2010考研英語(yǔ)閱讀精讀100篇(高分版)TEXT SEVEN
　　Scores of workers from MTV Networks walked off the job yesterday afternoon, filling the sidewalk outside the headquarters of its corporate parent, Viacom, to protest recent changes in benefits. The walkout highlighted the concerns of a category of workers who are sometimes called permalancers: permanent freelancers who work like full-time employees but do not receive the same benefits.

　　Waving signs that read ''Shame on Viacom,'' the workers, most of them in their 20s, demanded that MTV Networks reverse a plan to reduce health and dental benefits for freelancers beginning Jan. 1. In a statement, MTV Networks noted that its benefits program for full-time employees had also undergone changes, and it emphasized that the plan for freelancers was still highly competitive within the industry. Many freelancers receive no corporate benefits. But some of the protesters asserted that corporations were competing to see which could provide the most mediocre health care coverage. Matthew Yonda, who works at Nickelodeon, held a sign that labeled the network ''Sick-elodeon.'' ''I've worked here every day for three years -- I'm not a freelancer,'' Mr. Yonda said. ''They just call us freelancers in order to bar us from getting the same benefits as employees.''

　　The changes to the benefits package were announced last Tuesday. Freelancers were told that they would become eligible for benefits after 160 days of work, beginning in January. While that eased previous eligibility rules, which required freelancers to work for 52 weeks before becoming eligible, it would have required all freelancers not yet eligible for benefits to start the waiting period over again on Jan. 1. The 401(k) plan was also removed. On Thursday, acknowledging the complaints, MTV Networks reinstated the 401(k) plan and said freelancers who had worked consistently since March would be eligible.

　　Fueled by a series of blog posts on the media Web site Gawker -- the first post was headlined ''The Viacom Permalance Slave System'' -- a loose cohort of freelancers created protest stickers and distributed walkout fliers last week. Caroline O'Hare, a unit manager who has worked for MTV for more than two years, said the new health care plan -- with higher deductibles and a $2,000 cap on hospital expenses each year -- had provoked outrage. ''They think they can treat us like children that don't have families, mortgages or dreams of retirement,'' she said.

　　Outside Viacom's headquarters, several workers held posters with the words, ''There's too many of us to ignore.'' It was unclear how many freelancers are on the company's payroll; an MTV Networks spokeswoman said the figure was not known because it rises and falls throughout the year. The company has 5,500 full-time employees, excluding freelancers, around the world.

　　Two freelancers and one full-time employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, estimated that the percentage of freelancers in some departments exceeded 75 percent. Another labor action is expected to take place outside Viacom later this week. Members of the Writers Guild of America, who have been on strike for five weeks, are expected to picket there on Thursday.

　　1.Which one of the following statements is NOT true of MTV Networks’ new benefits plan for freelancers?

　　[A] Its benefits plan for freelancers is highly competitive in the industry.

　　[B] Its freelancers cannot receive the same benefits as the full-time employees.

　　[C] The freelancers who are not eligible for benefits should start the waiting period over again on Jan. 1.

　　[D] The freelancers are against the new plan which substantially but their benefit

　　2. According to the new benefits program of MTV Networks, the following freelancers are eligible for benefits except_____

　　[A] those who have worked for 160 days.

　　[B] those who have worked for 1 year.

　　[C] those who have worked since March.

　　[D] those who have worked since Jan. 1.

　　3.The word “reinstate” (Line 6, Paragraph 3) most probably means_____

　　[A] redesign.

　　[B] restore.

　　[C] repair.

　　[D] reset.

　　4. The MTV Networks spokeswoman did not provide the number of freelancers on the payroll mostly probably because_____

　　[A] the figure fluctuates throughout the year and it is impossible to calculate the precise number.

　　[B] the company wants to keep it as a secret so as to better stand the protest.

　　[C] the company has no record of the freelancers since there is no such necessity.

　　[D] the company does not want to provide the freelancers with benefits enjoyed by the full-time employee.

　　5. Towards MTV Networks’ change on the benefits plan, the author’s attitude can be said to be_____

　　[A] affirmative.

　　[B] negative.

　　[C] biased.

　　[D] neutral.

　　文章剖析：

　　這篇文章介紹了MTV Networks公司修改其對(duì)于雇用的自由職員的福利待遇方案的調(diào)整以及引起的反響。文章第一段第二段介紹MTV Networks公司的自由職員舉行罷工游行的情況;第三段講述福利方案調(diào)整的一些內(nèi)容;第四段講述其他的一些抗議形式;第五段第六段是關(guān)于MTV Networks公司雇用的自由職員的數(shù)量的一些情況。

　　詞匯注釋?zhuān)?/p>

　　freelancer n. 自由職業(yè)者 reverse v. 撤銷(xiāo)或取消

　　mediocre adj. 普通的，劣等的 reinstate n. 恢復(fù)

　　cohort n. 一群一群或一幫人 sticker n. 張貼物

　　flier n. 傳單

　　deductible n. 扣除條款,保險(xiǎn)單內(nèi)的條款之一，免除保險(xiǎn)人對(duì)被保險(xiǎn)戶(hù)承受的損失賠償比較初的規(guī)定的金額

　　retribution n. 懲罰，報(bào)償

　　picket v. 派出糾察員，在罷工或示威期間設(shè)置一個(gè)或幾個(gè)糾察隊(duì)

　　難句突破：

　　(1) Waving signs that read ''Shame on Viacom,'' the workers, most of them in their 20s, demanded that MTV Networks reverse a plan to reduce health and dental benefits for freelancers beginning Jan. 1.

