Question

    HOW BIG should a business team be?It is an enormously important issue for companies, Teams that are too small may lack the skills required to get the job done:teams that are too big may be impossible to co-ordinate.

Robin Dunbar.an anthropologist at Oxford University,has done a lot of work on primate(灵长目）groups.His argument is that the size of the group is linked to the size of the brain.With their large brains,humans can cope with larger bands,A larger social group has many advantages,allowing for greater protection and specialization.

Whereas 150 is sometimes referred to as the"Dunbar number",the academic himself in fact refers to a range of figures.He observes that humans tend to have five intimate friends,15 or so good friends,around 50 social friends and 150-odd acquaintances.

Running a larger network can be difficult.The armed forces have spent more than 1,000 years experimenting with unit size.A Roman centurion(百天长）oversaw 100.The modern American army company has 180 members.Britain's equivalent numbers 120.These are rough estimates,rather than fixed figures.But it is striking that many group activities seem to be close to a Dunbar number. The Special Air Service of Britain has four-man patrols;when your life depends on it,you need to have absolute trust in your colleagues.As a result,such groups are limited in size.

For much of economic history,work was conducted in small units by peasants,tenant farmers and craftsmen.The coming of powered machinery enabled production at a much larger scale,with workers crowded into factories.These days the rise of the service economy means that workers are no longer concentrated in such large groups.

This may not be a bad thing.It was easy for employees in large factories to regard remote company owners as "them"rather than"us".The modern company may settle on a model with a small group of"core"workers and a larger group of contract workers.The result may be more united within the core staff but the non-core staff may be less well treated.The small core teams may work effectively.The big question will be the effect on morale of those outside those teams.

1.What does the first paragraph serve as in the whole article?

A.An example of the topic,

B.An introduction to the topic,

C.A guide to the whole article,

D.No relation to the passage at all.

2.What does the underlined"This"in the last paragraph refer to?

A.Workers crowded into factories

B.'These days the service economy has risen.

C.Workers are no longer concentrated in such large groups.

D.Employees regard company owners as"them"rather than"us".

3.What is probably the best model for a company according to the author?

A.A large group of exact 150 workers.

B.A small group of less than 15 core workers.

C.A small group of peasants and a large group of factory workers.

D.A small group of efficient workers and more contract workers.

4.What is the main purpose of writing the text?

A.To offer companies some useful advice.

B.To introduce us the most suitable size of teams.

C.To arouse the readers' interest in Robin Dunbar.

D.To persuade companies to adopt the"Dunbar number".

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。一个商业团队的规模对企业而言极为重要。团队太小可能缺乏完成工作所需的技能；团队太大则可能难以协调。牛津大学的人类学家罗宾·邓巴（Robin Dunbar）提出了一系列数字，150有时指的是“邓巴数字”，文章指出了要找到团队的最佳规模。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段HOW BIG should a business team be?It is an enormously important issue for companies, Teams that are too small may lack the skills required to get the job done:teams that are too big may be impossible to co-ordinate.可知，一个商业团队的规模应有多大？这个问题对企业而言极为重要。团队太小可能缺乏完成工作所需的技能；团队太大则可能难以协调。结合下文可以看出，第一段是在引出本文的话题——团队的规模，故选B。

2.词义猜测题。根据划线词前的These days the rise of the service economy means that workers are no longer concentrated in such large groups.可知，如今，服务型经济崛起，意味着工人无需再聚集于此类庞大群体之中。由此可知，This指代的是“工人无需再聚集于此类庞大群体之中”（workers are no longer concentrated in such large groups）。故选C。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段The modern company may settle on a model with a small group of"core"workers and a larger group of contract workers.可知，现代公司的组建可能会采取这样一种模型，即一小部分“核心”员工加上大部分的合同工；根据最后一段The small core teams may work effectively可知，小型核心团队或许会高效工作。因此，在作者看来，一个公司的最好模式是一小部分核心员工加上大部分合同工。故选D。

4.推理判断题。根据第一段HOW BIG should a business team be?It is an enormously important issue for companies, Teams that are too small may lack the skills required to get the job done:teams that are too big may be impossible to co-ordinate.可知，一个商业团队的规模应有多大？这个问题对企业而言极为重要。团队太小可能缺乏完成工作所需的技能；团队太大则可能难以协调。由此可以看出，本文的目的是介绍团队的最佳规模，故选B。