Question

Cooperation at work is generally seen as a good thing. The latest survey by the Financial Times of what employers want from MBA graduates found that the ability to work with a wide variety of people was what managers wanted most. But managers always have to balance the benefits of teamwork, which help ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal, with the dangers of “groupthink” when critics are reluctant to point out a plan’s drawbacks for fear of being kept out of the group. The disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 was a classic case of groupthink. Skeptics were reluctant to challenge John F. Kennedy, the newly elected American president.

Modern communication methods mean that cooperation is more frequent. Workers are constantly in touch with each other via e-mail messaging groups or mobile calls. But does that improve, or lower performance? A new study by three American academics, tried to answer this question. They set a logical problem (designing the shortest route for a travelling salesman visiting various cities). Three groups were involved: one where subjects acted independently; another where they saw the solutions posted by team members at every stage; and a third where they were kept informed of each other’s views only intermittently.

The survey found that members of the individualist group reached the premier solution more often than the constant cooperators but had a poorer average result. The intermittent cooperators found the right result as often as the individualists, and got a better average solution. When it comes to ideal generation, giving people a bit of space to a solution seems to be a good idea. Occasional cooperation can be a big help: most people have benefited from a colleague’s brainwave or (just as often) wise advice to avoid a particular course of action.

Further clues come from a book, Superminds, by Thomas Malone of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He says that three factors determine the collective intelligence of cooperating groups: social intelligence (how good people were at rating the emotional states of others); the extent to which members took part equally in conversation (the more equal, the better); and the cooperation of women in the group (the higher, the better). Groups ranked highly in these areas cooperated far better than others.

In short, cooperation may be a useful tool but it doesn’t work in every situation.

1.The author cites the example of The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in paragraph 1 to _______.

A. prove that team players are skilled at communication

B. show that teamwork cannot always be beneficial

C. prove that critics are unwilling to challenge anybody

D. show the danger of groupthink is not very serious

2.The underlined phrase “the intermittent cooperators” in paragraph 3 refers to _______.

A. those who do not cooperate but reach the best solution

B. those who are seldom informed of other’s views

C. those who cooperate with others occasionally

D. the constant cooperators with a poor average result

3.Which of the following factors makes a team cooperate better?

A. Group members cooperating all the time.

B. Group members in a good emotional state.

C. Equal distribution of men and women.

D. Equal participation in the communication.

4.Which can be the best title of the passage?

A. When Teamwork Works    B. What Teamwork Is About

C. How Teamwork Operates    D. A Useful Tool: Cooperation

Answer

1. B

2. C

3. D

4. A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了团队合作是一种有用的工具，但并非在所有情况下都有用。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段中的“But managers always have to balance the benefits of teamwork, which help ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal, with the dangers of “groupthink” when critics are reluctant to point out a plan’s drawbacks for fear of being kept out of the group. The disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 was a classic case of groupthink.”可知，经理们总是在团队合作的好处和群体思维的危险之间取得平衡，1961年灾难性的猪湾入侵古巴就是群体思维的危险性的经典案例，作者举这个例子就是为了证明团队合作不总是有益的，故B项正确。

2.词义猜测题。根据画线词前的“The survey found that members of the individualist group reached the premier solution more often than the constant cooperators but had a poorer average result.”可知，调查发现个人主义小组的成员比经常合作的小组成员更容易达成首要解决方案，此处是说偶尔性的合作者与个人主义者一样经常能找到正确的结果，并得到更好的平衡解，由此可知画线词词义为“偶尔合作的人”，故C项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“the extent to which members took part equally in conversation (the more equal, the better)”可知，平等地参与交流能够让团队合作得更好，故D项正确。

4.主旨大意题。根据文章内容，特别是最后一段中的“In short, cooperation may be a useful tool but it doesn’t work in every situation.”可知，团队合作并非在所有情况下都有用，故A项正确。