Question 21 is based on the recording you have just heard.

Recording Two

听力原文

        There are probably teams you’ve worked with that you never want to work with again. But there must have also been other teams that you would prize reuniting with professionally. In other words, your team had vitality. (19) [Vitality comes about when the ties people form with their fellow team members are such that they stay connected even after the team breaks up.] 

        What characteristics of a team make its members more likely to stay in contact despite no longer working together? This question has been answered recently in a study published in a business journal. One of the two key factors the research team discovered is sameness, specifically sharing the same gender or ethnic origin. The more members of a team share similar demographics, the more inclined they’ll be to remain associates long after the team has served its purpose. (20) [After ties are established, similarity strengthens them. As a result, they regard these individuals with greater trust and mutual understanding, which motivates them to seek further opportunities for collaboration.] In effect, people tend to create stronger and longer-lasting connections with similar others. Someone who looks and sounds different from us may have the resources we need to be more successful. Yet, we find them to be significantly less credible, simply because they are different. If you are a fierce advocate of workplace diversity, you’ll no doubt be horrified by such a revelation.

        The second factor identified by the researchers is the quality of the relationships among the team members. The more they trust one another, share the same goals and depend on each other for the achievement of those goals, the stronger their chances of maintaining their connections despite no longer working as one team. Teams with quality relationships have a shared belief that it’s safe to take risks with each other and that members are obliged to share the workload and help out.

        From personal experience, I can see both the truth and the inconsistency of such studies. The truth is some of my closest friendships were formed as a result of having worked together on teams, and I actively seek opportunities to work with them again. The inconsistency, though, is that I’ve never worked for a team more successful and cohesive than the one of which I’m a member right now, (21) [and yet the four of us have very little in common and are completely different demographically.] So I’m unlikely to question the value of a diverse workforce. 

21. What do we learn about the team the speaker is currently working in? （关于讲话者目前工作的团队，我们能知道什么？）

解析：A。录音结尾提到，我们四个人（the four of us）几乎没有共同点，而且从人口统计学来看完全不同，其中的the four of us指的是上一句中的a team，即讲话者现在的团队。A项与此内容相符，其中的diversity是对录音中have very little in common and are completely different demographically的近义概括，故为正确答案。

错项排除：B项利用录音中的goals和inconsistency进行拼凑，与录音内容不符，故排除。C项利用录音中的similar进行干扰，但录音中提到，虽然研究表明团队成员的相似性有助于其保持联系，但讲话者所在团队的成员其实几乎没有共同点，C项与此相悖，故排除。D项的a unique mechanism在录音中无依据，故排除。