改错练习

Evelyn Coke spent 20 years as a home care aide helping the elderly and the sick but she did not live and see fair labor laws applied to her work.(1)____In a case that it went to the Supreme Court in 2007, Ms. Coke, who died in 2009, sued her employer with years of unpaid overtime work.(2)____(3)____ This month, the president invoked Ms. Coke's memory when he announced that the Labor Department had proposed changes to the provisions which the court had based its decision．(4)____

At issue in Ms. Coke's case is a 1975 labor rule that defined home care aides as "companions," a class of workers that do not qualify for federal minimum wage and overtime protections.(5)____(6)____ Ms. Coke's lawyer, Craig Becker, argued that the rule was supposed to apply only to occasional domestic workers, like baby sitters, not home care aides-one of the nation's fastest-growing occupations and one whose duties often include feeding, bathing and dressing clients. And the justices said that only Congress or the Labor Department could change the rule, not the court.(7)____ The new proposal states clearly that home care aides who are employed by third-party agencies are entitled to the minimum wage and overtime payment.(8)____ Aides hired directly by families are also covered if they are engaging in housekeeping or spend more than 20 percent of their time on activities other than companionship.(9)____ The Labor Department will finalize the proposal after a 60-day public comment period. Some home care agencies are sure to complain, but the Labor Department should stand firmly.(10)____

答案解析

文章大意
本文讨论的是保护家庭护理工作者的合法权益及相关法规的修订。伊美琳·科克干了20年的家庭护理工作，但直到2009年去世，她都没能看到保障其公平权利的劳动法的诞生。2007年，科克女士控告其雇主多年来要求她无偿加班，但控诉并未得到法院的支持，因为根据1975年制定的劳动法，家庭护理工作者被划归为看护妇，这类工作不受联邦最低工资制度和超时劳动制度的保护。现在，科克女士的申诉有望得到法律支持——本月总统宣布劳工部终于提出了对旧的劳动法案的修改。
答案详解
1．and (see)→to语篇错误。原句中live和see是并列谓语，但第一个谓语动词did not live在语义上解释不通，改为did not live to see后，不定式to see...用来修饰live，表示“她到死都没有看到适用于她的职业的公平的劳动法规的诞生”，符合上下文的 意思。
2．it→it语法错误。本句的主语为Ms. Coke，这里that引导的是定语从句，用来修饰case。而在定语从句中that代替case，作从句中的主语，所以it是多余的，应删掉。本句的意思是“在2007年一桩上诉至最高法院的官司中，科克女士（已于2009年去世）控告其雇主多年来要求她无偿加班”。
3．with→for词汇错误。sue意为“控告”，其用法是sue sb．for sth．，意为“因为……控告某人”。
4．∧which→on语法错误。which引导的是定语从句，用以修饰provisions。而在定语从句中，which所代替的先行词provision（法律条款）既不是作主语，也不是作宾语，根据上下文意思，应该是用在based the decision on the provisions结构中，所以应在 which前加上on。
5．is→was语法错误。此段的前几句话都是在描述当年科克女士那桩官司的情况，所以应该用过去时态。此句是一个倒装句，主语是a 1975 labor rule，谓语是was，at issue是表语，意为“在科克女士的那个案子中，1975年制定的劳动法是大家争论的焦点”。
6．do→does语法错误。do是定语从句中的助动词，而定语从句的主语that代替的是先行词a class of workers，其中心词是class，是一个单数形式的名词，所以助动词也应该用单数形式does。
7．And→But语篇错误。上一句科克女士的辩护律师争论到1975年的蒡动法不适用于家庭护理工作者，而这一句法官表示只有国会和劳工部能够改变这法律。前后两句在语义上存在转折关系。而用在句首，且没有逗号分开的表示转折关系的连词只有but，故此处改为But。
8．payment→pay词汇错误。payment意为“（商业，信贷）支付，付款”，pay意为“工资，薪饷”，既可指wage，也可指salary。此处要表达的意思是“加班工资”，应用pay。
9．engaging→engaged词汇错误。be engaged in是固定词组，意为“参与，从事于，忙于”。
10．firmly→firm语法错误。从上下文分析，此处stand应该用作系动词，表示“处于某种状态”，因此其后应接形容词，构成系表结构，stand firm在此处意为“保持坚定立场”。