① 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.

② 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.

③ “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.

④ “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.

⑤ 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.

⑥ “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.”

⑦ 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.

⑧ 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.

1.1.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.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。由题干中的employees和 opposed to team-building exercises定位到第一段第二句。定位句指出,不幸的是,许多员工对于这种强制性的感情联络感到反感，且经常将其视为令人讨厌的事情。故选A。

2.2.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.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。由题干中的 Dr Matous and his team 和improve productivity定位到第四段第一至三句。定位句提到,形成、结合、重组团队,重新安置员工以及重新设计办公室。所有的这些都是为了提高工作效率,提升合作及团队凝聚力。故选B。

3.3. 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.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。由题干中的 Matous’ team 和 some team-building exercises 定位到第五段。定位段表明,研究发现,专注于分享和干预团队成员之间的个人态度和关系的团建活动被认为是拙劣且有侵犯性的,尽管研究人员表明一定程度上的开放性及脆弱性对于和同事发展深人的、有效的关系是有必要的。故选D。

4.4. 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.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。由题干中的 the self-disclosure approach和interpersonal closeness定位到第七段最后一句。定位句提到,然而，想要成功,这必须是自愿的。故选B。

5.5.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.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。由题干中的the various psychological methods 和 other fields 定位到最后一段第二句。定位句指出马图斯博士的观点:在谨慎的情况下,很多相关的优化团队及组织的方法可以借鉴其他领域。故选D。