Abstract: It was proved in a previous study that the accessing of backgrounded information in discourse reading comprehension was restricted to the situation described by the story.Using on-line window display technique,the present study further investigated the factors restricting this accessing processing by passages describing two people.In the reading materials,the supporting role was just mentioned but didn't appear in the situation of the story,and its characteristic was inconsistent with the target action carried out by the protagonist.Participants made judgments about the probe sentences according to the characteristics of the supporting roles.The data showed that probe sentences put after the first target sentences demanded less reaction time than those before the first target sentences,indicating that the supporting role's characteristic could be activated by the protagonist's action.Such result implied that the situation restricting the accessing of backgrounded information was not only the real situation occurring in the story but also the mental situation restructured by the readers.

Key words: window display technique, accessing of backgrounded information, resonance model, situation-constrained