TPO13托福阅读Passage1Types of Social Groups文本+题目原文+答案解析

Types of Social Group

Life places us in a complex web of relationships with other people. Our humanness arises out of these relationships in the course of social interaction. Moreover, our humanness must be sustained through social interaction—and fairly constantly so. When an association continues long enough for two people to become linked together by a relatively stable set of expectations, it is called a relationship.

People are bound within relationships by two types of bonds: expressive ties and instrumental ties. Expressive ties are social links formed when we emotionally invest ourselves in and commit ourselves to other people. Through association with people who are meaningful to us, we achieve a sense of security, love, acceptance, companionship, and personal worth. Instrumental ties are social links formed when we cooperate with other people to achieve some goal. Occasionally, this may mean working with instead of against competitors. More often, we simply cooperate with others to reach some end without endowing the relationship with any larger significance.

Sociologists have built on the distinction between expressive and instrumental ties to distinguish between two types of groups: primary and secondary. A primary group involves two or more people who enjoy a direct, intimate, cohesive relationship with one another. Expressive ties predominate in primary groups; we view the people as ends in themselves and valuable in their own right. A secondary group entails two or more people who are involved in an impersonal relationship and have come together for a specific, practical purpose. Instrumental ties predominate in secondary groups; we perceive people as means to ends rather than as ends in their own right. Sometimes primary group relationships evolve out of secondary group relationships. This happens in many work settings. People on the job often develop close relationships with coworkers as they come to share gripes, jokes, gossip, and satisfactions.

A number of conditions enhance the likelihood that primary groups will arise. First, group size is important. We find it difficult to get to know people personally when they are milling about and dispersed in large groups. In small groups we have a better chance to initiate contact and establish rapport with them. Second, face-to-face contact allows us to size up others. Seeing and talking with one another in close physical proximity makes possible a subtle exchange of ideas and feelings. And third, the probability that we will develop primary group bonds increases as we have frequent and continuous contact. Our ties with people often deepen as we interact with them across time and gradually evolve interlocking habits and interests.

Primary groups are fundamental to us and to society. First, primary groups are critical to the socialization process. Within them, infants and children are introduced to the ways of their society. Such groups are the breeding grounds in which we acquire the norms and values that equip us for social life. Sociologists view primary groups as bridges between individuals and the larger society because they transmit, mediate, and interpret a society's cultural patterns and provide the sense of oneness so critical for social solidarity.

Second, primary groups are fundamental because they provide the settings in which we meet most of our personal needs. ■Within them, we experience companionship, love, security, and an overall sense of well-being. ■Not surprisingly, sociologists find that the strength of a group's primary ties has implications for the group's functioning. ■For example, the stronger the primary group ties of a sports team playing together, the better their record is.■

Third, primary groups are fundamental because they serve as powerful instruments for social control. Their members command and dispense many of the rewards that are so vital to us and that make our lives seem worthwhile. Should the use of rewards fail, members can frequently win by rejecting or threatening to ostracize those who deviate from the primary group's norms. For instance, some social groups employ shunning (a person can remain in the community, but others are forbidden to interact with the person) as a device to bring into line individuals whose behavior goes beyond that allowed by the particular group. Even more important, primary groups define social reality for us by structuring our experiences. By providing us with definitions of situations, they elicit from us behavior that conforms to group-devised meanings. Primary groups, then, serve both as carriers of social norms and as enforcers of them.

TPO13 托福阅读Passage1 Types of Social Groups 题目

Question 1 of 13: Paragraph 1：The word “complex” in the passage  is closest in meaning to

A. delicate

B. elaborate

C. private

D. common

Question 2 of 13:  According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of a relationship?

A. It is a structure of associations with many people.

B. It should be studied in the course of a social interaction.

C. It places great demands on people.

D. It develops gradually overtime.

Question 3 of 14:  The word “endowing ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. leaving

B. exposing

C. providing

D. understanding

Question 4 of 13: Which of the following can be inferred about instrumental ties from the author's mention of working with competitors in paragraph 2?

