According to sociologists, there are several different ways in which a person may become recognized as the leader of a social group. In the family, traditional cultural patterns confer leadership on one or both of the parents. In other cases, such as friendship groups, one or more persons may gradually emerge as leaders, although there is no formal process of selection. In larger groups, leaders are usually chosen formally through election or recruitment.
Although leaders are often thought to be people with unusual personal ability, decades of research have failed to produce consistent evidence that there is any category of"natural leaders". It seems that there is no set of personal qualities that all leaders have in common; rather, virtually any person may be recognized as a leader if the person has qualities that meet the needs of that particular group.
Research suggests that there are typically two diferent leadership roles that are held by different individuals. Instrumental leadership is the leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks by a social group. Group members look to instrumental leaders to "get things done". Expressive leadership, on the other hand, is the leadership that emphasizes the collective well-being of a social group's members.Expressive leaders are less concerned with the overall goals of the group than with providing emotional support to group members and attempting to minimize tension and conflict among them.
Instrumental leaders are likely to have a rather secondary relationship to other group members.They give others tasks and may discipline group members who inhibit(阻碍)attainment of the group'sgoals. Expressive leaders cultivate a more personal or primary relationship to others in the group. They offer sympathy when someone experiences difficulties and try to resolve issues that threaten to divide the group. As the differences in these two roles suggest, expressive leaders generally receive more personal affection from group members; instrumental leaders, if they are successful in promoting group goals,may enjoy a more distant respect.
What does the passage mainly discuss?
通读全文可知，第一段陈述了一个人成为社会群体领导者的不同方式；第二段陈述了领导者和其能力的关系；第三、四段具体陈述了两种领导角色——工具型领导和表意型领导——各自的特点和它们之间的差异。由此可推知，本文主要是围绕“社会群体中的领导角色”展开论述的。故选D。
The passage mentions all of the following ways by which people can become leaders EXCEPT ________.
根据第一段内容可知，在家庭中，传统的文化模式将领导权授予父母中的一方或父母双方，而在较大的团体中，领导人通常通过正式选举或招募的方式产生。由此可知，A、B、D三项均被提及；C项(特定的领导培训)在文中没有被提及。故选C。
Which of the following statements about leadership can be inferred from Paragraph 2?
根据第二段最后一句"It seems that there is no set of personal..that particular group."可知，似乎没有一套所有领导者都具有的共同的个人品质；相反，事实上，如果一个人具有满足特定群体需要的品质，几乎任何人都可以被认为是领导者。由此可推知，在一个特定群体中的有效领导者可能在另一个群体中不是有效的领导者。故选A。
In mentioning“natural leaders”(Para. 2), the author is making the point that _____.
根据第二段第一句“..that there is any category of 'natural leaders'.”可知，尽管领导者通常被认为是具有不同寻常的个人能力的人，但数十年的研究未能提供一致的证据，证明存在任何一种“天生的领导者”。故选B。
The passage indicates that instrumental leaders generally focus on_______.
根据第三段第二句"Instrumental leadership is the leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks by a social group.”可知，工具型领导强调使社会群体完成任务，即他们通常关注目标的达成。故选D。