Part Ⅱ
Reading Comprehension (35 minutes)

Directions:There are 4 reading passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

Passage One

Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage:

When Kathie Gifford’s face was splashed across the newspapers in 1996 after her lucrative line of Wal-mart clothing was exposed as the work of underpaid laborers in New York City’s Chinatown, the Department of Labor and the White House teamed up to condemn such practices. With much fanfare, President Clinton’s administration launched the “No Sweat” campaign, which pressured retailers and manufacturers to submit to periodic independent inspection of their workplace conditions.

This campaign urged manufacturers to sign the Workplace Code of Conduct, a promise to self-regulate that has since been adopted by a handful of retailers and many of the nation’s largest manufacturers, including Nike and L.L. Bean. However, the Department of Defense, which has a $ 1 billion garment business that would make it the country’s 14th largest retail apparel outlet, has not signed the Code of Conduct. In addition, it has not agreed to demand that its contractors submit to periodic inspections.

Because the Department of Defense has not agreed to adhere to the code, the job of stopping public-sector sweatshops falls to the Department of Labor. Federal contractors that persist in violating wage laws or safety and health codes can lose their lucrative taxpayer-financed contracts. But Suzanne Seiden, a deputy administrator at the Department of Labor, says that to her knowledge, the department has never applied that rule to government apparel manufacturers. “I just assume that they are adhering to safety and health requirements,” she says. According to records obtained by Mother Jones, through a Freedom of Information Act request, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Lion 32 times for safety and health violations in the past 12 years.

21.What is this passgage mainly concerned with?

A)The functions of the Department of Labor in America.
B)A serious problem threatening American economy.
C)The successful attempt of regulating sweatshops in America.
D)The seriousness of the problem of sweatshops in America.

22.According to the passage, Kathie Gifford ____.

A) was one of the underpaid laborers in New York City’s Chinatown
B) was one of the well-paid laborers in New York City’s Chinatown
C) made much money from cheap laborers in New York City’s Chinatown
D) wrote a newspaper article exposing the practice of employing cheap laborers

23.The underlined phrase “to submit to” is closest in meaning to ____.

A) to accept unwillingly
B) to refuse coldly
C) to welcome warm-heartedly
D) to blame strongly

24.Which of the following statements about the Department of Defense is true?

A) It will become the country’s 14th largest retail apparel manufacturer.
B) It hasn’t acted according to the Workplace Code of Conduct.
C) It has demanded its contractors to sign the Workplace Code of Conduct.
D) It has teamed up with the Department of Labor to launch a campaign.

25.What was the purpose of President Clinton’s administration launching the “No Sweat” campaign?

A) To urge manufacturers to obey the Workplace Code of Conduct.
B) To remind the manufacturers of the Workplace Code of Conduct.
C) To urge the Department of Labor to take its responsibility.
D) To urge the Department of Defense to inspect manufacturers.