Section C: Reading Comprehension

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage One

Team-building exercises have become popular for managers trying to increase organisational and team harmony and productivity. Unfortunately many employees resent compulsory bonding and often regard these exercises as a nuisance.

A paper published this week by University of Sydney researchers in Social Networks has reported participants' feelings about team-building interventions (干预), revealing ethical implications in forcing employees to take part.

“Many people see team-building activities as a waste of time, so we decided to look in more depth at what's behind this,” said the paper's lead researcher, Dr Peter Matous.

“Teams are formed, combined and restructured. Staff are relocated and office spaces redesigned. All this is done with the aim of improving workplace efficiency, collaboration and cohesion. But does any of this work?” said Dr Matous.

The study found that team-building exercises which focused on the sharing of and intervening into personal attitudes and relationships between team members were considered too heavy-handed and intrusive, although the researchers say some degree of openness and vulnerability is often necessary to make deep, effective connections with colleagues.

“Some participants were against team-building exercises because they were implicitly compulsory. They didn't welcome management's interest in their lives beyond their direct work performance,” said Matous. “Many people don't want to be forced into having fun or making friends, especially not on top of their busy jobs. They feel management is being too nosy or trying to control their lives too much.”

In this study the researchers recommended a self-disclosure (表露) approach where participants were guided through a series of questions that allowed them to increasingly disclose personal information and values. The method is well-tested and has been shown to increase interpersonal closeness. However, to be successful it must be voluntary.

The researchers said there are numerous schools of thought that propose differing psychological methods for strengthening relationships. “With caution, many relational methods to improve teams and organisations can be borrowed from other fields. The question is how to apply them effectively to strengthen an entire collective, which is more than just the sum of individual relationships,” said Dr Matous.

46. Why are many employees opposed to team-building exercises?

A) They consider such exercises annoying.

B) They deem these exercises counter-productive.

C) They see such exercises as harmful to harmony.

D) They find these exercises too demanding.

47. What did Dr Matous and his team do to find out whether team-building activities would improve productivity?

A) They relocated team leaders and their offices.

B) They rearranged the staff and office spaces.

C) They redesigned the staff's work schedules.

D) They reintroduced some cohesive activities.

48. What did the study by Matous' team find about some team-building exercises?

A) They were intended to share personal attitudes and relationships.

B) They implicitly added to the vulnerability of team members.

C) They invariably strengthened connections among colleagues.

D) They were regarded as an intrusion into employees' private lives.

49. How can the self-disclosure approach succeed in increasing interpersonal closeness?

A) By allowing participants freedom to express themselves.

B) By applying it to employees who volunteer to participate.

C) By arranging in proper order the questions participants face.

D) By guiding employees through a series of steps in team building.

50. What does Matous think of the various psychological methods borrowed from other fields for strengthening relationships?

A) They must be used in combination for an entire collective.

B) They prioritise some psychological aspects over others.

C) They place too much stress on individual relationships.

D) They have to be applied cautiously to be effective.

Passage Two

There are close to 58,000 homeless people in Los Angeles county. That's a shocking and tragic number for a region that's home to some of the richest people in the world. At last, the problem became so acute and so visible that Los Angeles took extraordinary action. The citizens of this county voted in November 2016 and again in March 2017 to raise their own taxes. The purpose of such action is to fund an enormous multibillion-dollar, 10-year program of housing and social services for the homeless.

As a result, Los Angeles now has its best chance in decades to combat homelessness. This is an opportunity that surely all can agree must not be wasted. It is neither desirable nor morally acceptable nor practical for this county to tolerate the signs of deprivation more commonly associated with the slums (贫民窟) of Rio de Janeiro.

How did we get here? For as long as there are homeless people, there is a tendency to blame the victims themselves for their condition—to see their failure to thrive as an issue of character, of moral weakness, of laziness. But contrary to popular belief, the homeless in Los Angeles are not mostly mentally ill or drug addicted or frightening, although a sizable minority meet some of those descriptions. Today, a greater and greater proportion of people living on the streets are there because of bad luck or a series of mistakes, or because the economy forgot them—they lost a job or were evicted (逐出) or fled an abusive marriage just as the housing market was growing increasingly unforgiving.

The challenges are enormous, even if everyone is pulling in the same direction. That reality was driven home this month by a new Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority report showing that the county's homeless population is growing faster than the supply of new housing.

In the world's richest nation, homelessness on this scale should be shameful and shocking. But most Los Angeles residents are no longer either shocked or shamed. Increasingly, we are uncomfortable, annoyed, disgusted, scared or unaware. Compassion (同情心) is being replaced by resignation.

51. Why did the citizens of Los Angeles vote to raise their own taxes?

A) To combat the county's homelessness.

B) To reform the county's service system.

C) To fund the development of local infrastructure.

D) To narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.

52. What do people tend to believe about the homeless?

A) They seldom meet the descriptions of homelessness.

B) They are the victims of fast economic development.

C) They are responsible for their own condition.

D) They account for the majority of drug addicts.

53. What is one of the causes for more and more people in Los Angeles to become homeless?

A) They find it increasingly difficult to afford a place to live.

B) The divorce rate in the county has been on a steady rise.

C) They have been compelled to take low-paying jobs.

D) The society fails to forgive them for their mistakes.

54. What do we learn from the new Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority report?

A) Supplying enough job opportunities for the homeless remains a challenge.

B) Everyone is pulling in the same direction to solve the homelessness problem.

C) The increase in new housing falls short of the demand of the growing homeless population.

D) Los Angeles' homeless condition is deteriorating faster than many people predict.

55. How do most Los Angeles residents now feel about homelessness?

A) They are increasingly ashamed about its scale.

