Question

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 (尋求刺激) or imperative (沖動) 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 or viewing 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  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.”

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

Answer 1

【語篇解讀】本文是一篇研究報告。Sanbonmatsu和他的同事通過對275名高校生進行的多任務試驗，根據參與者的表現和自我評估，發現：當一心多用的人同時做兩件事時，表現最不如人意。因為他們容易分心，無法專注于一個活動。另外，那些一心多用者對于危險情況不很敏感。

段落	關鍵詞、句	大意推測
第一部分（Para. 1）	People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, a new research suggests. they are easily distracted (分心) and can’t focus on one activity.	當一心多用的人同時做兩件事時，表現最不如人意。因為他們容易分心，無法專注于一個活動。
第二部分（Para. 2）	a set of tests; report ...; evaluated; . But …perform the worst; more likely to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior; how easily people get bored and distracted.	實驗過程：給參與者一組測試，要求他們報告數據，然后他們通過一個微妙的心理任務評估參與者的多任務處理能力。
第三部分（Para. 3）	found to perform the worst ；to admit to sensation-seeking and impulsive behavior, which connects with…; one limitation …was that it couldn’t find out whether people who start out less focused   toward multitasking or whether people’s recognizing and understanding abilities change as a result of multitasking，  less sensitive to risky situations。	實驗結果: 那些自認為有較好的多任務執行力的參與者在實際多任務操作時表現最糟糕，他們承認自己的行為是尋求刺激和沖動, 這與他們容易感覺無聊和分心的有關。 試驗的一個局限性：無法得知參與者是否對多任務操作關注不多，人們是否會因為多任務操作的結果而改變認識能力和理解能力。 研究表明：那些一心多用者對于危險情況不很敏感。

【解析】

67. D。細節判斷題。難度：中等。題干關鍵詞為The research …indicates，定位第一段。People who multitask all the time may be the worst at doing two things at once, a new research suggests.可知：同一時間做多個任務的人表現最糟糕。故D.正確。

68. D。細節判斷題。難度：中等。由題干可知，此題考查試驗過程的內容，定位在第二段。第二句中They then evaluated the participants’ multitasking ability with a tricky mental task …，可知：該團隊用一個微妙的心理任務來評估參與者的多任務操作能力。第一段的第二句The findings, based on performances and self-evaluation by about 275 college students,…。可知：這些參與者是275名高校生。故正確答案為A。

69. C。細節判斷題。難度：中等  根據題干，定位第四段：“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.” 人們一心多用不是因為這樣做會大大提高生產效率，而是因為他們分心，他們做的事不是那么重要。inability to concentrate on one task意為：無法集中精力在一個任務。故選C。

70. C。推理判斷題。難度：中等。由題干定位最后一段，People who are multitasking are generally less sensitive to risky situations，可知：一心多用者對于危險情況不很敏感，可推斷他們有時無法對潛在的危險做出快速反應，C正確。