Final answer:
Ellen's focus on a personal issue likely prevented the teacher's lecture from progressing beyond the initial stages of sensory input in her information processing system, as she is unable to fully attend to and encode the information presented.
Step-by-step explanation:
Given the scenario where Ellen is preoccupied by the argument she had with her friend before class, it can be inferred that the teacher's lecture didn't get far in her information processing system. Since Ellen is distracted, the lecture likely didn't progress beyond the initial stages of sensory input or attention. These early stages are where sensory information is received but not yet fully processed or encoded into short-term memory. So, due to her preoccupation with personal thoughts, Ellen's cognitive processing of the lecture material is hindered and the lecture content doesn't get fully processed for understanding and long-term retention.