单选题 For most of us, work is the central, dominating fact of life. We spend more than half our conscious hours at work, preparing for work, traveling to and from work. What we do there largely determines our standard of living and to a considerable extent the status we are accorded by our fellow citizens as well. It is sometimes said that because leisure has become more important the indignities and injustices of work can be pushed into a comer, that because most work is pretty intolerable, the people who do it should compensate for its boredom, frustrations and humiliations (羞耻) by concentrating their hopes on the other parts of their lives.
I reject that as a counsel of despair. For the foreseeable future the material and psychological rewards which work can provide, and the conditions in which work is done, will continue to play a vital part in determining the satisfaction that life can offer. Yet only small minority can control the pace at which they work or the conditions in which their work is done; only for a small minority does work offer scope for creativity, imagination, or initiative.
Inequality (不平等) at work and in work is still one of the cruelest and most glaring forms of inequality in our society. We cannot hope to solve the more obvious problems of industrial life, many of which arise directly or indirectly from the frustrations created by inequality at work, unless we tackle it head-on (迎面地). Still less can we hope to create a decent and humane society.
The most glaring inequality is that between managers and the rest. For most managers, work is an opportunity and a challenge. Their jobs engage their interest and allow them develop their abilities. They are constantly learning; they are able to exercise responsibility; they have a considerable degree of control over their own—and others'—working lives. Most important of all, they have opportunity to initiate. By contrast, for most manual workers, and for a growing number of white-collar workers, work is a boring, dull even painful experience, They spend all their working lives in conditions which would be regarded as intolerable for themselves—by those who make the decisions which let such conditions continue. The majority has little control over their work; it provides them with no opportunity for personal development. Often production is so designed that workers are simply part of the technology. In offices, many jobs are so routine that workers justifiably feel themselves to be mere cogs in the bureaucratic (官僚的) machine. As a direct consequence of their work experience, many workers feel alienated from their work and their firm, whether it is in public or in private ownership.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】题干问工作重要的原因。文章第一段第一句话说明工作的重要性，指出：“对于我们中的大多数人来讲，工作是生活的中心，是占有主导地位的部分。”接着，第三句具体解释说：“我们所做的具体工作很大程度上决定了我们的生活水平以及我们的同胞赋予我们的地位。”由此可见，第三句对第一句进行了进一步的阐释，说明了缘由。故A项与文意相符，为正确答案。 [参考译文] 对于我们中的大多数人来讲，工作是生活的中心，是占有主导地位的部分。我们在意识清醒时，有超过一半的时间花在工作、为工作做准备和上下班往返上。我们所做的具体工作很大程度上决定了我们的生活水平以及我们的同胞赋予我们的地位。人们有时会说，由于休闲变得越来越重要，工作中所存在的侮辱及不公正可能被逼入死胡同；因为多数工作是相当令人难以容忍的，做这些工作的人应该将他们的希望放在生活中的其他部分，来补偿工作中的无聊、挫败感和羞耻。我拒绝将此作为绝望之下的建议。在可预见的未来，工作可以提供的物质和心理回报以及工作环境，将继续在决定生活带给我们的满足感中发挥关键作用。然而，只有少数人能够控制他们的工作节奏或者他们的工作环境；只有对少数人而言，工作可以为其提供创造力、想象力或主动性的空间和前景。工作上和工作中的不平等仍然是我们这个社会中最残忍、最突出的不平等现象之一。工业生活中出现的更加显著的问题，其中许多都是由工作中的不平等所引起的挫败感而直接或间接地导致的。除非我们直面这些问题，否则，我们就不可能解决它们。我们也就更不可能创建一个公正的人道主义社会。最突出的不平等现象存在于经理和其他人之间。对于大多数经理而言，工作既是机遇又是挑战。他们的工作不仅能够激发他们的兴趣，而且能够使他们培养自己的能力。他们在不断地学习；他们能够承担责任；他们对他们自己的以及别人的工作生活有相当大的控制力。最重要的是，他们有机会创新。相反，对于大多数体力劳动者以及越来越多的白领职员而言，工作是一种无聊的、令人厌烦的，甚至是痛苦的经历。他们所有的工作生涯都是在他们自认为无法忍受的条件中度过的——这些条件是由让这样的条件继续下去的决策者决定的。大多数人对于自己工作的控制力是很小的；工作并没有给他们提供个人发展的机会。生产通常是这么设计的：工人只是技术的一部分。在办公室里，很多工作都是例行公事，使职员理所当然地觉得自己只是官僚机器上的一枚齿轮。这种工作经历产生的直接后果是，很多职员感觉自己和工作以及公司相隔离了，不管这个公司是政府性质的还是私有的。【议论文：工作的不平等性】第一段：工作的重要性。第二段：提出工作上的不平等性。第三段：进一步论述工作上的不平等性。第四段：详细对比经理和职员在工作方面的不平等。