Question

    If you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume you arrived by internet.

Maybe you caught the headline as it raced by on Twitter. Or you might be taking a break from watching a boring movie on Netflix.

It doesn’t matter. Because according to a new study, it all adds up to the same thing: one distraction（分心的事情）after another.

And the thing is, they’re welcome distractions. Because, as the research — published this week in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — notes, people will do just about anything to avoid being left to their own thoughts.

For their study, researchers designed a sample test for more than 2,557 participants in 11 countries. They divided their test subjects into two groups. In the first group, people were asked to spend 10 to 15 minutes “entertaining themselves with their thoughts as best they could.”

Just sit back and think about things. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, not really. The second group — the one where people were told to surf the Net, play a video game, or even read a book — reported having much more fun. They scored more highly on entertainment and lower on boredom. And the preference for distraction seemed to be a global phenomenon, which may come as a surprise to Italians who are famously brilliant at doing nothing.

“The preference for doing external（外部的）activities such as reading, watching TV, or surfing the internet rather than ‘just thinking’ appears to be strong throughout the world,” the researchers note in the study.

But there does seem to be an important thing that hasn’t been included in the study. Shouldn’t the quality of thoughts matter? If you’ve got something positive to think about — say, how you’re going to spend your vacation or the great screenplay you’ve already half-written in your head — why are you reading this?

On the other hand, if you are always bothered by negative thoughts — a sad or painful experience, perhaps — by all means, keep scrolling（翻网页）.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to take up much of your time here; it’s a short study that gets to the point in a hurry. Don’t worry though. There’s a whole world of distractions out there. Say, have you seen that ship teetering at the brink of Niagara Falls? And how about those charming cows? Bet you didn’t know they could smell you from six miles away.

And that’s something to think about.

1.Why would the Italians be surprised at the phenomenon?

A.They prefer reading books to surfing the Net.

B.They’re convinced that thinking is significant.

C.They are used to being left to their own thoughts.

D.They seldom entertain themselves by surfing the Net.

2.How was the study conducted?

A.By reference research. B.By comparative study.

C.By theoretical analysis. D.By experimental study.

3.What seems to have been ignored in the study?

A.The quality of thoughts. B.The cause of the phenomenon.

C.The solution to the problem. D.The kinds of distractions.

4.What’s the tone of the passage?

A.Worried. B.Disappointed.

C.Serious. D.Humorous.

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。《个性与社会心理学杂志》上指出人们会做任何事情来避免被自己的想法左右。研究指出世界各地的人似乎都更喜欢阅读、看电视或上网等外部活动，而不是只是思考。但研究中似乎有一个重要的遗漏，即思想的质量是否重要。

1.细节理解题。根据第六段“the preference for distraction seemed to be a global phenomenon, which may come as a surprise to Italians who are famously brilliant at doing nothing. ”可知，喜欢分散注意力似乎是一种全球现象，这可能会让以什么都不做而著称的意大利人感到惊讶；根据第四段“as the research — published this week in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — notes, people will do just about anything to avoid being left to their own thoughts. ”可知，正如本周发表在《个性与社会心理学杂志》上的研究指出的那样，人们会做任何事情来避免被自己的想法左右。由以上内容可以看出，意大利人什么都不做是让自己被自己的想法左右。因此，意大利人对人们的做法感到吃惊是因为意大利人习惯于被自己的想法左右。故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据第五段“For their study, researchers designed a sample test for more than 2,557 participants in 11 countries. They divided their test subjects into two groups.”可知，在他们的研究中，研究人员设计了一个样本测试，共有来自11个国家的2557名参与者参加。他们把实验对象分成两组。由此可以看出，研究结果是通过比较两个小组的表现得出的，因此判断出研究是通过对比进行的。故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据倒数第四段“But there does seem to be an important thing that hasn’t been included in the study. Shouldn’t the quality of thoughts matter? ”可知，但研究中似乎有一个重要的遗漏。难道思想的质量不重要吗？因此研究中忽略的是思想的质量。故选A。

4.推理判断题。根据倒数第二段“There's a whole world of distractions out there. Say, have you seen that ship teetering at the brink of Niagara Falls? And how about those charming cows? Bet you didn't didn't know they could smell you from six miles away.”可知，外面有很多让人分心的东西。喂，你看见那艘船在尼亚加拉瀑布边摇摇欲坠吗?那些可爱的奶牛呢?我打赌你不知道他们在六英里外就能闻到你的气味。这种方式很幽默（humorous），所以判断出文章的基调是幽默的。故选D。