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Stuttering is the inability to form words or sentences at what is considered a normal speed of speech. Stutterers drag out every syllable and sound, for what seems to the listener to be an eternity, just to say simple things such as their name or to ask a basic question. The degree of stuttering varies, and some stutterers have very good periods when they have no difficulty articulating at a normal pace. A Around one percent of the American population stutters to some degree, with men being four times more likely than women to be stutterers. B Doctors, speech therapists, and psychologists in the past puzzled over the causes of stuttering, usually concluding that it is related to the way a child is brought up or some traumatic incident in childhood. C The newest theories on stuttering concentrate on how the brain functions during speech and have concluded that stuttering is the result of the brain thinking too much while speaking. D
Imagine an athlete performing a complicated action such as hitting a home run. Almost all his actions are instinctual, based on years of practice, and happen sometimes even without knowledge of how he performed such a feat. Imagine what would happen if he thought through each individual step before he did it. Time is against him, and he would fail. The ball would whip by, and he would strike out, standing there with the bat on his shoulder. This is what goes on in the mind of a stutterer. Each sound is thought of and analyzed before it is articulated. Speech is one of the most complicated actions humans perform, with almost every facial muscle, the tongue, vocal cords, lungs, and brain working in concert to make it. The brain is wired to perform these tasks in correct order in just the right amount for each part and to do so without the person being conscious of the actions happening.
The stutterer trips over his words because he is examining each part carefully before saying it, like children learning a long, complicated word they are seeing for the first time. Specialists believe that stutterers are listening to themselves as they talk but at a subconscious level of understanding. When a stutterer tries to increase the tempo of his speech, the brain cannot keep up with the pattern of recognition of what is said, and a loop occurs, causing the person to repeat the same sound or word over and over again.
Speech therapists are using a method called delayed audio feedback to help stutterers. A stutterer carries a portable device that allows him to hear his own words with a time delay, so he hears what he said a few milliseconds later. This operates on the principle of the “crowded room.” In a crowded room, a stutterer has very few problems making himself understood because the greater background noise does not allow him to hear his own voice as clearly. For example, a man at a party seems fine talking to people in the crowd, but, if he is asked to make a speech, he will freeze up and start to stutter as everyone falls silent to listen to him. His brain now concentrates on what he is saying instead of the other people, and it has more time to think and thus slow down the man’s speech patterns. The delayed audio feedback device acts as a substitute for the crowd, bringing noise to the ear as the brain is about to start thinking too much about the next word that should be said.
There are different opinions on the effectiveness of delayed audio feedback. Some experts are enthusiastic about it while others say it is only effective for a few months, after which the brain becomes familiar with the device and adjusts for it. Specialists have examined stutterers’ brain functions with MRI technology and have found that they rely less on the left hemisphere of the brain, the side that controls speech functions. Future studies of the brain may make it possible to create microchips that can be implanted, thus curing a stutterer of his affliction for good. This may smack of science fiction, but, for the stutterer, it would surely be a welcome advance.
articulating: speaking clearly
11. According to paragraph 1, a stutterer’s main speech problem is
A their pronunciation of words
B the rate at which they speak
C their inability to recall words
D asking simple questions
12. According to paragraph 1, all of the following are possible reasons for stuttering EXCEPT:
A parental rearing methods
B the gender which one was born
C a terrible incident as a child
D a problem with brain functions
13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage.
For example, in the public school system of the past, left-handed children were sometimes forced to write or draw right-handed, which resulted in stuttering in some.
Where would the sentence best fit?
Click on a square [■] to add the sentence to the passage.
14. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect answer choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.
A The athlete would not know how to perform the action without years of practice and his instincts.
B Instinctually, the athlete is aware that only practice has allowed him to perform this complicated action.
C The athlete’s instinct allows him to perform great actions even when he is unaware of what he is doing.
D Years of practice allow the athlete to instinctually perform an action without knowing how he did it.
15. According to paragraph 2, speech is very complicated because
A the brain needs to work very fast to get all the words out
B all the facial muscles are being used to make sounds
C multiple body parts are involved in creating human speech
D speed is essential in all aspects of making voiced sounds
16. The word subconscious in the passage is closest in meaning to
A unknown
B hidden
C false
D forbidden
17. The author uses the man at a party scenario in paragraph 4 in order to
A discuss how stutterers function in various social situations
B examine the reactions of a stutterer asked to make a speech
C explore how the delayed audio feedback theory was developed
D explain the theory as to why delayed audio feedback works
18. According to paragraph 4, delayed audio feedback helps a stutterer by
A allowing him to think clearly before speaking by looping his speech
B distracting his brain so he does not think too much about his next words
C making him able to speak clearly in social situations like parties
D confusing him into thinking that he is speaking in a crowded room
19. It can be inferred from paragraph 5 that microchips have
A already been implanted in the brains of some stutterers
B already been developed for stutterers to make use of
C not been implanted in stutterers but have been created
D neither been created nor implanted in any stutterers
20. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas of the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points .
Past theories on the causes of stuttering being psychological in nature have been replaced by the theory that stuttering is a malfunction of the brain with its way of processing information.
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A The brain is instinctual and is not designed to think about problems in too much detail.
B Images of MRI scanners show that stutterers use the part of their brain concerned with speech less than those who do not stutter.
C Mechanical audio devices have been developed to help alleviate stuttering, but they are not supported by a majority of experts.
D A stutterer in a crowded noisy room has an easier time making himself understood than if he were the only one speaking.
E The success of delayed audio feedback devices seems to indicate that stuttering is connected to how the brain processes sound.
F Instead of instinctually letting the brain make speech, a stutterer seems to be consciously thinking of each step.
Drag your answer choices to the spaces where they belong.
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