托福閱讀之美國勞動節(jié)的由來
Many immigrants settled in New York City in the nineteenth century. They found that living conditions were not as wonderful as they had dreamed. Often there were six families crowded into a house made for one family. Thousands of children had to go to work. Working conditions were even worse. Immigrant men, women and children worked in factories for ten to twelve hours a day, stopping only for a short time to eat. They came to work even if they were tired or sick because if they didn't, they might be fired. Thousands of people were waiting to take their places.
在19世紀的美國，有很多移民者。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)那里的生活狀態(tài)可不如想象的美好。6家人住在一個房子里，成千上萬的孩子不得不去工作，可是工作環(huán)境更加糟糕。每天工作10到12個小時，只有吃飯的時候能休息一下。而且即使他們太累了甚至 病倒了也要堅持去工作，不然就會被辭退，還有成千上萬的人等著替補呢!
When Peter McGuire was 17, he began an apprenticeship in a piano shop. This job was better than his others, for he was learning a trade, but he still worked long hours with low pay. At night he went to meetings and classes in economics and social issues of the day. One of the main issues of concern pertained to labor conditions. Workers were tired of long hours, low pay and uncertain jobs. They spoke of organizing themselves into a union of laborers to improve their working conditions. In the spring of 1872, Peter McGuire and 100,000 workers went on strike and marched through the streets, demanding a decrease in the long working day.
這時候一個人出現(xiàn)了：彼得麥吉爾。他17歲的時候在鋼琴店當學徒。因為他學習貿(mào)易，這個工作可是比其他人好多了，但是他也得拿著可憐的工資長時間的工作。到了晚上他就去一些關(guān)于當時經(jīng)濟和社會問題的集會。其中一個主要問題就是工作條件的問題。工人都受夠了長時間工作、低工資和不確定的工作。他們提出形成一個改善工作條件的工會。1872年的春天，彼得麥吉爾和10萬工人一起罷工游行，要求減少工時。
This event convinced Peter that an organized labor movement was important for the future of workers' rights. He spent the next year speaking to crowds of workers and unemployed people, lobbying (游說) the city government for jobs and relief money. It was not an easy road for Peter McGuire. He became known as a "disturber of the public peace." The city government ignored his demands. Peter himself could not find a job in his trade. He began to travel up and down the east coast to speak to laborers about unionizing (成立工會). In 1881, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and began to organize carpenters there. He organized a convention of carpenters in Chicago, and it was there that a national union of carpenters was founded. He became General Secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
這場運動啟示彼得麥吉爾組織工會對于工人權(quán)利的未來十分重要。他利用接下來一年的時間來游說工人群眾和無職業(yè)人士，游說政府來提供就業(yè)和救助資金。這個路可不好走，他被視為“公眾和平攪亂者”，自己丟掉了工作。到1881年，他去了圣路易斯，開始組織那里的木匠。這芝加哥成立了木匠公約。他成為美國木工聯(lián)合會的秘書長。
On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City. Twenty thousand workers marched in a parade up Broadway. They carried banners that read "LABOR CREATES ALL WEALTH," and "EIGHT HOURS FOR WORK, EIGHT HOURS FOR REST, EIGHT HOURS FOR RECREATION!" After the parade there were picnics all around the city. Workers and celebrants ate Irish stew, homemade bread and apple pie. At night, fireworks were set off. Within the next few years, the idea spread from coast to coast, and all states celebrated Labor Day.
1882年的9月5號，紐約開始了勞動節(jié)的第一場游行。兩萬多名紐約工人高舉“勞動創(chuàng)造一切”的標語，呼喊著“8小時工作、8小時休息、8小時娛樂”的口號，從紐約市中心的百老匯大道上一路走過。此后的兩年，紐約市的工人都要在9月初舉行類似的游行活動。而且美國其他城市的工人組織也開始紛紛效仿。
In 1894, Congress voted it a federal holiday.
到了1894年，美國國會投票，把每年9月的第一個星期一指定為全國的勞動節(jié)。
本文中重難點詞匯、短語解析：
apprenticeship：n. 學徒期;學徒身分
例句：After serving his apprenticeship as a toolmaker, he became a manager.
在完成了工具匠的學徒期之后，他當上了經(jīng)理。
pertained：vi. 屬于;關(guān)于;適合
例句：Of the French I now knew, eighty percent pertained to love and its various acts.
現(xiàn)在我知道，這些法語里，有80%實在表達愛和它的各種有關(guān)的行為。
lobbying：v. 進行游說
例句：The Wilderness Society lobbied Congress to authorize the Endangered Species Act.
荒野協(xié)會游說國會批準《瀕危物種法》。
unionizing：vi. 加入工會;成立工會
例句：ACFTU has a monopoly on trade unionizing in China and creation of competing unions is illegal.
全總共在中國的企業(yè)工會中居于壟斷地位，創(chuàng)立其他工會組織在中國是為非法。
crowded into ：v. 涌入;擠入
例句：When in an hour they crowded into a cab to go home， I strolled idly to my club.
一個鐘頭以后，這一家擠上一輛馬車回家去了，我也一個人懶散地往俱樂部踱去。
be tired of ：v. 厭煩
例句：You might also be tired of typing long host names over and over again.
您也可能厭倦了一次又一次地輸入冗長的用戶名。
