Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
An industrial society, especially one as centralized and concentrated as that of Britain, is heavily dependent on certain essential services: for instance, electricity supply, water, rail and road transport, the harbors. The area of dependency has widened to include removing rubbish, hospital and ambulance services, and, as the economy develops, central computer and information services as well. If any of these services ceases to operate, the whole economic system is in danger.
It is this economic interdependency of the economic system which makes the power of trade unions (工会)such an important issue. Single trade unions have the ability to cut off many countries' economic blood supply.
This can happen more easily in Britain than in some other countries, in part because the labor force is highly organized. About 55 percent of British workers belong to unions, compared to under a quarter in the United States.
For historical reasons, Britain's unions have tended to develop along trade (行业) and occupational lines, rather than on an industry-by-industry basis, which makes a wages policy, democracy in industry and the improvement of procedures for fixing wage levels difficult to achieve.
There are considerable strains and tensions in the trade union movement, some of them arising from their outdated and inefficient structure. Some unions have lost many members because of their industrial changes.
Others are involved in arguments about who should represent workers in new trades. Unions for skilled trades are separate from general unions, which means that different levels of wages for certain jobs are often a source of bad feelings between unions. In traditional trades which are being pushed out of existence by advancing technologies,unions can fight for their members' disappointing jobs to the point where the jobs of other union members are threatened or destroyed. The printing of newspapers both in the United States and in Britain has frequently been halted by the efforts of printers to hold on to their traditional highly-paid jobs.
Trade unions have problems of internal communication just as managers in companies do, problems which multiply in very large unions or in those which bring workers in very different industries together into a single general union. Some trade union officials have to be re-elected regularly; others are elected, or even appointed, for life. Trade union officials have to work with a system of "shop stewards" (工厂工人代表) in many unions, "shop stewards" being workers elected by other workers as their representatives at factory or work level.
56. Why is the trade union power crucial in Britain?
A. Because the economy is very interdependent.
B. Because the unions have been established a long time.
C. Because there are more unions in Britain than elsewhere.
D. Because there are many essential services offered by the unions.
57. Because of their out-of-date organization, some unions find it difficult to __________.
A. bargain for high enough wages
B. get new members to join
C. learn new technologies
D. change as industries change
58. Disagreements arise between unions because some of them__________.
A. try to win over members of other unions
B. ignore agreements
C. protect their own members at the expense of others
D. take over other unions' jobs
59. Why does the author compare the trade unions with managers in companies?
A. They are both influential in company affairs.
B. They both face problems of internal communication.
C. They both work with a system of "shop stewards".
D. They both work efficiently.
60. The title which best expresses the idea of the text would be __________.
A. British Trade Unions and Their Drawbacks
B. A Centralized and Concentrated Society
C. The Power of Trade Unions in Britain
D. The Structure of British Trade Unions
参考译文：
一个工业社会对某些基本服务(比如电力供应、水、铁路和公路运输以及港口)有着很强的依赖性，特别是在英国这样集权而集中的国家更是如此。而今，依赖的领域已扩大到垃圾清运、医院和救护车服务，而且，随着经济的发展，中央计算机和信息服务也包含其中。一旦这些服务中的任何一项停止运作，整个经济体系就会处于危险之中、
[56]正是由于经济体系内各种经济因素相互依赖，才使得工会权力成为如此重要的问题。单是工会就能切断许多国家的经济命脉。相比其他国家，这种情况在英国更有可能发生，一部分原因是，英国的工人力量具有高度组织化的特征。在英国，约有55%的工人是工会的成员，而在美国，这一比例还不到25%。由于一些历史原因，英国的工会趋向于沿着行业和职业的方向发展，而不是各行业独立发展。这种情况导致薪金政策、行业民主以及薪金水平规定流程的改进很难实现。
[57]工会运动面临许多限制和压力，其中一些源于工会本身落后而低效的结构。由于产业调整，一些工会已经失去了很多成员。另外一些工会则面临一系列争论：新的行业中究竟由谁来代表工人?技术性行业的工会跟一般意义上的工会是分离的，这意味着，某些工作薪金水平的不同通常会在各工会之间引发摩擦，[58]传统的行业正逐渐被先进的技术所替代，在这些行业里，工会会为其成员渺无前景的工作努力抗争，使其他工会成员的工作也受到威胁或者破坏。美国和英国的报纸印刷经常会中断，因为印刷工要努力维护本行业的传统地位和高额薪酬。
[59]和公司中的经理们一样，工会内部也同样面临着交流问题。在那些大型工会或者聚集了不同行业工人的工会里，这些问题成倍增加。有些工会需要定期选举并更换主席;另一些工会则采取选举或指定一名终身主席一在很多工会里，干部必须在“工厂工人代表”的体制下工作。工厂工人代表由其他工人在整个工厂或者车间内选举产生，来代表其他工人的利益。
参考答案：
56.A
定位：根据题干信息thetrade union power和crucial可将答案定位到第二段第一句。
解析：该句提到：“正是由于经济体系内各种经济因素相互依赖(this economic interdependency of the economic system)，才使得工会权力成为如此重要的问题。”选项A符合题意。
57.D
定位：根据题干信息out-of-date organization可将答案定位到第三段第一句。
解析：第三段开头处提到：“工会运动面临许多限制和压力，其中一些源于工会本身落后而低效的结构。由于产业调整，一些工会已经失去了很多成员。另外一些工会则面临一系列争论：新的行业中究竟由谁来代表工人?”可见由于其落后的结构，工会适应不了产业的变化和调整。故D为正确答案。
58.C
定位：根据题干信息disagreements arise between unions可将答案定位到第三段第四句。
解析：该句提到：“技术性行业的工会跟一般意义上的工会是分离的，这意味着，某些工作薪金水平的不同通常会在各工会之间引发摩擦。”可见differentlevels ofwagesfor certainjobs是引发矛盾的一大原因，但在四个选项中找不到意思相近的表述。我们继续向下寻读即可发现下一句中提到：“传统的行业正逐渐被先进的技术所替代，在这些行业里，工会会为其成员渺无前景的工作努力抗争，使其他工会成员的工作也受到威胁或者破坏。”也就是说，一些工会会为了保护自己成员的利益而牺牲其他工会成员的利益。故选项C为正确答案。
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