Question

Teenagers around the world can be glad with the news that their brain deserves the blame when parents’ orders go ignored while they tap on their smartphones.

A new scientific study from the University College London has found that humans may suffer temporarily deaf when they’re simultaneously focusing on something visual. Research found that the 13 volunteers experienced inattentional deafness to the normal-volume sounds playing in the background as their visual tasks became increasingly difficult. ‘We found that when volunteers were performing the demanding visual task, they were unable to hear sounds that they would normally hear,’ study co-author Maria Chait said in a statement. ‘The brain scans showed that people were not only ignoring or filtering out the sounds, they were not actually hearing them in the first place.’

The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that the visual and auditory processing centers that make sense of the sights and sounds that surround us share limited resources.

Inattentional deafness is a common everyday experience and the study explains why, according to UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience Professor Nilli Lavie, a co-author of the study. ‘This could also explain why you might not hear your bus or train stop being announced if you’re concentrating on your phone, book, or newspaper. ’‘If you try to talk to someone focusing on a book, game, or television program and don’t receive a response, they are not necessarily ignoring you, they simply might not hear you! ’ she said.

Loud sounds—like ambulance sirens—will still be able to break through, but some situations could become potentially dangerous when the quieter ones go unheard, according to Medical Daily. ‘This has more serious implications in situations such as the operating theater, when a surgeon concentrating on their work might not hear the equipment beeping,’ Lavie said. ‘It also applies to drivers concentrating on complex directions as well as cyclists and motorists who are focusing intently on something such as an advertisement or even simply an interesting-looking passerby.

1.The 13 volunteers studied in the study______

A. experienced deafness due to their inattention

B. were deaf to the normal sounds intentionally

C. can hear the normal-volume sounds when performing the demanding visual task

D. didn’t choose to ignore the normal sounds on purpose

2. If a person concentrates on a book______

A. you cannot expect him to respond to you

B. he doesn’t want to give you a reply

C. he wants you to be away from him

D. he may get angry because of your disturbance

3.How does the inattentional deafness affect our life according to the last paragraph?

A. It may lead to people losing friends.

B. It may cause danger in some fields.

C. It may make something more complex.

D. It may increase one’s attraction.

4.What does the passage mainly want to tell us?

A. The benefit of the inattentional deafness 

B. The expectation from young teenagers.

C. Concentrating on something visual can cause short deaf ears

D. Inattentional deafness is not a good thing

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.B

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：研究表明，当你正在集中注意力于某件事或某个人时，你不会听到或看到周围其它的人或物，并不是你故意忽略，而是大脑的功能区域划分的问题。

1.1】D细节理解题。根据第三段‘We found that when volunteers were performing the demanding visual task, they were unable to hear sounds that they would normally hear,’ study co-author Maria Chait said in a statement. ‘The brain scans showed that people were not only ignoring or filtering out the sounds, they were not actually hearing them in the first place.’可知他们并不是故意听不见的，故选D。

2.2】A推理判断题。根据倒数第二段‘This could also explain why you might not hear your bus or train stop being announced if you’re concentrating on your phone, book, or newspaper. ’‘If you try to talk to someone focusing on a book, game, or television program and don’t receive a response, they are not necessarily ignoring you, they simply might not hear you! ’可知，你不能期待他能回复你，因为他可能听不见你，故答案为A。

3.3】B细节理解题。根据最后一段第一句but some situations could become potentially dangerous when the quieter ones go unheard,以及后文中举例医生和司机可知，答案为B。

4.4】C主旨大意题。根据文章的大意，尤其是第二段的研究发现可知，当人集中精力于视觉上的某人或某物时，不会听到平时能听到的声音，会出现短时的失聪现象，故答案为C。

【名师点睛】

细节理解题解题思路与应试技巧

细节题是针对文中某个细节、某句话或某部分具体内容设置问题，正确答案的根据一定可以在原文中找到，即原文的改写往往成为正确选项。

通常细节题的正确选项有以下特征：

1、对原文句子中的关键词进行替换。把原文中的一些词换成意义相近的词，成为正确选项。

2、词性或者语态的变化。把原文中的一些词变换一下词性，或者改变原文句子的语态，给考生制造障碍。

3、语言简化。把原文中的复杂语言现象进行简化，成为正确答案。

4、正话反说。把原文中的意思反过来表达而成为正确选项（适用于寻找错误选项的题目）。

干扰项也是以文章中的某个细节设题，若不仔细辨别，很容易把它当成正确选项。干扰项有以下特征：

1、将原文内容扩大或缩小。把原文中的限定词去掉或替换，使该选项看似正确，实际上却是错误选项。

2、把未然当已然。改变文中某句话的时态，如把将来时变成现在时，把未发生的事情当成已发生的事情。

3、无中生有。即选项内容是根据主观想象或推测得出的结论，而文中并未涉及。

4、偷换概念。把原来做该事的“张三”换成“李四”，所述细节确实与原文一致，一不小心就会误选。

5、文不对题。这类题最不容易辨别，选项中的描述与原文完全一致，确属原文中的一个细节，这时要回到题干，看该选项是否能回答题干所提的问题。

【考点】社会实验调查类阅读。