B) They find it no more scaring than it appears.

C) They are less and less indifferent to it.

D) They no longer find it shocking.

Answers & Explanations

Passage One: The Ethical Dilemma of Team-Building

46. A。解析：题干问为什么许多员工反对团建活动。定位第一段最后一句：...many employees resent compulsory bonding and often regard these exercises as a nuisance.（许多员工反感强制的情感联结，通常将这些活动视为令人讨厌的事物）。nuisance 意为“讨厌的东西/人”，对应选项 A (They consider such exercises annoying 他们认为这种活动很烦人)。

47. B。解析：题干问为了弄清团建活动是否能提高生产力，Dr Matous 的团队做了什么。定位第四段前两句：Staff are relocated and office spaces redesigned... But does any of this work?（员工被重新安置，办公空间被重新设计...但这起作用了吗？）。对应选项 B (They rearranged the staff and office spaces 他们重新安排了员工和办公空间)。

48. D。解析：题干问研究团队对某些团建活动的发现是什么。定位第五段：The study found that team-building exercises which focused on... intervening into personal attitudes and relationships... were considered too heavy-handed and intrusive（研究发现，侧重于干预个人态度和关系的团建被认为过于严厉和具有侵入性）。intrusive（侵入性的）名词形式为 intrusion，对应选项 D (They were regarded as an intrusion into employees' private lives 它们被认为是对员工私生活的侵入)。

49. B。解析：题干问“自我表露”方法如何才能成功提高人际亲密度。定位第七段最后一句：However, to be successful it must be voluntary.（然而，要取得成功，它必须是自愿的）。对应选项 B (By applying it to employees who volunteer to participate 通过将其应用于自愿参加的员工)。

50. D。解析：题干问 Dr Matous 对从其他领域借用心理学方法有什么看法。定位最后一段：With caution, many relational methods to improve teams and organisations can be borrowed from other fields.（需谨慎地，许多改善团队和组织的关系方法可以从其他领域借用）。With caution（谨慎地）对应选项 D (They have to be applied cautiously to be effective 它们必须被谨慎应用才能有效)。

Passage Two: The Homeless Crisis in Los Angeles

51. A。解析：题干问为什么洛杉矶公民投票增税。定位第一段最后一句：The purpose of such action is to fund an enormous multibillion-dollar, 10-year program of housing and social services for the homeless.（这种行动的目的是为了资助一个庞大的...为无家可归者提供住房和社会服务的计划），也就是说其最终目的是为了对抗该地区的无家可归问题。对应选项 A (To combat the county's homelessness 为了对抗该县的无家可归问题)。

52. C。解析：题干问人们倾向于对无家可归者有什么看法。定位第三段第二句：...there is a tendency to blame the victims themselves for their condition（人们倾向于把他们的状况归咎于受害者自己），即认为他们应该对自己的现状负责。对应选项 C (They are responsible for their own condition 他们对自己的状况负责)。

53. A。解析：题干问洛杉矶越来越多人无家可归的原因之一是什么。定位第三段末尾：...just as the housing market was growing increasingly unforgiving.（正当住房市场变得越来越无情/难以负担时）。unforgiving 在这里指市场条件苛刻、不给人喘息的机会（即买不起房）。对应选项 A (They find it increasingly difficult to afford a place to live 他们发现越来越难负担得起住的地方)。

54. C。解析：题干问从洛杉矶无家可归者服务管理局的新报告中我们了解到什么。定位第四段最后一句：...showing that the county's homeless population is growing faster than the supply of new housing.（显示该县无家可归人口的增长速度快于新住房的供应速度）。对应选项 C (The increase in new housing falls short of the demand of the growing homeless population 新住房的增加达不到不断增长的无家可归人口的需求，falls short of 意为“达不到/不足”)。

55. D。解析：题干问目前大多数洛杉矶居民对无家可归的感受是什么。定位最后一段第二句：But most Los Angeles residents are no longer either shocked or shamed.（但大多数洛杉矶居民不再感到震惊或羞愧）。对应选项 D (They no longer find it shocking 他们不再觉得这令人震惊)。

核心搭配与高分句型

【核心搭配与高频短语】

• on top of：除...之外，在...之上（especially not on top of their busy jobs）
• heavy-handed：笨拙的，严厉的，高压的（were considered too heavy-handed and intrusive）
• pull in the same direction：朝着同一个方向努力，齐心协力（even if everyone is pulling in the same direction）
• drive home：使人深刻认识，使人明白（That reality was driven home this month by...）
• fall short of：达不到，不符合（falls short of the demand）
• be associated with：与...有关，与...联系在一起（more commonly associated with the slums）
• contrary to：与...相反（But contrary to popular belief）
• a series of：一系列的（a series of mistakes）

【亮点句型解析】

• Neither... nor... nor... 否定并列句式：
  "It is neither desirable nor morally acceptable nor practical for this county to tolerate the signs of deprivation..."
  （对于这个县来说，容忍这种匮乏的迹象既不可取，在道德上不可接受，也不现实。）连续使用 `nor` 构成的三重否定结构，极大地增强了语气的坚决性和排比的节奏感，是高分作文中表达坚决立场的利器。
• As 引导的时间状语从句 (表示“正当...之时”)：
  "...they lost a job or were evicted or fled an abusive marriage just as the housing market was growing increasingly unforgiving."
  （...他们失去了工作，被驱逐，或者逃离了虐待的婚姻，正当住房市场变得越来越无情之时。）`just as` 强调两个动作同时发生，营造出一种“屋漏偏逢连夜雨”的绝望感和压迫感，非常生动。