英語四級基礎(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

長難例句分析

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

［參考譯文］亞當·斯密看到這一點，但他理所當然地認為勞動分工是經(jīng)濟增長和發(fā)展的根本原因，而且可以說明擴張的經(jīng)濟和停滯不前的經(jīng)濟之間存在的不同。

［長難例句］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，that引導(dǎo)的從句是no doubt的同位語從句。從句中主語是division of labor，表語是an efficient way of organizing work。

［參考譯文］勞動分工無疑是一種組織工作的有效方式。

全文參考譯文

18世紀70年代亞當·斯密開始寫作，他是最先看到勞動分工的重要性并解釋了其優(yōu)點的人。他用英國大頭針的生產(chǎn)過程這個例子對其進行了說明。

一人拉出鐵絲；另一人拉緊；第三個人把它割斷；第四個人把它弄尖；第五個人在它的一端打磨，這樣可以讓它準備好接頭。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人有時要完成兩或三道工序。

斯密說，10個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。但是若全部的工人單獨工作而不進行勞動分工的話，一天之中，沒有人可以制作出20個大頭針：甚至有可能一個都沒有。

勞動分工無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·斯密看到這一點，但他理所當然地認為勞動分工是經(jīng)濟增長和發(fā)展的根本原因，并且可以說明擴張的經(jīng)濟和停滯不前的經(jīng)濟之間存在的不同。但是勞動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。

題目答案與解析

1.按照本篇文章，亞當·斯密是第一個_________ 的人。

A.利用勞動分工　　　　B.把勞動分工引入英國

C.理解勞動分工作用　　D.解釋勞動分工由來

【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項中的understand就等于原文中的see，因此C項為正確答案。

2.亞當·斯密看到勞動分工_________。

A.使工人們生產(chǎn)大頭針速度更快，成本更便宜

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，通過勞動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·斯密說起4800這一數(shù)字的目的是_________。

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

C.強調(diào)工人個體是多么強大　D.強調(diào)產(chǎn)量增長的重要性

【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項為正確答案。

4.按照作者的觀點，亞當·斯密的錯誤是他認為分工問題_________。

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.一定會導(dǎo)致經(jīng)濟的發(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“理所當然地認為分工能促進經(jīng)濟”以及文章的最后一句“實際上，分工只能使工人們極大地提高產(chǎn)量”。因此C項是正確答案。

5.下面哪一個題目最適合本篇文章？

A.英國經(jīng)濟學(xué)家亞當·斯密　　　　　　　B.勞動分工原理

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

【答案】C

【解析】從文中內(nèi)容可知，A項不夠全面，作者并非是在介紹這位經(jīng)濟學(xué)家。B項不適合，文章主要是講分工，但重點不在理論研究方面，而是用實例說明分工怎樣提高了勞動效率。D項是明顯錯誤的，因為文章說亞當·斯密是第一個提出分工理論的人，而不是最后一個。因此C項是正確答案。