Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have now, and they did not need to be as careful as they must today. They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed. They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them; often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.
Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes. Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore. At such times, they inquire into the causes of the disasters or the problems. New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however. the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.
Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers．In the U.S, for example, there is a department which tests new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems. It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow. Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell. A third department looks at the places where people work. and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers. Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness. but they are having some good results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars which we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products.
小题1:The main topic of the passage is ___________________________________________.
A．conditions in the work place
B．the freedom of industries in the past
C．changes in industrial production
D．the safety and health of workers and customers小题2:It can be inferred from the passage that in the past __________________________.
A．workers often got ill because of the poor working conditions
B．companies were free to put out any products they wanted to
C．many people were killed by dangerous products
D．industries were as careful in management as they are today小题3:It is implied (暗示) in the passage that ________________________________________.
A．governments and companies had different opinions about the safety of products
B．governments paid little attention to the safety of products
C．government officials often did not listen to scientists
D．in the past no safety laws were introduced by governments
小题1:D
小题2:A
小题3:D
题目分析：
小题1:这是标题归纳题。根据第一自然段和最后一然段可以看出应选D。
小题2:这是推理理解题。根据often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.可以推出答案故选A.
小题3:这是推理理解题。根据New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however. the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.
可以推出过去政府没有立法去保护工人的身体健康，故选D。
点评：文中论述了工厂由于只看重生产不重视工人的身体健康，而导致许多人得了疾病，现在不同于过去了，生产厂家既改变了工人的工作环境又能保证了人们的健康状况。标题是文章中心思想的精炼表达，多为词组或短语，涵盖性强。做这类题目时，要在阅读全文的基础上，以文章话题为核心，通过比较选项的概括性或 覆盖面，得出正确的标题。正确标题的归纳范围要恰如其分，避免过于具体或断章取义。错误的干扰往往是局部信息，以事实细节替代概括大意。
