Recording One
Qualities of a relationship such as openness, compassion, and mental stimulation, are of concern to most of us regardless of sex. But judging from the questionnaire response, they’re more important to women than to men. Asked to consider the ingredients of close friendship, women rated these qualities above all others. [16] Men assigned a lower priority to them in favor of similarity in interests, selected by 77% of men, and responsiveness in a crisis, chosen by 61% of male respondents. Mental stimulation, ranked third in popularity by men as well as women, was the only area of overlap. Among men, only 28% named openness as an important quality; caring was picked by just 23%.
[17] It is evident by their selections that when women speak of close friendships, they’re referring to emotional factors, while men emphasize the pleasure they find in a friend’s company. That is, when a man speaks of “a friend”, he is likely to be talking about someone he does things with—a teammate, a fellow hobbyist, a drinking buddy. These activities are the fabric of the friendship. It is a “doing” relationship in which similarity in interests is the key bond. This factor was a consideration of less than 11% of women. Women opt for a warm emotional atmosphere where communication flows freely; activity is mere background.
Lastly, men, as we have seen, have serious questions about each other’s loyalty. Perhaps this is why they placed such strong emphasis on responsiveness in a crisis—someone I can call on for help. Women, as their testimonies indicate, are generally more secure with each other and consequently are more likely to treat this issue lightly. In follow-up interviews, this was confirmed numerous times as woman after woman indicated that being there when needed was taken for granted. [18] As for the hazards of friendship, more than a few relationships have been shattered because of cutthroat competition and feelings of betrayal. This applies to both men and women, but unequally. In comparison, nearly twice as many men complained about these issues as women. Further, while competition and betrayal are the main thorns to female friendship, men are plagued in almost equal amounts by two additional issues: lack of frankness and a fear of appearing unmanly. Obviously, for a man, a good friendship is hard to find.
16. What quality do men value most concerning friendship according to a questionnaire response?
【试题答案】A
【试题解析】题目问男性在友谊方面最看重什么品质？录音开头提到，男性更倾向于寻找兴趣上的相似性（in favor of similarity in interests），A选项“兴趣上的相似性”与原文表述相符，因此正确。B选项“精神鼓励”；C选项“率真，开放”和D选项“同情心”虽然在录音中有所涉及，但只是说女性比男性更加看重这些品质，而男性认为这些都不是最重要的（Men assigned a lower priority to them），他们优先考虑的是兴趣上的相似性。因此均可排除。
17. What do women refer to when speaking of close friendships?
【试题答案】D
【试题解析】题目问的是女性对于亲密友谊的看法。录音中明确提到，当女性说起亲密友谊时，她们指的是情感因素（emotional factors），D选项“情感因素”是录音原文的复现，因此正确。A选项“愿意及时提供帮助”在录音中没有提及；B项“在彼此陪伴下找到的快乐”，这是男性的看法，因此排除；C选项“个人纽带”，利用录音中的bond制造干扰，录音中说的是兴趣上的相似性是友谊的关键纽带，只有不到11%的女性考虑到了这一因素，选项与原文表述不符，因此排除。
18. What may threaten a friendship for both men and women?
【试题答案】C
【试题解析】题目问有什么因素对于男性和女性来说都会威胁到友谊？录音后半部分提到，很多关系都因为激烈的竞争和被背叛的感觉而破裂，这一点对男性和女性都适用，因此C选项“背叛的感觉”正确。A选项“没有信守诺言”和D选项“失去联系”在录音中没有提及；B选项“缺乏坦率”，这只是男性关系中面临的问题之一，并没有说女性之间也有类似问题，与题干不符，因此排除。
