A
(山东省临沂市2020届高三一模考试)We spend a third of our adult life working and another big part preparing for our careers. Historically, work was rarely seen as a source of meaning and purpose. During the vast majority of our 300,000year human evolution (进化), work was in fact pretty simple. We worked to eat and avoid being eaten.Meaning and purpose came from somewhere else, like culture, art, or science.
The idea that we are meant to find meaning at work or to find work meaningful—is a rather modern, or rather postmodern, invention. Only one hundred years ago it would have been frequent to see workers who returned from a typical workday at factories complain to their folks that they didn't earn much or they were worn out but rare to see they complain they didn't experience a sense of purpose.
Similarly, the idea that we ought to bring our “whole self” to work is a pretty novel and recent form of career advice. Its origins can be traced to William Kahn who invented the concept of employee engagement 30 years ago. His point was that employees differ in the degree to which they identify with their work roles. Some see work as merely a job and clock in and out every day, without bringing their whole self to work. Work is just not a core aspect of their identities, and their concept of themselves is built on other social categories like mother，husband, American，captain of the local soccer team, etc.
Others, however, have a very close psychological connection with their work roles, seeing them as an essential thing intertwined (紧密相连的) with who they are. They don't just come to work. They are fully devoted to their careers and have a spiritual type of connection with their jobs. They are, it seems, almost possessed by work and are the type of workaholics (工作狂) most companies long for.
【语篇解读】 本文是一篇说明文。人的一生中，成年后大约有三分之一的时间都在工作，人们还用很多时间为职业做准备。然而从历史上来看，工作很少被看作人生意义和目标的来源。工作的意义以及全身心投入工作这些概念直到现代才出现。
1．Why did we spend much of our adult life working during the process of evolution?
A．To prepare for future careers.
B．To find the water sources.
C．To help us evolve.
D．To make us survive.
D [细节理解题。根据第一段倒数第二句“We worked to eat and avoid being eaten.”可知，人类在进化过程中花大量时间劳动是为了获取食物，并且避免成为别人的食物，即为了生存，故选D项。]
2．Why did the writer mention the workers a century ago?
A．To help us find meaning at work.
B．To prove that the idea was modern.
C．To show us the bad old days.
D．To complain about the experiences.
B [推理判断题。根据第二段第一句“The idea that we are meant to find meaning at work or to find work meaningful—is a rather modern，or rather postmodern，invention.”可知，在工作中寻求意义这种概念直到现代才有，紧跟着提到一百年前的工人的例子正是为了说明这一点，故选B项。]
3．Which of the following might William Kahn agree with?
A．Employees have different understanding of their work roles.
B．Every employee must bring their whole self to work.
C．To be devoted to work is a pretty novel idea.
D．Workers' core identity is built on art categories.
A [推理判断题。根据第三段第三句“His point was that employees differ in the degree to which they identify with their work roles.”可知，他认为员工们对于自己工作角色的认同程度是因人而异的，故选A项。]
4．What kind of employees do most companies favor?
A．Those who see work as a job.
B．Those who identify with their work roles.
C．Those who are fully devoted to their work.
D．Those who possess experience.
C [细节理解题。根据文章最后一句“They are，it seems，almost possessed by work and are the type of workaholics(工作狂) most companies long for.”可知，大多数公司期望工作狂类型的员工，故选C项。]
