Question

(2013·高考北京卷，D)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 self­evaluations 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 sensation­seeking (寻求刺激) or impulsive (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 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 sensation­seeking 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 sensation­seekers 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.”

1.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

2.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

3.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

4.From the last paragraph，we can learn that multitaskers usually________.

A．drive very skillfully

B．go in for difficult tasks

C．fail to react quickly to potential dangers

D．refuse to explain the reasons for their behavior

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】 本文为一篇科普文，介绍了Sanbonmatsu与他的同事们的一项研究结果：同时做很多事情的人往往会有最糟糕的结果，这是因为这些人做事情不专心，他们不能对潜在的危险作出迅速的反应。

1.

2.2】解析：选A。细节理解题。文章第二段提到他们让参与实验的学生做这做那，然后他们“evaluated the participants’ multitasking ability with a tricky mental task...”，由此可知，Sanbonmatsu和他的同事们在实验中评估了学生们的多任务处理能力。

3.3】解析：选C。细节理解题。由文章第四段Sanbonmatsu所说的话“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”可知答案。distractible意为“不专心的，分心的”，因此正确答案为C项。

4.4】解析：选C。推理判断题。文章最后一段提到的研究结果表明：这些寻求刺激的人(sensation­seekers)往往会“multitask the most”，但是却有“enjoy risky distracted driving”的结果，这是因为这些人往往“less sensitive to risky situations”，即：对潜在的危险不能迅速作出反应，故C项为正确答案。