题文
So there are four of them in this car heading north from Coleman in the heart of Texas to the town of Abilene (阿比林), some 53 miles away. It is a hot day, and the drive is dusty and boring. Someone has had the bright idea to interrupt a nice family game of dominoes (多米诺) to go on a four-hour round-trip to eat at a really not very good restaurant.When they are back home again, one family member admits that she hasn’t enjoyed herself all that much. One by one they all confess that they would rather have stayed at home. “I only went along with it because I thought the rest of you wanted to go,” says everyone. No one wanted to go to Abilene. It had just happened.
This story was first told by Professor Jerry Harvey in an article published in 1974 called The Abilene Paradox (悖论) and other meditations on management. It offers a wonderful insight into the way that decisions can sometimes just emerge, without ever being consciously “made”.
Whether they mean to or not, groups exert a pressure to conform (顺从). A senior management team can find itself a long way down the track to a bad decision without realizing that the idea has very little support around the table.
Close-knit (组织严密的) teams are easily influenced by the pull of groupthink. The late Professor Janis suggested several ways in which teams can avoid it. Two key steps are to invite experts from outside into meetings, and to appoint at least one person to the role of “devil’s advocate” — a role that should be played by different people in different meetings.
小题1:The four family members have decided to go on a four-hour round-trip to the town of Abilene because _______.A．they really like the restaurant they are going toB．they are tired of the game they have been playingC．they have not been to Abilene for a long timeD．everyone thinks all the other family members want to go小题2:When they are back home, they find that______.A．they have not really trusted each otherB．they have all enjoyed the trip except one family memberC．they would have had a better time if they had stayed at homeD．they have all had a good time although none of them wanted to go小题3:A senior management team can make a bad decision because ______.A．the idea has the support of everyone around the tableB．everyone on the team is too tired to think clearlyC．the group puts a pressure to conformD．they understand what each member means小题4:According to Professor Janis, at least one person should be appointed to the role of “devil’s advocate ” at each meeting so that _______.A．the pull of groupthink can be avoidedB．each member will play a different roleC．team members can agree with each other more easilyD．experts from the outside can be invited into meetings 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:D
小题2:C
小题3:C
小题4:A
解析
文章通过对一家人为了替别人着想而进行了一次不愉快的旅行的描述，说明集体的决定对个人产生的影响。
小题1:细节题，由第二段I only went along with it because I thought the rest of you wanted to go,” says everyone.可知选D。
小题2:细节题，由第二段One by one they all confess that they would rather have stayed at home.可知他们在家会更好。故选C。
小题3:细节题，由第四段Whether they mean to or not, groups exert a pressure to conform (顺从).可知团队的压力会使他们服从，故选C。
小题4:细节题，由最后一段The late Professor Janis suggested several ways in which teams can avoid it. ...appoint at least one person to the role of “devil’s advocate” — a role that should be played by different people in different meetings.可知选A。
点评：这是一篇说明文，主要考查细节问题，考生首先通读全文了解大意，然后根据提问理解细节，选出正确的选项。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“So there are four of.....”主要考查你对 [日常生活类阅读 ]考点的理解。日常生活类阅读
日常生活类阅读的概念：
日常生活这一话题主要涉及人们衣食住行等方面的活动。这一话题的选材主要针对人们日常的工作，生活以及学习情况。做这一类题时，最主要的是要把握好人物的活动内容，时间和地点。
日常生活类阅读题答题技巧：
【题型说明】
该类文章内容涉及到人们的言谈举止、生活习惯、饮食起居、服饰仪表、恋爱婚姻、消遣娱乐、节日起源、家庭生活等。文章篇幅短小，追根溯源，探索各项风俗的历史渊源，内容有趣。命题也以送分题为主，如事实细节题、语义转换题、词义猜测题和简单推理判断题等。虽然这类文章读起来感觉轻松，试题做起来比较顺手，但绝不能掉以轻心。因为稍不留神，就会丢分。
【备考提醒】
为了保证较高准确率，建议同学们做好以下几点：
1、保持正常的考试心态。笔者在教学中发现，越是容易的试题，同学们越是容易失分。为什么呢？因为在这种情况下，同学们极易产生麻痹思想，认为题目好做，就不引起高度重视，于是思维不发散、不周密。而命题人就是利用同学们的这一弱点，设计陷阱题。所以，无论试题难易与否，我们都要保持正常的考试心态。试题容易，不欣喜；试题难，不悲观。
2、根据前面讲到的方法，认认真真、细细心心做好事实细节题。
3、做好语义转换题。这类题是根据英语中一词多义和某些词语在文中能表达一定的修辞意义的原则而设计的。要求同学们解释某生词的含义，确定多义词或短语在文中的意思，确认文中的某个代词所指代的对象，或者对英语中特有的表达、格言、谚语进行解释。这种题要求同学们一定要根据上下文猜测词义或理解句子，切不可望文生义。
4、做好简单推理判断题。简单推理判断题要以表面文字为前提，以具体事实为依据进行推理，做出判断。这种推理方式比较直接，只要弄清事实，即可结合常识推断出合理的结论。
