今天小编给大家带来的是2012年考研真题阅读，希望对大家有所帮助。
　　IfthetradeunionistJimmyHoffawerealivetoday,hewouldprobablyrepresentcivilservant.
　　如果工会者吉米·霍法(Jimmy Hoffa)今天还活着，他可能会代表公务员。
　　WhenHoffa’sTeamsterswereintheirprimein1960,onlyoneintenAmericangovernmentworkersbelongedtoaunion;now36%do.
　　当Hoffa的卡车司机在1960年处于鼎盛时期时，只有十分之一的美国工作人员属于工会;现在是36%。
　　In2009thenumberofunionistsinAmerica’spublicsectorpassedthatoftheirfellowmembersintheprivatesector.
　　2009年，美国公共部门工会成员的数量超过了私营部门工会成员。
　　InBritain,morethanhalfofpublic-sectorworkersbutonlyabout15%ofprivate-sectoronesareunionized.
　　在英国，超过一半的公共部门员工加入了工会，但只有15%的私营部门员工加入了工会。
　　There are three reasons for the public-sector unions’ thriving.
　　公共部门工会的兴盛有三个原因。
　　First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences
　　首先，他们可以在不承担太多后果的情况下关闭某些业务。
　　Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated.
　　其次，他们大多聪明且受过良好教育。
　　A quarter of America’s public-sector workers have a university degree.
　　四分之一的美国公共部门员工拥有大学学位。
　　Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics.
　　第三，他们现在主导着中间偏左的政治。
　　Some of their tie go back a long way.
　　他们的一些关系可以追溯到很久以前。
　　Britain’s Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism.
　　英国工党，顾名思义，一直与工会联系在一起。
　　Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.
　　工党现任领袖埃德?米利班德(Ed Miliband)将自己的地位归功于公共部门工会的。
　　At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome.
　　在州一级，他们的影响可能更可怕。
　　Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state’s budget is patrolled by unions.
　　加州公共政策研究所的Mark Baldassare指出，加州的大部分预算都由工会负责。
　　The teachers’ unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.
　　教师工会关注学校，CCPOA关注，各种劳工组织关注医疗保健。
　　In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one.
　　在许多富裕国家，国营部门的平均工资高于私营部门。
　　But the real gains come in benefits and work practices.
　　但真正的收获来自福利和工作实践。
　　Politicians have repeatedly “backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.
　　政客们一再“倒装”公共部门的薪酬协议，保持适度的加薪，但增加了假期，尤其是已经很慷慨的养老金。
　　Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles.
　　改革遭到了强烈反对，也许令人震惊的是在教育领域，特许学校、学院和绩效工资都面临着旷日持久的斗争。
　　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.
　　尽管有大量证据表明，教师的素质是重要的变量，但教师工会一直在反对淘汰坏教师、提拔好教师。
　　As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down.
　　随着其他所有人付出的代价变得越来越明显，政客们已经开始采取行动。
　　In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor.
　　在威斯康辛州，工会组织了数千名支持者反对强硬的共和党州长斯科特?沃克。
　　But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.
　　但在当前体制下，公共部门的许多人也受到了影响。
　　JohnDonahueatHarvard’sKennedySchoolpointsoutthatthenormsofcultureinWesterncivilservicessuitthosewhowanttostayputbutisbadforhighachievers.
　　哈佛大学肯尼迪学院(Harvard’s Kennedy School)的约翰?多纳休(John Donahue)指出，西方公务员制度中的文化规范适合那些希望留在原地但对高成就人士不利的人。
　　TheonlyAmericanpublic-sectorworkerswhoearnwellabove$250,000ayearareuniversitysportscoachesandthepresidentoftheUnitedStates.
　　美国公共部门员工中，年薪远高于25万美元的只有大学体育教练和美国的总统。
　　Bankers’fatpaypacketshaveattractedmuchcriticism,butapublic-sectorsystemthatdoesnotrewardhighachieversmaybeamuchbiggerproblemforAmerica.
　　银行家们丰厚的薪水引来了很多批评，但是一个不奖励高成就人士的公共部门体系对美国来说可能是一个更大的问题。