GMAT考试阅读资料(六)b

Passage 30
　　Since the early 1970‘s， historians have begun to　devote serious attention to the working class in the　United States. Yet while we now have studies of　working-class communities and culture， we know（5） remarkably² little of worklessness. When historians have　paid any attention at all to unemployment， they have　focused on the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The　narrowness of this perspective ignores the pervasive³　recessions and joblessness of the previous decades， as（10） Alexander Keyssar shows in his recent book. Examining　the period 1870-1920， Keyssar concentrates on Massa-　chusetts， where the historical materials are particularly　rich， and the findings applicable to other industrial　areas.
　　（15 ）The unemployment rates that Keyssar calculates appear to be relatively⁴ modest， at least by Great Depression standards： during the worst years， in the 1870‘s　and 1890’s， unemployment was around 15 percent. YetKeyssar rightly understands that a better way to（20） measure the impact of unemployment is to calculate　unemployment frequencies-measuring the percentage　of workers who experience any unemployment in the　course of a year. Given this perspective， joblessness　looms⁵ much larger.
　　（25）Keyssar also scrutinizes⁶ unemployment patterns according to skill level， ethnicity， race， age， class， and　gender⁷. He finds that rates of joblessness differed　primarily according to class： those in middle-class and　white-collar occupations were far less likely to be unem-（30） ployed. Yet the impact of unemployment on a specific　class was not always the same. Even when dependent onthe same trade， adjoining communities could have　dramatically different unemployment rates. Keyssar uses　these differential rates to help explain a phenomenon（35） that has puzzled historians-the startlingly high rate of　geographical⁸ mobility⁹ in the nineteenth-century United　States. But mobility was not the dominant¹⁰ working-class　strategy for coping with unemployment， nor was assis-tance from private charities or state agencies. Self-help（40） and the help of kin¹ got most workers through jobless spells.
　　While Keyssar might have spent more time develop-ing the implications of his findings on joblessness for contemporary public policy， his study， in its thorough（45） research and creative use of quantitative¹¹ and qualitative¹²　 evidence， is a model of historical analysis.

　　1. The passage is primarily concerned with
　　　（A） recommending a new course of investigation¹³
　　　（B） summarizing and assessing a study
　　　（C） making distinctions among categories
　　　（D） criticizing the current state of a field
　　　（E） comparing and contrasting two methods for calculating data

　　2. The passage suggests that before the early 1970‘s， which　of the following was true of the study by historians of　the working class in the United States？
　　　（A） The study was infrequent or superficial， or both.
　　　（B） The study was repeatedly criticized for its allegedly　narrow focus.
　　　（C） The study relied more on qualitative than quantitative evidence.
　　　（D） The study focused more on the working-classcommunity than on working-class culture.
　　　（E） The study ignored working-class joblessness during the Great Depression.

　　3. According to the passage， which of the following is true of Keyssar‘s findings concerning unemployment in　Massachusetts？
　　　（A） They tend to contradict earlier findings about such unemployment.
　　　（B） They are possible because Massachusetts has the most easily accessible historical records.
　　　（C） They are the first to mention the existence of high rates of geographical mobility in the nineteenth century.
　　　（D） They are relevant to a historical understanding of the nature of unemployment in other states.
　　　（E） They have caused historians to reconsider the role of the working class during the Great Depression.

　　4. According to the passage， which of the following is true　of the unemployment rates mentioned in line 15
　　　（A） They hovered¹⁴， on average， around 15 percent during the period 1870-1920.
　　　（B） They give less than a full sense of the impact of unemployment on working-class people.
　　　（C） They overestimate¹⁵ the importance of middle class and white-collar unemployment.
　　　（D） They have been considered by many historians to underestimate the extent of working-class unemployment.
　　　（E） They are more open to question when calculated for years other than those of peak recession.

　　5. Which of the following statements about the unemployment rate during the Great Depression can be inferred from the passage？
　　　（A） It was sometimes higher than 15 percent.
　　　（B） It has been analyzed¹⁶ seriously only since the early 1970‘s.
　　　（C） It can be calculated more easily than can　 unemployment frequency.
　　　（D） It was never as high as the rate during the 1870‘s.
　　　（E） It has been shown by Keyssar to be lower thanpreviously thought.

　　6. According to the passage， Keyssar considers which of the　following to be among the important predictors of the　likelihood that a particular person would be unemployed¹⁷ in　late nineteenth-century Massachusetts？
　　　Ⅰ. The person‘s class
　　　Ⅱ. Where the person lived or worked
　　　Ⅲ. The person‘s age
　　　（A） Ⅰonly
　　　（B） Ⅱonly
　　　（C） Ⅰand Ⅱ only
　　　（D） Ⅰand Ⅲ only
　　　（E） Ⅰ，Ⅱ， and Ⅲ

　　7. The author views Keyssar‘s study with
　　　（A） impatient disapproval¹⁸
　　　（B） wary¹⁹ concern
　　　（C） polite skepticism
　　　（D） scrupulous²⁰ neutrality
　　　（E） qualified²¹ admiration²²

　　8. Which of the following， if true，would most strongly support Keyssar‘s findings as they are described by the author？
　　　（A） Boston， Massachusetts， and Quincy， Massachusetts， adjoining communities， had a higher rate of unemployment for working-class people in 1870 than in 1890.
　　　（B） White-collar professionals such as attorneys had as much trouble as day laborers²³ in maintaining a steady level of employment throughout the period 1870-1920.
　　　（C） Working-class women living in Cambridge， Massachusetts， were more likely than working-classmen living in Cambridge to be unemployed for someperiod of time during the year 1873.
　　　（D） In the 1890‘s， shoe-factory workers moved away in large numbers from Chelmsford， Massachusetts， where shoe factories were being replaced by other industries， to adjoining West Chelmsford， where the shoe industry flourished.
　　　（E） In the late nineteenth century，workers of all classes in Massachusetts were more likely than workers of allclasses in other states to move their place ofresidence from one location to another within the　state.