【推荐1】Much of the work in today’s world is accomplished(完成) in teams. Most people believe the best way to build a great team is to gather a group of the most talented individuals.     1    Companies spend millions hiring top business people. Is their money well spent?

    2    They focused on football, basketball and baseball. The results are mixed. For football and basketball, adding talented players to a team proves a good method, but only up to the point where 70% of the players are top talent; above that level, the team’s performance begins to decline. Interestingly, this trend isn’t evident in baseball, where additional individual talent keeps improving the team’s performance.

To explain this phenomenon, the researchers explored the degree to which a good performance by a team requires its members to coordinate(协调) their actions.     3    In baseball, the performance of individual players is less dependent on teammates. They conclude that when task interdependence is high, team performance will suffer when there is too much talent, while individual talent will have positive effects on team performance when task interdependence is lower. If a basketball star is, for example, trying to gain a high personal point total, he may take a shot himself when it would be better to pass the ball to a teammate, affecting the team’s performance. Young children learning to play team sports are often told, “There is no I in TEAM.”     4    

Another possibility is that when there is a lot of talent on a team, some players may make less effort. Just as in a game of tug-of-war(拔河比赛), whenever a person is added, everyone else pulls the rope with less force.

    5     An A-team may require a balance--not just A players, but a few generous B players as well.

A．It’s not a simple matter to determine the nature of talent.

B．Sports team owners spend millions of dollars attracting top talent.

C．The group interaction and its effect drew the researchers’ attention.

D．Stars apparently do not follow this basic principle of sportsmanship.

E．Several recent studies examined the role of talent in the sports world.

F．Building up a dream team is more complex than simply hiring the best talent.

G．This task interdependence distinguishes baseball from football and basketball.

【推荐2】We have some friends who seem as if they understand and appreciate you, but really they might not. A girl named Nevaeh was about to find a friend that she thought understood her, but she actually didn't.

When Nevaeh was in kindergarten she didn't have friends. Every time she wanted to make some they would just walk away. That happened until she went to the third grade when a girl named Brooke said hello to her.

Nevaeh, a shy girl, didn’t answer. Since Nevaeh had no friends to talk to, her mouth would close up. After knowing Nevaeh was shy and needed friends, Brooke wouldn't leave Nevaeh s side and always talked to her. Nevaeh started talking more and was less shy. Once Brooke took her to her friends. There were only three girls, Karla, Mariana, and Isela, but Nevaeh was fine with it. At least she had friends.

They got along very well and had a few things in common. When they were finally in middle school, Brooke and Nevaeh became best friends, but as they got older, they changed. When Nevaeh changed the way she looked and acted, Brooke didn't like it. Brooke startled to judge her, and make her wear stuff that she didn^’t like. They had arguments about the wav Nevaeh wanted to look, and how Brooke didn't like what she wore.

Nevaeh wasn’t sure if she could really trust Brooke anymore. That was until she met Susan who understood Nevaeh and didn’t judge her by her looks, but had the same interests as Nevaeh. They liked to dress in the same kinds of things and had similar hobbies.

Nevaeh really liked Susan because she never judged her. When they were talking about their interests it was like they had known each other for a long lime.

Nevaeh was still friends with the other girls, and was happy that she finally had someone that understood her and appreciated her.

1. What does the underlined word "she” in the first paragraph refer to?

A．Susan.	B．Karla.
C．Brooke.	D．Nevaeh.

2. Why did Nevaeh have no friends in kindergarten?

A．She didn't want friends

B．She wasn’t accepted by others.

3. How did Nevaeh react to Brooke's judgment on her?

A．She rejected it.	B．She tolerated it.
C．She corrected it.	D．She appreciated it.

4. What was Susan like according to the text?

A．Brave and helpful.	B．Smart and humorous.
C．Sincere and supportive.	D．Clever and hard-working.

【推荐3】Dealing with Difficult Relationships

Everyone has at least one awkward or tense relationship.     1     It may be with somebody who will use up your energy whenever you are with them. Or worse, it could be someone who always cuts you down. By persuading you it's your obligation or duty, you forget about your own needs. Sadly, by remaining loyal to these people, you forget who you are.     2     No matter who they are, it's necessary that you learn to set boundaries (界限) for yourself. It is you who allow them to take advantage of you or even belittle you.

If you find a relationship unhealthy and it's time for you to set boundaries, the following advice may be helpful.

Setting boundaries for difficult relationships starts by admitting how you are affected by the relationships.     3     For example, it's time to study for tomorrow's test. But your friend wants to take you to a party. Here, setting boundaries will help protect your academic goals. Someone who pressures you to something you're not comfortable doing will stress you out.     4    

Next, decide how much time you should spend with these people.     5     But it's difficult to help others if you forget to protect your own priority (优先次序).

Settling boundaries requires taking a long, honest look at yourself. By saying no to harmful patterns in relationships, you say “yes” to a healthier you.

A．Does this kind of relationship lower your self-respect?

B．These people may be your family members or even friends.

C．It's easy to spend too much time and energy offering them help.

D．People may try to keep you in an unhealthy relationship.

E．But a friend who considers how you feel will respect your willingness to try something new.

F．It's not easy to set boundaries because you may be afraid of losing them.

G．Do they bring you closer to your goals or pull you farther away?