In an Experiment a Cough or a Tone Replaced the First

In an experiment a cough or a tone replaced the first "s" in the word "legislatures" in a sentence the subjects were listening to. The results of this experiment support the idea that

A) we first hear each letter separately, then combine them into words.
B) we hear words as a whole, rather than a group of separate sounds (letters) .
C) we interpret words independently of their context.
D) we block from consciousness any word that does not make sense in a sentence.