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In the two decades between 1910 and 1930, over ten percent to the Black population of the United States left the South, where the preponderance of the Black population had been located, and migrated to northern (5) states, with the largest number moving, it is claimed, between 1916 and 1918. It has been frequently assumed, but not proved, that the majority of the migrants in what has come to be called the Great Migration came from rural areas and were motivated by two concurrent (10) factors: the collapse of the cotton industry following the boll weevil infestation, which began in 1898, and increased demand in the North for labor following the cessation of European immigration caused by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. This assump- (15) tion has led to the conclusion that the migrants’ subse- quent lack of economic mobility in the North is tied to rural background, a background that implies unfamil- iarity with urban living and a lack of industrial skills. But the question of who actually left the South has (20) never been rigorously investigated. Although numerous investigations document an exodus from rural southern areas to southern cities prior to the Great Migration. no one has considered whether the same migrants then moved on to northern cities. In 1910 over 600,000 (25) Black workers, or ten percent of the Black work force, reported themselves to be engaged in “manufacturing and mechanical pursuits,” the federal census category roughly encompassing the entire industrial sector. The Great Migration could easily have been made up entirely (30) of this group and their families. It is perhaps surprising to argue that an employed population could be enticed to move, but an explanation lies in the labor conditions then prevalent in the South. About thirty-five percent of the urban Black popu- (35) lation in the South was engaged in skilled trades. Some were from the old artisan class of slavery-blacksmiths. masons, carpenters-which had had a monopoly of certain trades, but they were gradually being pushed out by competition, mechanization, and obsolescence, (40) The remaining sixty-five percent, more recently urban- ized, worked in newly developed industries---tobacco. lumber, coal and iron manufacture, and railroads. Wages in the South, however, were low, and Black workers were aware, through labor recruiters and the (45)Black press, that they could earn more even as unskilled workers in the North than they could as artisans in the South. After the boll weevil infestation, urban Black workers faced competition from the continuing influx of both Black and White rural workers, who were driven (50) to undercut the wages formerly paid for industrial jobs. Thus, a move north would be seen as advantageous to a group that was already urbanized and steadily employed, and the easy conclusion tying their subse- quent economic problems in the North to their rural background comes into question.
31. The author indicates explicitly that which of the following records has been a source of information in her investigation? (A) United States Immigration Service reports from 1914 to 1930 (B) Payrolls of southern manufacturing firms between 1910 and 1930 (C) The volume of cotton exports between 1898 and 1910 (D) The federal census of 1910（D） (E) Advertisements of labor recruiters appearing in southern newspapers after 1910
32. In the passage, the author anticipates which of the following as a possible objection to her argument? (A) It is uncertain how many people actually migrated during the Great Migration. (B) The eventual economic status of the Great Migration migrants has not been adequately traced. (C) It is not likely that people with steady jobs would have reason to move to another area of the country. (D) It is not true that the term “manufacturing and mechanical pursuits” actually encompasses the entire industrial sector.
（C） (E) Of the Black workers living in southern cities, only those in a small number of trades were threatened by obsolescence.
33. According to the passage, which of the following is true of wages in southern cities in 1910? (A) They were being pushed lower as a result of increased competition. (B) They had begun t to rise so that southern industry could attract rural workers. (C) They had increased for skilled workers but decreased for unskilled workers. (D) They had increased in large southern cities but decreased in small southern cities.
（A） (E) They had increased in newly developed industries but decreased in the older trades.
34. The author cites each of the following as possible influences in a Black worker’s decision to migrate north in the Great Migration EXCEPT (A) wage levels in northern cities (B) labor recruiters (C) competition from rural workers (D) voting rights in northern states（D） (E) the Black press
35. It can be inferred from the passage that the “easy conclusion” mentioned in line 53 is based on which of the following assumptions? (A) People who migrate from rural areas to large cities usually do so for economic reasons. (B) Most people who leave rural areas to take jobs in cities return to rural areas as soon as it is financially possible for them to do so. (C) People with rural backgrounds are less likely to succeed economically in cities than are those with urban backgrounds. (D) Most people who were once skilled workers are not willing to work as unskilled workers.
（C） (E) People who migrate from their birthplaces to other regions of country seldom undertake a second migration.
36. The primary purpose of the passage is to (A) support an alternative to an accepted methodology (B) present evidence that resolves a contradiction (C) introduce a recently discovered source of information (D) challenge a widely accepted explanation（D） (E) argue that a discarded theory deserves new attention
31. D is the best answer. In lines 35-41, the author states that ten percent of the Black workers in the South were employed in “manufacturing and mechanical pursuits” and then identifies “manufacturing and mechanical pursuits” as the general federal census category for industrial occupations in 1910. Thus, she indicates that she used the federal census as a source of information. 32. C is the best answer. To answer this question, you must first identify the author’s argument. The author argues that it is possible that Black migrants to the North were living and working in urban areas of the South rather in rural areas, as researchers had previously assumed. In lines 44-48, the author states that it may be “surprising” that an employed population would relocate. Thus, the author anticipates an objection to her argument on the grounds that Black urban workers in the South would have been unlikely to leave an economically secure existence. She meets that objection by stating that “an explanation lies in the labor conditions then prevalent in the South” (lines 46-48), and discusses the low wages that may have motivated Black workers to migrate north for higher pay. 33. A is the best answer. The author discusses wages in southern cities in the third paragraph. Lines 68-73 state that an increase in the number of rural workers who migrated to southern cities after the collapse of the cotton industry led to increased competition for jobs and resulted in wages being pushed lower. 34. D is the best answer. This question asks you to identify the possible influences that motivated Black workers in their decision to migrate north, and then to recognize which of the choices is NOT mentioned as an influence on Black workers. This is the only option not mentioned in the passage as an influence that may have motivated southern Black workers to move north. 35. C is the best answer. To answer this question, you must first identify the “easy conclusion” mentioned in lines 77-79, which ties Black migrants’ “subsequent economic problems in the North to their rural background.” This linkage of rural background to economic difficulty after migration to the North is first mentioned in lines 20-26. Here, the author points out that researchers have assumed that Black migrants encountered economic difficulties in northern cities because they were from rural rather than urban backgrounds, and that rural backgrounds imply “unfamiliarity with urban living and a lack of industrial skills.” This choice provides an assumption about the relationship between rural backgrounds and economic difficulty that underlies this conclusion. It states that people with rural backgrounds are more likely to have economic difficulty in urban areas than are people with urban backgrounds. 36. D is the best answer. The first paragraph describes a common assumption about the Great Migration, that the majority of migrants came from rural areas. It also restates the conclusion that is based on this assumption, that the subsequent economic difficulties of Black migrants in the North were a result of their unfamiliarity with urban life. In the second paragraph, the author states that the “question of who actually left the South” (lines 27-28) has never been adequately researched. She goes on to argue that Black migrants may actually have been from urban areas rather than rural areas, and thus that their subsequent economic problems in northern cities were not caused by their rural background. In making this argument, the author is challenging the “widely accepted explanation” presented in the first paragraph.
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发表于 2007-10-19 09:45:00
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