Written records indicate that in 1153 B.C., workers in the city of Thebes, Egypt protested receiving the same food every day, as well as their overall working conditions. This was the first recorded disagreement between labor and management. About 800 years later, the first strike happened. Aristos, originally from Greece, led the strike in Rome against his master in protest of meal breaks, which were too short. The tradition of organizing workers to protest unfair conditions has continued to the present. Today, labor unions stand up for the rights of workers using collective bargaining techniques. These unions, which exist all around the world, take two basic forms -- voluntary unions, bureaucratic(官僚政治的) unions.

　　  Voluntary, or free unions, leave the choice of membership up to individuals. Not everyone must join the union, but enough people do join so that the union keeps power in the workplace. The purpose of this type of union is to establish a good living standard for employees and also to protect this standard during times of economic difficulty. Countries where this type of union is popular include most of Western Europe, Britain, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

　　  Membership in bureaucratic unions is also voluntary, but because these unions are closely connected to political parties in the countries where these unions operate, members of the party include themselves as members of the union. This type of union's main purpose is to set up good relations between the ruling government and members of the union. Political and social reforms おare the main goals of this type of union. Bureaucratic unions are found in Latin America, and some Asian and African countries.

　　  When unions and employers do not see eye to eye on an issue, the union sends some of its workers to meet with the employers and try to reach an agreement. However, collective bargaining does not always sufficiently influence policy makers. When this technique fails to meet the union goals, a strike may be called. Strikes may take several different forms including pickets, sit-down strikes, and also general strikes in which labor for an entire region may stop. Unions have found that strikes are the most effective in times when unemployment is low and economic conditions are good.

阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每小题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　At the Sydney Olympic in 2000 there were eight diving events for men and women. In these events, individual and synchronized (双人同步的) competitors performed a set number of compulsory and voluntary dives, each of which was given a point score.

　　Platform

　　The platform is a non - bending board 10m high - the same height as a three - story building.

　　Springboard

　　On the 3m springboard, divers need ability and timing. They use the flex of the board to attain maximum spring.

　　Judges

　　Seven judges give each dive a score out of ten. A dive is judged by the approach, take - off, elevation (高度), execution (实施、完成) of movements and entry into water.

　　Scoring

　　The highest and lowest scores are got rid of and the remaining five are totaled. The number is mulitiplied by the degree of difficulty rating assigned to each dive. This total is then mulitplied by 0.6 to give the final score.

　　Competition

　　When there are more than 16 competitors, a preliminary competition is held. The eight divers with the most points qualify (合格) for the final.

　　Types of Dives

　　There are six different groups of dives. Forward, backward, reverse (向后的) and inward dives involve rotating in different directions relative to the board and the starting position. Twisting (旋转) includes any dive with a twist. Armstand dives begin with a handstand position on the edge of the platform.

　　Body positons

　　Tuck - The body is bent at the waist and knees, the thighs are drawn to the chest while the heels are close to the buttocks (臀部).

　　Pike - The legs are straight with the body bent at the waist. The arm position is dictated by the particular dive.

　　Straight - No bending at the waist or knees is permitted.

　　Free - The free position is only used in dives that include twists.

　　Synchronized Diving

　　Pairs of dives perform a combination of dives at the same time. Nine judges award points with four judges rating the execution of the dives and other five assessing the synchronization (一致，同步) of the two divers.

1．When diving scores are totaled, what other information is taken into account?

[　　]

A．The difficulty of the dive.

B．The body position of the diver.

C．The time it took the competitor to execute the dive.

D．The number of other people who have previously performed the dive.

2．When there are more than sixteen competitors in a diving competition, there must be ________.

[　　]

A．an equal number of male and female competitors

B．another competition to choose the best eight divers

C．two pairs of synchronized divers competing

D．no more than five judges involved

3．The information states that the “free” body position is only used when a ________.

[　　]

A．diver's legs are perfectly straight

B．twist is part of the dive being performed

C．diver has reached the final of a competition

D．reverse dive is being executed

4．According to the information presented, which of the following statements about armstand dives is TRUE?

[　　]

A．An armstand dive should be performed from a platform.

B．An armstand dive should be performed from a springboard.

C．Armstand dives are not usually performed at Olympic level.

D．Armstand dives cannot be performed by synchronized divers.

5．The purpose of the information is to ________.

[　　]

A．indicate that the rules for diving changed for the 2000 Olympics

B．argue that diving is the most popular Olympic sport

C．show that diving can be a dangerous sport

D．give specific details about the sport of diving