Being able to multitask is hailed by most
people as a welcome skill, but not according to a recent study which claims that
young people between the ages of eight and eighteen of the so-called Generation
M are spending a considerable amount of their time in fruitless efforts as they
multitask. It argues that, in fact, these young people are frittering (浪费) away
as much as half of their time as they would if they performed the very same
tasks one after the other. Some young people are using an ever
larger number of electronic devices as they study. At the same time they are
working, young adults are also surfing on the Internet, or sending out emails to
their friends, or answering the telephone and listening to music on their iPods
or on another computer. As some new device comes along, it is also added to the
list rather than replacing one of the existing devices. Other
research has indicated that this multitasking is even affecting the way families
themselves function as young people are too wrapped up in (沉湎于) their own
isolated worlds to interact with the other people around them. They can no
longer greet family members when they enter the house nor can they eat at the
family table. All this electronic wizardry (魔力) is supposedly
also seriously affecting young people's performance at university and in the
workplace. When asked about their opinions of the impact of modern gadgets (小装置)
on their performance of tasks, the great majority of young people gave a
favourable response. The response from the academic and
business worlds was not quite as positive. The former feel that multitasking
with electronic gadgets by children affects later development of study skills,
resulting in a decline in the quality of writing, for example, because of the
lack of concentration on task completion. They feel that many undergraduates now
urgently need remedial (补救的) help with study skills. Similarly, employers feel
that young people entering the workforce need to be taught all over again, as
they have become deskilled. While all this may be true, it must
be borne in mind that more and more is expected of young people nowadays; in
fact, too much Praise rather than criticism is due in respect of the way today's
youth are able to cope despite what the older generation throw at them.
单选题
What is probably true about the multitasking Generation M?
单选题
With the introduction of new gadgets, what happens to the Generation
M's present e-devices?
A. They give way to the latest.
B. They are quickly put aside.
C. They are sold to their friends.
D. They become part of their collection.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第二段最后一句“As some new device comes along, it is also added to the list rather than replacing one of the existing devices”可知,随着新装置的不断到来,已加入到他们的名单中,而不是代替已存在的装置,据此可知,这些新装置成了收藏的一部分。
单选题
The academics feel that many undergraduates badly need to ______.
A. adjust their social attitudes
B. seek psychological assistance
C. improve their study skills
D. take more business courses
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 根据第五段第二句话“The former feel that multitasking with electronic gadgets by children affects 1ater development of study skills,”可知,学术界认为带有电子装置的多任务影响了孩子的学习技能,导致写字质量的下降,据此可知,学者认为他们急需提高学习技能。
单选题
What attitude should the older generation adopt towards the
multitasking youth?