2003年1月大学英语六级考试真题试卷 - 阅读3

Passage Three
Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.

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 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. 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, 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' , it's not surprising that doctors and lawyers have helped themselves to a large slice of the growing pie.

31. The world's first workers' compensation law was introduced by Bismarck _______.
A) to make industrial production safer
B) to speed up the pace of industrialization
C) out of religious and political considerations
D) for fear of losing the support of the socialist labor movement

32. We learn from the passage that the process of industrialization in Europe _______.
A) Was accompanied by an increased number of workshop accidents
B) resulted in the development of popular social insurance programs
C) required workers to be aware of the potential dangers at the workplace
D) met growing resistance from laborers working at machines

33. One of the problems the American injured workers faced in getting compensation in the early 19th century was that ______.
A) they had to have the courage to sue for damages in a court of law
B) different sums in the U.S. had totally different compensation programs
C) America's average compensation benefit was much lower than the cost of living
D) they had to produce evidence that their employers were responsible for the accident

34. After 1972 workers' compensation insurance in the U.S. became more favorable to workers so that _______.
A) the poverty level for a family of four went up drastically
B) there were fewer legal barriers when they filed for claims
C) the number of workers suing for damages increased
D) more money was allocated to their

35. The author ends the passage with the implication that ______.
A) compensation benefits in America are soaring to new heights
B) the workers are not the only ones to benefit from the
C) people from all walks of life can benefit from the
D) money floating in the is a huge drain on the U.S. economy