英语四级阅读200篇: Unit 42 passage 1

　　There are no accidents in history. It is impossible to make something out nothing. History is not made in a vacuum any more than oak tree is made out of thin air. Every historical movement or event is the result of something that happened earlier just as the oak is dependent upon the acorn , the soil, moisture, and proper weather conditions. And in its turn every such historical movement or event helps to determine the future. This is true of the rise of industry.

　　The roots of American industry extend backward into the past. One of its main roots is that of invention. Factories could not run without the wheel, which was one of the first inventions, and one of the most important inventions, ever made. They could not run efficiently without thousands of other inventions which have been made as the centuries have passed by. Another main root is the idea of interchangeable parts. This meant that instead of making an entire machine, automobile, or rifle as a unit in one factory, largely by hand and at great expense, the small individual parts might be manufactured in separate factories or shops in mass production at a much lower cost. A third main root consists of the discoveries of our scientists who harnessed electricity, found new ways to use petroleum and other natural resources, and unlocked secrets through chemistry. A fourth great root consists of our natural resources. Without iron ore, copper, oil, timber, fertile soil, and similar natural resources large industries could not exist.

　　The results of the rise of industry have been tremendous. The lives of each and every one of us have been affected profoundly by the products of factory machines. Industry has caused the great migration from country to city. We were a nation of farmers before the rise of our industry. In 1790, 95 per cent of the population of the United States lived on farms. But this picture changed rapidly as people living on farms moved to factory towns to work at the new machines erected there. The work seemed easier than what they had done on the farm, the wages paid looked attractive, and life in the factory towns appeared more exciting. By 1870 there were about as many workers in the factories as there were on the farms. By 1930 about eighty per cent of the workers were in the factories and only about twenty per cent on the farms. Whereas in 1790 most American workers were engaged in farming, today most workers are employed in industry. Thus there has been almost a complete about-face in the type of work done by the average American a fundamental change that resulted largely from the rise of industry.

　　The thousands of new factories have been largely responsible for making us the wealthiest nation that the world has ever seen. All sections of our population have benefited. By 1860 the per capita income of the average American had risen to $ 500; by 1930 it was more than six times as much. The people who owned these factories sometimes made great profits and became very wealthy. During the latter part of the nineteenth century some Americans became millionaires; soon they became common in our larger cities. The workers in the factories also benefited in time. In the early factories it was not unusual for a worker to receive only two dollars per week, consisting of six days of employment from dawn to dark. John D.- Rockefeller, who became one of the wealthiest of Americans, once worked as a bookkeeper at $ 12. 50 per month. Today the income of American laborers for much shorter hours is by far the greatest in the entire world. It is not always easy to compare incomes received in one period of our history with incomes received by some other generation because the value of the dollar varies. Today a dollar will not buy nearly as much as at other times in the past. But, despite these variations, the American worker has much more wealth than he possessed before the rise of industry.

　　As factories have grown and multiplied, the type of work has changed. Before the days of mass production the individual worker might make a manufactured product all by himself, perhaps at his own forge . He could take pride in what he had accomplished. When factories were built and the idea of interchangeable parts was introduced, he made only a part of the finished product himself. He could take less pride than before in what he had accomplished. As factories grew even larger the various parts of the manufactured product were made in different factories, sometimes in various cities. The role that he played as an individual worker became less and less until, in many cases, his work seemed unimportant to him. He found difficulty in feeling pride in a finished automobile if he tightened only a few bolts. The work became boring and monotonous.

　　Before the rise of industry the worker was often his own boss. If he did not work for himself, he was one of only a few workers who worked directly with or under their employer. The worker and the employer could understand each others problems. The rise of industry led to a widening chasm between industrialists and labor. The time came when the worker and his employer did not know each other. Sometimes the people who owned the factory lived in faraway cities and their only interest was in profits. In such situations the main concern of the workers was often the size of their paychecks without regard to the welfare of the company. Sometimes the struggle between workers and industrialists led not only to friction but to violence, which frequently harmed the general public as well as it did labor and industry. On the other hand there have been many occasions when workers and industrialists have learned that they need each other and have clasped hands across the chasm. Where there has been harmony between workers and industrialists, there have been generally uninterrupted paychecks and profits.

　　Another indirect but important result of the rise of industry has been the increase of leisure time and the extent to which the average citizen can make use to it. In the early part of the nineteenth century most workers, whether on the farm or in the factory, had little leisure time. It was no unusual for girls in factory towns in New England to live in dormitories belonging to the company. Besides working from dawn to dark they had little time allowed for meals, they had to retire each night at a set time, and their social life was regulated even on Sunday. Today because of the short work week the average worker, even on the farm, has a considerable amount of leisure time. His employer does not require him to go to bed, get up, or eat at a specified time, or to go to church on Sunday. With his greatly increased income and the varied means of transportation which are readily available, he is relatively free to go where, and do as, he pleases. He has much more time to spend at home, to take his family on an outing at the beach, to devote to Boy Scouts or to Little League, or to use for literature, music, or more education. On the other hand, he has more time to spend in ways that are useless, or harmful to others.

　　1. The division of labor is one of the factors leading to the rise of industry,

　　2. The passage mainly deals with the causes and consequences of the rise of industry.

　　3. With the division of labor, the individual worker played an increasingly important role in making the finished product.

　　4. By 1870, about 45 percent to the U. S. production moved to factory towns.

　　5. The wealth created by the rise of industry has resulted in much that is wasteful and evil.

　　6. Only American millionaires benefited from the rise of industry.

　　7. Sometimes friction or even violence occurred between workers and industrialists because they did not know each other by name.

　　8. By 1930, the per capita income of the average American had risen to______.

　　9. Sometimes it is difficult to compare money values in different periods of history because of money______.

　　10. Mass production lessened______pride in what he had accomplished.

　　1. Y 2. Y 3. N 4. Y 5. NG 6. N 7. N

　　8. $3,000 9. variations 10. the individual workers