A. Instrumental ties can develop even in situations in which people would normally not cooperate.

B. Instrumental ties require as much emotional investment as expressive ties.

C. Instrumental ties involve security, love, and acceptance.

D. Instrumental ties should be expected to be significant.

Question 5 of 13: According to paragraph 3, what do sociologists see as the main difference between primary and secondary groups?

A. Primary groups consist of people working together, while secondary groups exist outside of work settings.

B. In primary groups people are seen as means, while in secondary groups people are seen as ends.

C. Primary groups involve personal relationships, while secondary groups are mainly practical in purpose.

D. Primary groups are generally small, while secondary groups often contain more than two people.

Question 6 of 13: Which of the following can be inferred from the author's claim in paragraph 3 that primary group relationships sometimes evolve out of secondary group relationships?

A. Secondary group relationships begin by being primary group relationships.

B. A secondary group relationship that is highly visible quickly becomes a primary group relationship.

C. Sociologists believe that only primary group relationships are important to society.

D. Even in secondary groups, frequent communication serves to bring people into close relationships.

Question 7 of 13: Paragraph 4：The phrase“size up” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. enlarge

B. evaluate

C. impress

D. accept

Question 8 of 13: Paragraph 5：Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

A. Sociologists think that cultural patterns establish connections between the individual and the larger society.

B. Sociologists believe that individuals with a sense of oneness bridge the gap between society and primary groups.

C. Sociologists think primary groups contribute to social solidarity because they help maintain a society's cultural patterns.

D. Sociologists believe that the cultural patterns that provide social solidarity arise as bridges from primary groups.

Question 9 of 14: This passage is developed primarily by

A. drawing comparisons between theory and practice

B. presenting two opposing theories

C.defining important concepts and providing examples of them

D. discussing causes and their effects

Question 10 of 13:   Paragraph 7：The word “deviate” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. detract

B .advance

C. select

D. depart

Question 11 of 13: According to paragraph 7, why would a social group use shunning?

A. To enforce practice of the kinds of behavior acceptable to the group

B. To discourage offending individuals from remaining in the group

C. To commend and reward the behavior of the other members of the group

D. To decide which behavioral norms should be passed on to the next generation?

Question 12 of 13: Paragraph 6：Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?

People who do not live alone, for example, tend to make healthier life choices and develop fewer pathologies than people who live by themselves.

A. Within them, we experience companionship, love, security, and an overall sense of well-being. 

B. Not surprisingly, sociologists find that the strength of a group's primary ties has implications for the group's functioning. 

C. For example, the stronger the primary group ties of a sports team playing together, the better their record is.

D. Third, primary groups are fundamental because they serve as powerful instruments for social control. 

Question 13 of 13: Directions: Complete the table below by selecting three answer choices that are characteristics of primary groups and two answer choices that are characteristics of primary groups and two answer choices that are characteristics of secondary groups. This question is worth  3 points.

Primary Groups

●

●

●

Secondary Groups

●

●

Answer Choices

A. Developing socially acceptable behavior

B. Working together against competitors

C. Experiencing pressure from outside forces

D. Viewing people as a means to an end

E. Existing for practical purposes

F. Providing meaning for life situations

G. Involving close relationships

TPO13 托福阅读Passage1 Types of Social Groups 题目

Question 1 of 13

正确答案：B

解析：complex复杂的，所以B的elaborate正确。原句提到生活把我们放在什么样的与其他人的关系网中。A的delicate“脆弱的，纤细的，美味的”；C的“私人的”和D的“普通的”都不合文意。

Question 2 of 13

正确答案：D

解析：段落最后一句说，当an association 能够持续得足够久，久到可以让两个人通过一套相对稳定的彼此预期紧密联系起来，才可以叫做relationship，A选项不符合这个说明，说的是with many people；B选项看段落第二句，不符合，说到的是humanness；C选项的demands在原文中没有提及；D选项符合relationship这个概念的足够久的属性，所以it develops gradually overtime的表达正确。

Question 3 of 13

正确答案：C

解析：endow“赋予，捐助”，所以provide“提供，供给”正确。原句说有时候我们与其他人合作只是做完某事，没有怎么样有更多重要意义的关系。其余三项的意思放入句子之后均不符合。

