12．Camaraderie over Competence
The importance of liking people is the subject of an article in the Harvard Business Review，which has carried out an experiment to find out who we'd rather work with．Hardly surprisingly，the people we want most as our workmates are both：brilliant at their jobs and delightful human beings．And the people we want least are both unpleasant and useless．More interestingly，the authors found that，given the choice between working with lovable fools and competent jerks （性情古怪的人），we irresistibly choose the former．Anyway，who likes those stupid men who annoy or hurt other people？We might insist that competence matters more，but our behavior shows we stay close to the people we like and sharing information with them．
What companies should therefore do is get people to like each other more．The trick here is apparently to make sure staffs come across each other as often as possible during the day．They also should be sent on bonding courses and so on to encourage friendliness and break down displeasure．However，more outdoor-activity weekends and shared coffee machines inspire no confidence at all．
The reality is that people either like each other or they don't．You can't force it．Possibly you can make offices friendlier by tolerating a lot of chat，but there is a productivity cost to that．In my experience，the question of lovable fool against competent jerk may not be the right one．The two are interrelated：we tend not to like our workmates when they are completely hopeless．I was once quite friendly with a woman whom I later worked with．I found her to be so outstandingly bad at her job that I lost respect for her and ended up not really liking her at all．Then is there anything that companies should be doing about it？
By far the most effective strategy would be to hire people who are all pretty much the same，given that similarity is one of the main determinants of whether we like each other．I think this is a pretty good idea，but no one dares recommend this anymore without offending the diversity lobby group．There is only one acceptable view on this subject：teams of similar people are bad because they stop creativity．This may be true，though I have never seen any conclusive proof of it．
Not only do we like similar people，we like people who like us．So if companies want to promote more liking，they should encourage a culture where we are all nice to each other．The trouble is that this needs to be done with some skill．
67．According to the research，which kind of colleagues would most people tend to choose？A
A．Nice but unintelligent．
B．Creative but unattractive．
C．Competent but unfriendly．
D．Humorous but unambitious．
68．The author talks about her experience to show thatC．
A．people respect outstanding leaders
B．people tend to like optimistic workmates
C．a workmate's working ability is important
D．talkative workmates makes offices friendlier
69．Some people think that similar people working together mayB
A．offend each other
B．create fewer new ideas
C．talk more and work less
D．be likely to stick together
70．To encourage workmates to like each other，companies couldD．
A．arrange the training course for workers to study together
B．organize team-building activities outside the office
C．encourage a diversity of opinions in workplace
D．employ staff who have a lot in common．
分析 本文通过调查发现人们乐于与聪明乐观，工作能力强的人一起工作，因为同事的能力很重要，相似的人在一起工作会阻碍创新能力，并据此为企业提供了一些建议．
解答 67．细节理解题；根据第一段中the people we want most as our workmates are both：brilliant at their jobs and delightful human beings．可知人们乐于与聪明且乐观的人一起共事，故选项A正确．
68．细节理解题；根据第三段we tend not to like our workmates when they are completely hopeless．一句，可知同事的能力很重要．故答案选C．
69．细节理解题；根据第四段中teams of similar people are bad because they stop creativity．可知相似的人在一起工作会阻碍创新能力．答案B正确．
70．推理判断题；根据最后一段Not only do we like similar people，we like people who like us．So if companies want to promote more liking，they should encourage a culture where we are all nice to each other．可知，故答案D正确．
点评 本文是一篇议论文．对于议论文的理解要认真分析原文，要抓住文章的核心，明白文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系，结合题干仔细从原文中寻找具体的细节，并进行适当的精简文字，或者作出一定的概括，这就对学生的能力提出了更高的要求．
