2. 外语
  3. The picnics, speeches, and parades of today’ s Labor Day were all part of the first celebration, held in New York City in 1882.

The picnics, speeches, and parades of today’ s Labor Day were all part of the first celebration, held in New York City in 1882.

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问题     The picnics, speeches, and parades of today’ s Labor Day were all part of the first celebration, held in New York City in 1882. Its promoter was an Irish - American labor leader named Peter J. Mcgurie. A carpenter by trade, Mcguire had worked since the age of eleven, and in 1882 was president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners(UBCJ). Approaching the City’ s Central Labor Union that summer, he proposed a holiday that would applaud(~)"the industrial spirit--the great vital force of every nation," On September 5th his suggestion bore fruit, as an estimated 10,000 workers, many of them ignoring their bosses’ warnings ,left work to march from Union square up Fifth Avenue to 42nd Street. The event gained national attention, and by 1893 thirty states had made Labor Day an annual holiday.
    The quick adoption of the scheme may have indicated less about the state lawmakers’ respect for working people than about a fear of risking their anger. In the 1880s the United States was a land sharply divided between the immensely wealthy and the very poor. Henry George was accurate in describing the era as one of "progress and poverty." In a society in which factory owners rode in private Pullmans while ten-year-olds slaved in the mines, strong anti - capitalist feeling ran high. Demands for fundamental change were common throughout the labor press. With socialists demanding an end to "wage, slavery" and anarchists(无政府主义)singing the praises of the virtues of dynamite(炸药), middle -of- the roaders like Samuel. Gompers and Mcguire seemed attractively mild by comparison. One can imagine practical capitalists seeing Labor Day as a bargain: A one-day party certainly cost them less than paying their workers decent wages.
Mcguire proposed Labor Day in order to ______.
选项 A、draw people’s attention to the striking contrast between the rich and the poor
B、make prominent the important role of the working class in society
C、win for the workers the right to shorter working hours
D、expose the exploitation of the workers by their bosses
答案B
解析 具体细节题。根据文章第一段中间…he proposed a holiday that would applaud“the industrial spirit-the great vital force of every nation，”．．．可知Mcguire的提议设立劳动节的初衷是为了赞美“工业精神——每个国家的生命力所在”，在强调工业精神也即工人阶级在社会中的重要作用。所以选项B正确。
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大学英语四级

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