Acting on the recommendation of a British government committee investigating the high incidence in white lead factories of illness among employees, most of whom were women, the Home Secretary proposed in 1895 that Parliament enact legislation that would prohibit women from holding most jobs in white lead factories. Although the Women’s Industrial Defence Committee (WIDC), formed in 1892 in response to earlier legislative attempts to restrict women’s labor, did not discount the white lead trade’s potential health dangers, it opposed the proposal, viewing it as yet another instance of limiting women’s work opportunities.
Also opposing the proposal was the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women (SPEW), which attempted to challenge it by investigating the causes of illness in white lead factories. SPEW contended, and WIDC concurred, that controllable conditions in such factories were responsible for the development of lead poisoning. SPEW provided convincing evidence that lead poisoning could be avoided if workers were careful and clean and if already extant workplace safety regulations were stringently enforced. However, the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL), which had ceased in the late 1880s to oppose restrictions on women’s labor, supported the eventually enacted proposal, in part because safety regulations were generally not being enforced in white lead factories, where there were no unions (and little prospect of any) to pressure employers to comply with safety regulations.
490.The passage suggests that WIDC differed from WTUL in which of the following ways?
A WIDC believed that the existing safety regulations were adequate to protect women’s health, whereas WTUL believed that such regulations needed to be strengthened.
B WIDC believed that unions could not succeed in pressuring employers to comply with such regulations, whereas WTUL believed that unions could succeed in doing so.
C WIDC believed that lead poisoning in white lead factories could be avoided by controlling conditions there, whereas WTUL believed that lead poisoning in such factories could not be avoided no matter how stringently safety regulations were enforced.
D At the time that the legislation concerning white lead factories was proposed, WIDC was primarily concerned with addressing health conditions in white lead factories, whereas WTUL was concerned with improving working conditions in all types of factories.
E At the time that WIDC was opposing legislative attempts to restrict women’s labor, WTUL had already ceased to do so.
491.Which of the following, if true, would most clearly support the contention attributed to SPEW in highlight text?
A Those white lead factories that most strongly enforced regulations concerning worker safety and hygiene had the lowest incidences of lead poisoning among employees.
B The incidence of lead poisoning was much higher among women who worked in white lead factories than among women who worked in other types of factories.
C There were many household sources of lead that could have contributed to the incidence of lead poisoning among women who also worked outside the home in the late nineteenth century.
D White lead factories were more stringent than were certain other types of factories in their enforcement of workplace safety regulations.
E Even brief exposure to the conditions typically found in white lead factories could cause lead poisoning among factory workers.
492. The passage is primarily concerned with
A presenting various groups’ views of the motives of those proposing certain legislation
B contrasting the reasoning of various groups concerning their positions on certain proposed legislation
C tracing the process whereby certain proposed legislation was eventually enacted
D assessing the success of tactics adopted by various groups with respect to certain proposed legislation
E evaluating the arguments of various groups concerning certain proposed legislation
【文章结构】
背景：1895年，英国内政大臣根据英国政府委员会的建议，提议国会通过立法，禁止女性在白人铅工厂担任大部分工作。
1）WIDC
虽然它并没有低估白铅贸易的潜在健康危险，但它认为这限制了妇女工作机会。
2）SPEW
SPEW和WIDC一致认为，这些工厂的可控条件是导致铅中毒的原因。如果工人们小心、保持清洁,并且现有的工作场所安全条例被严格执行,铅中毒可以避免。
3）WTUL
1880年代末停止反对，开始支持最终制定建议，理由是由于在工厂里没有工会迫使雇主遵守安全条例，没人在铅粉工厂执行安全法规。
490. 文章暗示WIDC和WTUL的哪方面不同?
【思路点拨】
推断题问A differed from B in that，先定B，再定A
However, the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL), which had ceased in the late 1880s to oppose restrictions on women’s labor, supported the eventually enacted proposal, in part because safety regulations were generally not being enforced in white lead factories, where there were no unions (and little prospect of any) to pressure employers to comply with safety regulations.
Although the Women’s Industrial Defence Committee (WIDC), formed in 1892 in response to earlier legislative attempts to restrict women’s labor, did not discount the white lead trade’s potential health dangers, it opposed the proposal, viewing it as yet another instance of limiting women’s work opportunities.
(A) WIDC认为现行的安全条例足以保护妇女的健康,而WTUL认为需要加强这些规定。后半句内容不符
(B)WIDC认为工会不能成功迫使雇主遵守这些规定,而WTUL认为工会可以成功。内容不符
(C)WIDC认为可以通过控制一些条件来避免铅中毒,而WTUL认为无论如何严格的安全监管都无法避免白铅厂的铅中毒。
前半句未提及
(D)在提出有关白铅工厂的立法时,WIDC主要关心的是如何处理白铅工厂的健康状况,而WTUL则关心改善所有类型工厂的工作条件。未提及
(E)在WIDC反对限制妇女劳工的立法企图的时候,WTUL已经停止这样做了 正确 注意时间点
491. 以下哪个选项如果是真的,能支持SPEW在17-20行文本处的观点的
【思路点拨】
首先明确SPEW的观点
SPEW contended, and WIDC concurred, that controllable conditions in such factories were responsible for the development of lead poisoning. SPEW provided convincing evidence that lead poisoning could be avoided if workers were careful and clean and if already extant workplace safety regulations were stringently enforced.
SPEW和WIDC一致认为，这些工厂的可控条件是导致铅中毒的原因。SPEW提供了令人信服的证据，证明如果工人们小心、保持清洁,并且现有的工作场所安全条例被严格执行,铅中毒可以避免。
(A)在那些对工人的安全和卫生执行最严格的规定的由白人领导的工厂中，员工中铅中毒的发生率最低。
同因同果 支持关系增强 正确
(B) 在白铅工厂工作的妇女比在其他工厂工作的妇女铅中毒的发生率高得多。无关
(C) 19世纪晚期，许多家庭中的铅来源可能是导致同样在外面工作的妇女中铅中毒的原因。无关
(D)在执行工作场所安全规定方面，白铅工厂比某些其他类型的工厂更为严格。无关比较
(E)即使是短暂暴露在白铅工厂的工作条件下,也可能导致工厂工人铅中毒。削弱
492. 主旨
【思路点拨】:正确选项要符合文章的话题和结构。
(A)提出各种团体对提出某些立法的人的动机的看法。
内容不符 文章只是展示了不同的团体对法案提案的立场和原因,而不是对立法人的动机的看法
(B)对比各团体关于其对某些拟议立法的立场的推理 正确
(C)追查某些拟议的立法最终通过的程序。未提及
(D) 评估各团体就某项拟议法例所采用策略的成效 未提及
(E)评估各团体对某项立法提案的论点 未提及
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