè)體是多么強(qiáng)大　D.強(qiáng)調(diào)產(chǎn)量增長(zhǎng)的重要性

【答案】A

【解析】本題可參照此句的下一句without division of labor, none of them could have made twenty pins in a day and perhaps not even one，從中可知，作者用這一數(shù)字顯示分工的優(yōu)越性。因此A項(xiàng)為正確答案。

4.按照作者的觀點(diǎn)，亞當(dāng)·斯密的錯(cuò)誤是他認(rèn)為分工問(wèn)題_________。

A.是組織工作的有效方式　　B.是生產(chǎn)方式的重要發(fā)展

C.一定會(huì)導(dǎo)致經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展　　D.增加了現(xiàn)有貨品的產(chǎn)量

【答案】C

【解析】本題的依據(jù)是文章的最后一段的第三句，從中可得知Adam Smith“理所當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為分工能促進(jìn)經(jīng)濟(jì)”以及文章的最后一句“實(shí)際上，分工只能使工人們極大地提高產(chǎn)量”。因此C項(xiàng)是正確答案。

5.下面哪一個(gè)題目最適合本篇文章？

A.英國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家亞當(dāng)·斯密　　　　　　　B.勞動(dòng)分工原理

C.勞動(dòng)分工：一種有效的勞動(dòng)組織方式　D.亞當(dāng)·斯密，勞動(dòng)分工的最后發(fā)現(xiàn)者

【答案】C

【解析】從文中內(nèi)容可知，A項(xiàng)不夠全面，作者并非是在介紹這位經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家。B項(xiàng)不適合，文章主要是講分工，但重點(diǎn)不在理論研究方面，而是用實(shí)例說(shuō)明分工怎樣提高了勞動(dòng)效率。D項(xiàng)是明顯錯(cuò)誤的，因?yàn)槲恼抡f(shuō)亞當(dāng)·斯密是第一個(gè)提出分工理論的人，而不是最后一個(gè)。因此C項(xiàng)是正確答案。