　　[主體句式] The workers demanded that…

　　[結(jié)構(gòu)分析] 這是一個(gè)復(fù)合句，前面的現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ)作為主語(yǔ)的伴隨狀語(yǔ);most of them in their 20s是主語(yǔ)的同位語(yǔ);謂語(yǔ)demand后是一個(gè)賓語(yǔ)從句，在該從句中，beginning Jan 1是一個(gè)現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ)作a plan的定語(yǔ)。

　　[句子譯文] 這些工人大多數(shù)都是二十多歲，他們手中揮舞著寫(xiě)有“Viacom 無(wú)恥”的標(biāo)語(yǔ)，要求MTV Networks收回于1月1日開(kāi)始實(shí)施的旨在減少自由職業(yè)者健康和牙齒醫(yī)療方面福利的計(jì)劃。

　　(2)While that eased previous eligibility rules, which required freelancers to work for 52 weeks before becoming eligible, it would have required all freelancers not yet eligible for benefits to start the waiting period over again on Jan. 1.

　　[主體句式] While that … it would have…

　　[結(jié)構(gòu)分析] 這是一個(gè)并列句，前半分句中有一個(gè)which 引導(dǎo)的非限定性從句修飾previous eligibility rules，后半分句中not yet eligible for benefits 是后置定語(yǔ)用來(lái)修飾all freelancers。

　　[句子譯文] 雖然這樣一來(lái)放寬了以前的資格規(guī)定(該規(guī)定要求自由職業(yè)者必須工作52周后才能成為合格員工)，但卻要求所有尚無(wú)資格享受福利的自由職業(yè)者從1月1日重新開(kāi)始計(jì)算等待期。

　　題目分析：

　　[答案]C

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆

　　[分析] 細(xì)節(jié)題。題目要求找出和新福利方案不符合的一項(xiàng)，關(guān)于A(yíng)在第二段由所提及，是MTV為自己辯護(hù)的證據(jù);B在全文中都有體現(xiàn)，第一段工人罷工的原因就是自由職業(yè)者不能和正式員工享受一樣的福利;選項(xiàng)C在文章的第三段提到，雖然一開(kāi)始計(jì)劃改變后是這樣規(guī)定的，但因職員的抗議，公司又重新恢復(fù)了401方案，只要從三月份以來(lái)一直在工作的員工就可以享受新的福利方案。選項(xiàng)D，全文中各個(gè)段落都提到了這一點(diǎn)。因此，只有C是符合題干的。

　　[答案]D

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆

　　[分析] 細(xì)節(jié)題。MTV修改了的新福利方案對(duì)享受福利待遇的職工作了新定義，這在第三段有說(shuō)明。新方案規(guī)定從一月份開(kāi)始在公司工作了160天的員工有這個(gè)資格，之前的規(guī)定是工作達(dá)52周的員工;不過(guò)這個(gè)新規(guī)定要求所有還沒(méi)有資格享受福利的員工要從一月一日開(kāi)始重新計(jì)算工作時(shí)間，不過(guò)由于職員的抗議，公司決定只要從三月份以來(lái)一直在公司工作的員工就有這個(gè)資格。那么四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中，A是符合的，B無(wú)論什么情況下也都符合，C在公司修改后也符合，只有D不符合，沒(méi)有該資格。

　　[答案]B

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆

　　[分析] 猜詞題。首先看到reinstate這個(gè)詞是由re開(kāi)頭的，因此這個(gè)單詞應(yīng)該有“重復(fù)”或者“重新”的意思。有了這個(gè)前提，再結(jié)合上下文來(lái)看，401方案取消后，員工進(jìn)行了抗議，因此MTV對(duì)該方案采取了一定行動(dòng)�？梢酝茰y(cè)，是一種公司緩和氣氛而作的努力，那么應(yīng)該是恢復(fù)了該方案。答案為B。選項(xiàng)的幾個(gè)單詞都比較類(lèi)似，也都是以re開(kāi)頭的詞匯，但是它們之間有一些小小的區(qū)別，要注意區(qū)分。這道題主要考察了考生的詞匯量、以及辨別相近詞之間區(qū)別的能力。

　　[答案]B

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆☆

　　[分析] 推理題。第五段中提到，目前工資薪水冊(cè)上有多少自由職員還不清楚，一位MTV Networks發(fā)言人聲稱(chēng)是因?yàn)檫@個(gè)數(shù)字全年都來(lái)回波動(dòng)，這很明顯是一個(gè)托詞，因?yàn)槊考夜�司都�?huì)有其各種人員的登記，要掌握具體的數(shù)據(jù)并不困難。只是公布該數(shù)據(jù)對(duì)公司不利，因?yàn)楣�司自知有大量的自由職員，如果數(shù)據(jù)公布對(duì)罷工者有利，對(duì)公司反而是不利證據(jù)，因此是因?yàn)楣�司不想讓外人知��，以便于在這場(chǎng)罷工斗爭(zhēng)中爭(zhēng)取有利形勢(shì)。因此B為正確答案。C和D選項(xiàng)屬于無(wú)中生有。

