单选题
Introspection is kind of a drag. It requires unpleasant acts like "thinking" and "talking about emotions," and it can rarely be done while watching TV. But like it or not, more and more workers are taking time to reflect on what they do for a living, seeking jobs that aren"t just a means to a paycheck but the fulfilment of some form of calling. Can this supposedly enlightening feeling that your career is "a calling" be a bad thing?
Teresa Cardador, an assistant professor in the school of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois recently co-authored a paper in the Journal of Career Assessment that reviewed research on people who find meaning and a sense of purpose in their work. "There has become this idealized notion of work," Cardador said. "A lot of books and stories in the popular press capture this idea of an idealized orientation toward work. But there"s increasing evidence that suggests that despite the perceived desirability, it"s not always beneficial." In a nutshell, what Cardador found is that people who view their work as a calling can get too wrapped up in the job, to the point where it becomes counterproductive.
Some people burn out—it"s called "the fall from the call." Sometimes the person with the calling believes he or she is the only one qualified to handle the work, and that can cause strained relationships with co-workers. Also, the intense focus on work can be depleting, leaving a worker without enough energy to maintain good relationships outside the office. However, "callings can be healthy when individuals inspire and connect with others at work," Cardador said.
Between constantly evolving technology and downsizing that requires more of individual workers, it"s critical that a worker accept the fact that her or his job tasks may not always be the same. We have to be flexible nowadays, even if certain tasks don"t fit our idealized vision of the job. The study said. "People with rigid work identities have a single way of viewing who they are and what they do at work and are unwilling or unable to bend this image to fit with the reality of their work situation. In so doing, they are less able to account for the needs and interests of others in the workplace."
Just because you feel passionate about what you do doesn"t mean you can"t do other things that contribute to the greater good of your organization. You have to step back and examine how you"re handling your work, making sure, in the simplest of terms, that you"re not unwittingly being a selfish jerk. After all, we work, predominantly, because there are no money trees to harvest. The hope is that our labor lets us build the lives we want. If that comes with a feeling of fulfillment, fantastic.
单选题
A "calling" is different from a job in that it ______
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 第一段的大概意思是:人们需要经过反思才能找出一个calling,它不仅仅帮我们挣到维持生计所需要的薪酬,而且带给我们the fulfillment of some form of calling(成就某种事业的感觉)。全文最后三句照应了第一段,作者指出,我们工作毕竟是为了挣钱养活自己,我们希望工作能帮我们创造我们想要的生活。如果在此过程中我们获得一种成就感,那就更好了。言外之意,虽然我们不应该刻意地把工作看作一种calling,但是如果我们的工作像一种calling那样能给我们带来成就感,那就更好了。可见,calling与job的最大区别,在于前者侧重于精神上的满足。
单选题
Cardador and her co-author find that treating a job as calling ______
单选题
The writer seems to imply there is a direct connection between calling and ______
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 作者在第二段提到,把工作当作一种calling的人可能会get too wrapped up in the job,因此在第三段最后一句和第四、五段,作者似乎把缺乏灵活性和把工作当作一种calling联系在一起。他提醒人们,在技术不断演化的今天,人们更需要根据自己所处的工作环境来调整自己对工作的认识,而不能过于理想化地看待自己的工作。
单选题
In the last paragraph the readers are advised to ______
【答案解析】[解析] 第三段提到,callings can be healthy when individuals inspire and connect with others at work,也就是说,只有当callings使工作者激励其他人并与其他人建立良好的关系时,它们才是有益的。相反,如果callings使工作者只专注于自己的事业,那么他就可能变成一个selfish jerk,不愿意或不善于同其他人合作。