Goldfish have pretty boring lives, so maybe it's a good thing they can only concentrate for nine seconds! But according to new research, humans are becoming like goldfish. Our attention span (时长) is getting shorter and it's all because of technology.
“We move quickly from one site to another on the web，” says Dr Ted Selker, a computer scientist from Massachusetts, “And we are losing the ability to concentrate.” With millions of websites to choose from, the attention span of the average Internet user is just seconds. There are other digital distractions (使人分心的事) too: emails, instant messaging and quickie movies on websites.
Some people are worried about the effect on young people. “You need time to understand and think about what you read，” says Julia Wood, from London. “Young people search the net all the time and their brains become full of useless information but there is no time to make sense of it. I am trying to persuade my pupils to read more books, so that they concentrate on one subject for longer.”
Other teachers are trying more unusual methods to improve students' concentration. Anne Savan, from Wales, was so worried about her students that she started playing Mozart during her science lessons. She says that it had an amazing effect, “The music made them calmer, and their concentration was much better.”
But not everyone believes that there is a problem. Ray Cole, an educational psychologist says, “On the web, young people learn to make quick decisions about what is and isn't worth reading. They might look at five unhelpful websites very quickly, before stopping and reading a sixth useful website more carefully. In a world with so much information available, this is an important skill.”
本文是一篇议论文。随着科技的发展，人们将大量时间花在浏览网站上，快速不断地浏览网站使人们的注意力时长越来越短；但是有人认为，浏览网站可以提高年轻人的判断能力。
1．Why does the writer mention “goldfish”？
A．To analyze data.
B．To introduce a topic.
C．To settle problems.
D．To suggest a way out.
答案：B
解析：推理判断题。文章第一段第一句说金鱼只能集中九秒钟的注意力；结合第一段的第二句“But according to new research, humans are becoming like goldfish.”可知，人们正变得像金鱼一样。接着文章提出中心论点：由于技术(应用)，我们的注意力时长变得越来越短。据此可以判断，作者用金鱼的例子是为了引出文章主题。
2．What may cause a shorter attention span according to Dr Ted Selker?
A．Skipping on the Internet.
B．Time to digest information.
C．Traditional methods of reading.
D．Making decisions.
答案：A
解析：推理判断题。根据第二段的“We move quickly from one site to another on the web...And we are losing the ability to concentrate.”可知，Ted Selker认为，由于快速浏览网站，人们正在丧失集中注意力的能力。
3．What will help students overcome a short attention span?
A．Receiving emails.
B．Texting messages.
C．Reading more books.
D．Watching quickie movies.
答案：C
解析：细节理解题。根据第三段的最后一句可知，阅读更多的书将有助于学生克服注意力时间短的问题。
4．What is Ray Cole's attitude towards looking through websites quickly?
A．Cautious. B．Unfavorable.
C．Skeptical. D．Supportive.
答案：D
解析：推理判断题。根据最后一段的“But not everyone believes that there is a problem...On the web, young people learn to make quick decisions about what is and isn't worth reading.”可知，Ray Cole认为年轻人快速浏览网站可以提高自己快速判断的能力；据此可判断，Ray Cole对快速浏览网站持支持态度。
