阅读试题

Multitasking

People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, a new research suggests. The findings, based on performances and self-evaluation by about 275 college students, indicate that many people multitask not out of a desire to increase productivity, but because they are easily distracted (分心) and can't focus on one activity. And "those people turn out to be the worst at handling different things,"said David Sanbonmatsu, a psychologist at the University of Utah.

Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues gave the students a set of tests and asked them to report how often they multitasked, how good they thought they were at it, and how sensation-seeking (寻求刺激) or imperative (冲动) they were. They then evaluated the participants' multitasking ability with a tricky mental task that required the students to do simple mathematical calculations while remembering a set of letters.

Not surprisingly, the scientists said, most people thought they were better than average at multitasking, and those who thought they were better at it were more likely to report using a cellphone while driving orviewing multiple kinds of media at once. But those who frequently deal with many things at the same time were found to perform the worst at the actual multitasking test. They also were more likely to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which connects with how easily people get bored and distracted.

"People multitask not because it's going to lead to greater productivity, but because they're distractible,and they get sucked into things that are not as important." Sanbonmatsu said.

Adam Gazzaley, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not a member of the research group, said one limitation of the study was that it couldn't find out whether people who start out less focused tend toward multitasking or whether people's recognizing and understanding abilities change as a result of multitasking.

The findings do suggest, however, why the sensation-seeker who multitask the most may enjoy risky distracted driving. "People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations." said Paul Atchley, another researcher not in the group. "This may partly explain why people go in for these situations even though they're dangerous."

阅读试题

67. The research led by Sanbonmatsu indicates that people who multitask___________.

A. seek high productivity constantly

B. prefer handling different things when getting bored

C. are more focused when doing many things at a time

D. have the poorest results in doing various things at the same time

68. When Sanbonmatsu and his colleagues conducted their research, they___________.

A. assessed the multitasking ability of the students

B. evaluated the academic achievements of the students

C. analyzed the effects of the participants' tricky mental tasks

D. measured the changes of the students' understanding ability

69. According to Sanbonmatsu, people multitask because of their___________.

A. limited power in calculation

B. interests in doing things differently

C. inability to concentrate on one task

D. impulsive desire to try new things

70. From the last paragraph, we can learn that multitaskers usually___________.

A. drive very skillfully

B. go in for different tasks

C. fail to react quickly to potential dangers

D. refuse to explain the reasons for their behavior

参考译文

一心多用

一个新的研究表明，总是一心多用的人可能会同时搞砸两件事。建立在275名大学生的表现和自我评价基础上的调查结果表明很多一心多用的人并不是出于他们想要提高生产率的愿望，而是因为他们很容易分心，不能专注于一个活动。犹他大学的一位心理学家Sanbonmatsu说：“那些人在处理不同的事情时会弄砸。”

Sanbonmatsu和他的同事们给学生做了一组测试，并要求他们报告他们一心多用的频率，他们认为他们自己是否擅长一心多用，以及他们是如何寻求感官刺激或冲动的。然后，他们通过一个微妙的心理任务来评估参与者一心多用的能力，而这个任务就是要求学生做简单的数学计算，并记住一组字母。

科学家们说，不足为奇的是，大多数人认为他们一心多用的能力比平均水平好，并且那些认为他们自己更擅长一心多用的人更有可能一边驾车一边使用手机或看多个种类的媒体。但是那些经常同时处理不同事情的人被证明在实际一心多用的测试中表现更差。他们也更有可能有寻求刺激的感觉和做出冲动行为，这与人们感到无聊和分心的难易程度息息相关。

Sanbonmatsu说：“人们一心多用并不是因为这将会提高生产力，而是因为他们不专心，而且他们被卷入并不重要的事情之中了。”

旧金山加州大学的研究员亚当并不是研究小组的一员，他说这项研究的一个限制在于它无法指明开始不集中的人是倾向于一心多用还是一心多用改变了人们的认识和理解能力。

然而，研究结果表明，为什么一心多用寻求刺激的人最有可能喜欢冒险的分心驾驶。另一个非研究小组的研究员保罗利船长说：“一心多用的人通常对危险的情况不太敏感。”“这可以部分解释为什么即使危险人们还要参与其中了。”

答案解析

67. D 考查细节理解。根据第一段第一句内容可知，由Sanbonmatsu的研究表明喜欢多任务化的人在同时做多件事情时，表现最差。此外，第三段第二句的内容也是提示。

68. A 考查细节理解。根据第二段第二句的内容可知，他和同事在进行研究时，评估了学生的多任务化能力。

69. C 考查细节节理解。根据第一段后半部分中的"but because they are easily distracted（分心）and can't focus on one activity"可知，人们进行多任务化的原因是他们不具备专注于一项任务的能力。此外，倒数第三段的内容也是提示。

70. C 考查推理判断。根据最后一段的"People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations"可知，喜欢多任务化的人一般对危险情况不太敏感，由此可推断他们通常不能对潜在的危险做出快速的反应。