A
(2020·河南适应性测试)Every year between May and September, all 54 employees of Basecamp, a Chicagobased web application company, have a short work week: just four days—a total of 32 hours. Also, they usually work five days a week for the rest of the year.
“That’s plenty of time to get great work done. This is all we expect and all we want from people，” says Jason Fried, a cofounder. “Working 50， 60， or 70plus hours is unnecessary. In fact, if you have to work 50， 60， or 70plus hours a week, there’s a management problem.”
The company’s summer workload must fit reduced hours, Mr.Fried insists, otherwise the benefits of a shorter week—to recover from work, enjoy time with family and pursue(追求) outside interests—would be undone.
His new research finds that it is not just long hours that are harmful to employees’ physical and mental health. It is also the intensity(强度) of work. Moreover, it suggests that intense work harms career prospects. That is because unbearable hours and intensity are in the opposite direction, reducing the quality of the work.
The research concludes that the level of intensity we apply to the work we do is generally “a stronger predictor of unfavorable outcomes than overtime work”．
The research compared people of similar jobs and education levels, and found they were more likely to suffer poorer happiness and worse career prospects, including satisfaction, security and promotion, when they worked at an intense level for long periods.
【解题导语】 本文以一家总部位于芝加哥的网络应用公司Basecamp的54名员工将近半年时间每周只工作4天，共32小时的情况为例说明了较短的工作周有益于人们的身心健康，并以一项研究来证明。
1．What do we know about Basecamp’s fourday work week?
A．It lasts nearly half a year.
B．The work pressure is too high.
C．There are some management problems.
D．Employees work more than 8 hours a day.
A 解析：细节理解题。根据第一段可知，一家总部位于芝加哥的网络应用公司Basecamp的54名员工在每年5月到9月期间每周的工作时间都很短：只有4天，共32小时，持续5个月，大概半年时间，故选A项。
2．What does Mr.Fried intend to say in paragraph 2?
A．Given plenty of time, people can do more.
B．To get work done well needs plenty of time.
C．People can do a job very well in a short work week.
D．A long work week is appropriate for reduced workload.
C 解析：推理判断题。根据第二段中的“Working 50， 60， or 70plus hours is unnecessary. In fact, if you have to work 50， 60， or 70plus hours a week, there’s a management problem.”可知，弗里德先生认为一周工作50几个小时，60几个小时，甚至70几个小时是没有必要的。如果真这么做了，管理上是有问题的。由此推知，弗里德先生认为人们可以在短时间内把工作做好，故选C项。
3．What does the research mentioned in the text want to tell us?
A．Getting much more rest.
B．Improving work quality.
C．Refusing a fiveday work week.
D．Avoiding working too intensely.
D 解析：推理判断题。根据题干中的the research可定位到文章的第四至六段，通读这几段，尤其是第四段可知，这项新研究发现长时间工作不只对员工的身心健康有害，工作的强度也会影响员工的职业前景。这是因为难以忍受的工作时长和工作强度会降低工作质量，第五、六两段进一步说明了长时间和高强度工作的坏处，由此可以推知，该研究建议人们要避免高强度工作，故选D项。
4．What can be the best title for this passage?
A．More Work, More Profits
B．Less Work, Less Benefits
C．Shorter Week, Better Reward
D．Longer Hours, Higher Intensity
C 解析：标题归纳题。文章第一、二段以一家总部位于芝加哥的网络应用公司Basecamp为例，说明了较短的工作周的好处。第三段介绍了较短的工作周的好处。第四至六段介绍了一项有关工作时长和工作强度对人的影响的研究，更进一步印证了较短工作周对人身心方面的益处。由此可知C项最能概括全文内容。