Question 4 of 13

正确答案：A

解析：关键词是instrumental ties，定位到原文段落的第四句，这句说instrumental ties是为了达到一定目标而要和其他人合作而建立的links，所以有时候这意味着是和竞争者合作而不是竞争。所以A选项完全符合这个意思的表达，正确。

Question 5 of 13

正确答案：C

解析：以primary group和secondary group做关键词定位至第二句和第四句；primary group的关键信息点是：two or more people & enjoy a direct, intimate, cohesive relationship；secondary group的关键信息点是：two or more people & have come together for a specific, practical purpose. 所以二者的区别是后半部分提到的目的，一个是亲密的，私人的；另一个是具体的，务实的；C选项完全符合。

Question 6 of 13

正确答案：D

解析：primary group relationships sometimes evolve out of secondary group relationships 是关键信息，看到段落倒数第三句说到了这个信息，然后紧随其后提到：This happens in many work settings. 也就是多数发生在工作场合。大家由同事关系逐渐发展成亲密的关系，所以D选项的表述正确。

Question 7 of 13

正确答案：B

解析：size up“估量，估计”，所以正确答案是B的evaluate。原句提到面对面交流使得我们能够怎么样别人，“评价别人”是正确的。A的“扩大”明显是不对的。原文没提到“接受”别人，也没说给别人“留下印象”，所以都不正确。

Question 8 of 13

正确答案：C

解析：看一下高亮句的意思，1. Sociologists view primary groups as bridges between individuals and the larger society；社会学家把primary groups 当做个人和大社会之间的桥梁；2. because they transmit, mediate, and interpret a society's cultural patterns and provide the sense of oneness so critical for social solidarity；因为primary groups传递，调和和说明了社会形态，提供了对社会团结而言非常重要的统一性。拆分开之后，是一个因果逻辑关系的句子，结合意思和逻辑关系，只有C选项正确。

Question 9 of 13

正确答案：C

解析：题目问的是文章的组织结构方式，原文首先提出了两个关系，然后又提到expressive tie和instrumental tie，最后又说了primary group产生的条件。A选项的比较理论和实践的对比，不正确，开始都是定义概念的，并没有比较；B选项的opposing theories，也不客观，原文甚至在讲到primary group和secondary group的概念时，说到两者的内部转化；C选项，定义概念，提出例证，例证的信息点在于竞争者合作，工作场合关系的变化等等，正确；D选项说的讨论因果，这个跟全文整体的逻辑关系完全不符合，所以只能选择C选项。

Question 10 of 13

正确答案：D

解析：deviate“偏离，出轨”，所以正确答案是D的depart“偏离”。原句说一旦奖励不行，group的成员可以威胁排斥那些怎么样规则的人，肯定是“对规则不好的人”。

Question 11 of 13

正确答案：A

解析：以shunning做关键词定位至第四句，提到人们会用shunning作为一种方法把违背规则的人拉回集体，但没给出原因。这句中的for instance说明这一句是上句观点后提出的例子，前面一句说如果奖励不行，我们就排斥那些不守规矩的人，所以一切都是为了强化规则，答案是A。

Question 12 of 13

正确答案：B

解析：我们看一下四个空处；第一个方框后说到within them，我们体验了陪伴，爱和安全感等等，them 在前文一定有指代，所以看看前面的句子，正好说到settings（满足我们大部分人需求的），them指代的是primary groups，所以A不对；D处前已经有for example这个例子了，C处后和for example这个句子紧密结合，提出一个点然后举例，所以只能放在B处。

Question 13 of 13

正确答案：

Primary Groups：AFG

Secondary Groups：DE

解析：作者用了文章的第四到七段较大篇幅讲primary，却只用了第二和第三段的部分讲到secondary，而且本文对于两个group的叙述存在交叉，交叉的部分主要在第二三两段，但这两段的叙述也是先primary后secondary，所以顺序性还是有的。第三段的四五两句分别对应existing和viewing两个答案，所以这两个答案属于secondary；第二段和第三段的第三句对应providing答案，第三段第二句对应involving答案，最后一段的第三句和第四句对应developing选项，结合11题的答案很容易选出这个选项。

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