人教全日制普通高中英语（必修）高三UNIT11-1

We are often asked to work in small groups, but why? Is it necessary to work with others? What if you feel comfortable doing a task by yourself? Especially at school, it sometimes feels as if we are being asked to work in teams for the sake 1 of just that. In reality, however, after leaving school, you' will find out that almost all work in many fields is done in teams. School life is a preparation for our working days to come.

 

       A team is a group of individual people brought together in order to accomplish a task that cannot be efficiently 2 or effectively completed by any member of the group alone. The group may be temporary or stay together for a long period of time.

 

       A type of team that we are all familiar with are sports teams. Sports teams are made up of a certain number of players, whose common goal is to work together to win a match. Different team members may have different skills. Although the coach is usually not counted as a team member, his role is to discuss strategy 3 and make decisions about the composition of the team. A sports team can only function well when all team members cooperate 4. The atmosphere in the group affects the performance of the team, so social relations within the team are important. It is not necessary for all team members to be friends. On the other hand, all team members should respect each other. It is important that all members of the team feel that each of them makes an equal contribution and that they help and support each other.

 

       In a sports team each player has a clear role, and there are few occasions 5 when members are confused or uncertain of their roles. Roles of team members are accepted and there are no conflicts about expectations and responsibilities attached to each role. However, when forming teams to complete tasks at school, we are often hardly aware of this.

 

      Working in groups at school is an opportunity to learn more about teamwork. Group work makes us aware of the role that is most suitable for each of us. Practice also brings the benefit of getting experience working with other people. Group work shows us how other people's roles fit the purpose of the group, and it teaches us to be patient and how to respond to different personalities 6.

 

       As with sports teams, group work can only be successful when group members respect, help and support each other, while the work division 7 is clear and each member performs at the right level in the role that is most suitable to him or her. But a project team requires very different roles from those of a rugby team.

 

       Teams require leaders, and people who create ideas, who develop ideas, and people whose role it is to comment and help improve plans. Teams also need people to identify problems, and others to suggest solutions. In small teams, members may combine roles according to their personalities. People full of action and ideas are often the ones to bring new energy to the group, while people who are mainly listening and commenting are often the ones to keep an eye on procedures 8 that must be followed. Some are good at evaluating, while others are good at compromising 9 in conflicts, and keeping peace and harmony in excited discussions 10.

 

       Rules and regulations help teams function well, but we should always guard against making teams too bureaucratic 11. Working in a team, we have to take into account how each individual member works 12 best. Some work best on tasks alone, while others work best in groups. How the tasks of the group are divided depends on the personalities and abilities of the individuals in the group.

 

       In a dynamic 13 team, people with quite different personalities work well together. In fact, their differences are the strength of the team. To make the best of working with our classmates, it is important to recognise their strengths and weaknesses. Knowing other people's shortcomings can help us avoid embarrassing 14 them.

 

      To know someone's personality type and ability is to know a great deal about that person. The lack of recognition 15 of differences in human functioning has led to much misunderstanding, conflict, and waste of energy -- in the classroom, in the workplace and at home. To understand means we can build strong and good relationships between members of a team, and make the best use of each other's talents.