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 (工會)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 (行業) 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There are considerable strains and tensions in the trade union movement, some of them arising from their outdated and inefficient structure.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" (工廠工人代表) 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
參考譯文：
一個工業社會對某些基本服務(比如電力供應、水、鐵路和公路運輸以及港口)有著很強的依賴性，特別是在英國這樣集權而集中的國家更是如此。而今，依賴的領域已擴大到垃圾清運、醫院和救護車服務，而且，隨著經濟的發展，中央計算機和資訊服務也包含其中。一旦這些服務中的任何一項停止運作，整個經濟體系就會處於危險之中、
[56]正是由於經濟體系內各種經濟因素相互依賴，才使得工會權力成為如此重要的問題。單是工會就能切斷許多國家的經濟命脈。相比其他國家，這種情況在英國更有可能發生，一部分原因是，英國的工人力量具有高度組織化的特徵。在英國，約有55%的工人是工會的成員，而在美國，這一比例還不到25%。由於一些歷史原因，英國的工會趨向於沿著行業和職業的方向發展，而不是各行業獨立發展。這種情況導致薪金政策、行業民主以及薪金水平規定流程的改進很難實現。
[57]工會運動面臨許多限制和壓力，其中一些源於工會本身落後而低效的結構。由於產業調整，一些工會已經失去了很多成員。另外一些工會則面臨一系列爭論：新的行業中究竟由誰來代表工人?技術性行業的工會跟一般意義上的工會是分離的，這意味著，某些工作薪金水平的不同通常會在各工會之間引發摩擦，[58]傳統的行業正逐漸被先進的技術所替代，在這些行業裡，工會會為其成員渺無前景的工作努力抗爭，使其他工會成員的工作也受到威脅或者破壞。美國和英國的報紙印刷經常會中斷，因為印刷工要努力維護本行業的傳統地位和高額薪酬。
[59]和公司中的經理們一樣，工會內部也同樣面臨著交流問題。在那些大型工會或者聚集了不同行業工人的工會裡，這些問題成倍增加。有些工會需要定期選舉並更換主席;另一些工會則採取選舉或指定一名終身主席一在很多工會裡，幹部必須在“工廠工人代表”的體制下工作。工廠工人代表由其他工人在整個工廠或者車間內選舉產生，來代表其他工人的利益。
參考答案：
56.A
定位：根據題幹資訊thetrade union power和crucial可將答案定位到第二段第一句。
解析：該句提到：“正是由於經濟體系內各種經濟因素相互依賴(this economic interdependency of the economic system)，才使得工會權力成為如此重要的問題。”選項A符合題意。
57.D
定位：根據題幹資訊out-of-date organization可將答案定位到第三段第一句。
解析：第三段開頭處提到：“工會運動面臨許多限制和壓力，其中一些源於工會本身落後而低效的結構。由於產業調整，一些工會已經失去了很多成員。另外一些工會則面臨一系列爭論：新的行業中究竟由誰來代表工人?”可見由於其落後的結構，工會適應不了產業的變化和調整。故D為正確答案。
58.C
定位：根據題幹資訊disagreements arise between unions可將答案定位到第三段第四句。
解析：該句提到：“技術性行業的工會跟一般意義上的工會是分離的，這意味著，某些工作薪金水平的不同通常會在各工會之間引發摩擦。”可見differentlevels ofwagesfor certainjobs是引發矛盾的一大原因，但在四個選項中找不到意思相近的表述。我們繼續向下尋讀即可發現下一句中提到：“傳統的行業正逐漸被先進的技術所替代，在這些行業裡，工會會為其成員渺無前景的工作努力抗爭，使其他工會成員的工作也受到威脅或者破壞。”也就是說，一些工會會為了保護自己成員的利益而犧牲其他工會成員的利益。故選項C為正確答案。