　　[答案]B

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆

　　[分析] 態(tài)度題。文章雖然措辭比較客觀(guān)，但是從作者引用的例子等還是可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，作者對(duì)MTV Network公司所作的福利方案變動(dòng)還是有一定的想法。如他引用的幾個(gè)自由職業(yè)者的陳述都可以表現(xiàn)出這一點(diǎn)來(lái)。因此，答案為B。

　　參考譯文：

　　昨天下午，MTV Networks的許多工人進(jìn)行了一場(chǎng)罷工，站滿(mǎn)了其上級(jí)公司Viacom總部外的人行道，抗議比較近福利方面的變化。這次罷工突出反映了那些有時(shí)被稱(chēng)作永久自由職業(yè)者的工人們的憂(yōu)慮：他們和全職員工一樣工作，但是卻得不到同樣的福利。

　　這些工人大多數(shù)都是二十多歲，他們手中揮舞著寫(xiě)有“Viacom 無(wú)恥”的標(biāo)語(yǔ)，要求MTV Networks收回于1月1日開(kāi)始實(shí)施的旨在減少自由職業(yè)者健康和牙齒醫(yī)療方面福利的計(jì)劃。MTV Networks在一份聲明中提到其全職員工的福利計(jì)劃也發(fā)生了一些變化，并且強(qiáng)調(diào)他們對(duì)自由職業(yè)者的福利計(jì)劃在行業(yè)中是有一定優(yōu)勢(shì)的。許多自由職業(yè)者沒(méi)有任何的公司福利。但是一些抗議者聲稱(chēng)公司在比看誰(shuí)提供的醫(yī)療保健計(jì)劃比較普通。在Nickelodeon工作的Matthew Yonda手中的標(biāo)語(yǔ)寫(xiě)著“惡心的elodeon”。“我三年來(lái)每天都在這里工作——我不是自由職業(yè)者，”Yonda這樣說(shuō)，“他們叫我們自由職業(yè)者，目的就是不讓我們享受和正式員工一樣的福利�！�

　　福利變化是于上周二公布的，自由職業(yè)者被告知他們只能在從1月1日起的160天后才有資格享受福利。雖然這樣一來(lái)放寬了以前的資格規(guī)定(該規(guī)定要求自由職業(yè)者必須工作52周后才能成為合格員工)，但卻要求所有尚無(wú)資格享受福利的自由職業(yè)者從1月1日重新開(kāi)始計(jì)算等待期。401(k)計(jì)劃也被取消了。星期四，MTV Networks在收到申訴后又恢復(fù)了401(k)計(jì)劃，宣布從三月以來(lái)一直工作的自由職業(yè)者可以不用等候就可以有資格享受福利。其他的一些改變也引起了公憤。

　　媒體網(wǎng)Gawker張貼的一系列的博客公告更是火上澆油(第一篇公告的標(biāo)題為“Viacom 的永久自由職業(yè)者奴隸體系”)，一群組織松散的自由職業(yè)者上周做了抗議張貼物并散發(fā)罷工傳單。Caroline O'Hare是曾在MTV工作過(guò)兩年多的部門(mén)經(jīng)理，她說(shuō)這個(gè)新的健康保障計(jì)劃含有更高的扣除條款，并設(shè)定了每年醫(yī)療花費(fèi)2000美元的比較高限額，已經(jīng)引起了公憤�！八麄冇X(jué)得可以對(duì)待我們可以像對(duì)待沒(méi)有家庭、抵押貸款和退休夢(mèng)想的孩子一樣�！彼�這樣說(shuō)。

　　在Viacom總部外，幾個(gè)工人手中的條幅這樣寫(xiě)著：“我們?nèi)藬?shù)眾多，不容忽視�！蹦壳吧胁磺宄�到底有多少自由職業(yè)者被劃入該公司的薪水冊(cè)中，MTV Networks一位女發(fā)言人聲稱(chēng)由于一年中這個(gè)數(shù)字起起伏伏，所以現(xiàn)在這個(gè)數(shù)字還不能確定。該公司除自由職業(yè)者外，在全世界有5500個(gè)全職員工。

　　據(jù)兩個(gè)自由職業(yè)者和一個(gè)全職員工估計(jì)在某些部門(mén)自由職業(yè)者的比例高達(dá)75%，這三個(gè)人因害怕被公司報(bào)復(fù)要求而不要公開(kāi)他們身份。另外一項(xiàng)勞動(dòng)訴訟可能將于本周晚些時(shí)候在Viacom外進(jìn)行。美國(guó)作家協(xié)會(huì)的成員已經(jīng)罷工五周，可望于周四在此派出糾察員。