If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servant. When Hoffa’s Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America’s public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.
There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.
At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.
In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.
Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers’ unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.
As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.
John Donahue at Harvard’s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers’ fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.
36. It can be learned from the first paragraph that
[A] Teamsters still have a large body of members.
[B] Jimmy Hoffa used to work as a civil servant.
[C] unions have enlarged their public-sector membership.
[D]the government has improved its relationship with unionists.
37. Which of the following is true of Paragraph 2?
[A] Public-sector unions are prudent in taking actions.
[B] Education is required for public-sector union membership.
[C] Labor Party has long been fighting against public-sector unions.
[D]Public-sector unions seldom get in trouble for their actions.
38. It can be learned from Paragraph 4 that the income in the state sector is
[A] illegally secured.
[B] indirectly augmented.
[C] excessively increased.
[D]fairly adjusted.
39. The example of the unions in Wisconsin shows that unions
[A]often run against the current political system.
[B]can change people’s political attitudes.
[C]may be a barrier to public-sector reforms.
[D]are dominant in the government.
40. John Donahue’s attitude towards the public-sector system is one of
[A]disapproval.
[B]appreciation.
[C]tolerance.
[D]indifference.
36.【答案】C
【解析】
根据题干定位于第一段When …were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. 意思是1960年时，美国政府部门只有1/10的人是工会成员，但是现在比例是36%。所以C选项正确：工会增加了政府部门成员。A选项：Teamster 仍然拥有很多成员。文中只提到了比例，并没有讲具体人数;B：吉米过去是一个公仆。而文中第一句是一个虚拟语气的句子，“如果他还活着的话，他今天可能代表一名公仆”，曲解文意;D：政府改善了与社团的关系。文中并未提及。
37.【答案】D
【解析】
该题很容易根据题干定位于第二段。第二段中有很明显的first, second, third这些词，属于典型的列举处，最容易出细节题。只需要将各选项与这三点仔细比对即可。A 公共部门组织在采取行动时很谨慎文中并示提及，是对“they now dominate left-of-centre politics”这句话设置的干扰项，“左派”为激进派，不可能谨慎;而B错在教育不是需要的，而是公务员社团成员受教育程度普遍偏高，并非必需;C工党长期与公务员社团争斗，该段倒数第二句指出工会与社团一直有联系，最后一句讲到工会领导Miliband荣登宝座正是因为公务员社团的大力支持，因此与原文相悖;D选项为First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences.这句话的同义改写。意思是“他们可以息事宁人并不用遭受不好的后果”。
38.【答案】B
【解析】
该题很容易定位于文章的第四段。题干是“国家部门人员的工资状况是”。做这道题要把第四段整体理解。注意But后面的内容，尤其是keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous。大意是公共部门员工的工资涨幅很小，但是节假日福利津贴很多。B选项的indirectly augment意思是“间接地增加”。和原文意思“公有部门人员的收入是来源于福利等间接收入，而非正常的工资收入”符合。A 通过非法得来文中只提到了国家部门人员的工资比私人企业的要高，整段都未提及来源，故该选项属于过度推理;C 过度地增长文中并未提及增长的幅度，提到只是通过“暗厢操作”的方式，容易使考生产生误解;D 很公正地调整与“backloaded”不符。
39.【答案】C
【解析】
题干的意思是“举威斯康辛社团为例，表明社团_______”。该题根据题干中的专有名词Wisconsin定位于倒数第二段。由题干可知这是一个例证题，所以需要看文章的第五段。第五段首句Reform has been vigorously opposed。从第六段Wisconsin的例子可以看出，工会集合众人反对共和党领导人Scott Walker，正是为了反对改革。所以可以知道工会可能是公共部门改革的一个障碍，C为正确选项。A 经常与当前政治体系对抗文中并未反映often这个程度。B 能够改变人们的政治态度文中并示提及，D 在政府中占统治地位文中第二句讲到社团得到了成千上万人的支持来对付强硬的共和党州长，并不能推出该选项之意。
40.【答案】A
【解析】
文中人物的观点态度题。该题定位于最后一段，第一句话指出John认为西方公共服务中的文化准则适用于想维持原状的人们而对于有比较高成就的人们就不利了，很明显持否定态度，最后再次指出不能造福于高成就人们的公共服务系统对于美国可能是一个更大的麻烦，也再次证实了作者的观点是不支持的即A选项。disapproval“反对”，appreciation“欣赏”，tolerance“宽容”，indifference“冷漠”。
