Question

Chinese students aren’t the only ones who have a sleep loss problem. In Australia, teenagers are also missing out on, on average, one hour’s sleep every night during the school week.

   Organized activities and homework push bedtimes later, the first large-scale Australian study of children’s sleeping habits has revealed (显示). Their sleep deprivation (剥夺) is enough to cause “serious drop-offs in school performance, attention and memory”, and governments should consider later or flexible school start times, said the study’s leader, Tim Olds.

   His survey, of more than 4,000 children aged 9 to 18, found those who slept least did not watch more television but spent their time socializing (相处) with family or friends or listening to music.

   “Almost all children get up at 7 or 7:15 — they have to get to school on time,” said Olds. He favors a later start over an earlier finish because he believes organized sports and activities would still consume the latter end of the day.

   Olds’ research also establishes lack of sleep as a cause of weight gain in children, and a possible source of future problems with depression, anxiety and increased susceptibility (易感性) to illness.

   It was already known that overweight children sleep less, but Professor Olds found sleep duration(时长) was strongly linked to weight across the full range of body sizes. The thinnest children sleep 20 minutes more than the obese. This showed being overweight had no specific effect on sleep patterns, and it was more likely that shorter sleep times stimulate (刺激) appetite and make kids hungry.

   The US National Sleep Foundation says teenagers aged 13 to 18 need eight to nine hours’ sleep a night. Younger school-aged kids need 9 to 11 hours.

   On that basis, Professor Olds said, half of Australian children are under-sleeping on weekdays and a quarter on weekends.

46. The Australian students surveyed don’t sleep enough because they spend more time on the following EXCEPT _____.

   A. organized activities and homework

   B. communication with friends and family

   C. watching television programs

   D. enjoying music 

47.  What effects does lack of sleep directly have on the students according to the survey?

   A. They become overweight but begin to eat less than before.

   B. They feel more depressed and anxious about their school work.

   C. They are more likely to be affected with illness in the future.

   D. They pay less attention in class and their memory declines.

48. Which of the following suggestions did Mr. Olds raise?

   A. The students should go to bed earlier to have longer sleeping time.

   B. The students should participate less in organized activities.

   C. The school should put off the start time in the morning.

   D. The school should finish earlier in the afternoon.

49. What does "obese" in the sixth paragraph mean?

A. average        B. fat        C. sleepless        D. overeating

50. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Australian students usually take part in activities in the afternoon.

B. More students are short of sleep on weekends than on weekdays.

C. Being overweight has an effect on the length of the sleeping time.

D. The survey suggests that teenagers need 8-9 hours’ sleep a night.

Answer 1

46. C. 47. D. 48. C. 49.B. 50. A.

解析:

46. C. 此题归纳了澳洲学生睡眠不足的原因，文章第3段说这个调查“found those who slept least did not watch more television”，所以看太多电视并不是影响睡眠的原因。

47. D. 文章第2段提到 “sleep deprivation” 会造成“serious drop-offs in school performance, attention and memory”, 所以选项D是睡眠不足直接造成的结果。而选项A中提到的肥胖是睡眠不足引起的，但后半部分是错的，学生并没有因此而吃得更少，相反，第6段的最后一句告诉我们睡眠不足会刺激食欲，意味着会吃得更多。选项B、C 不是直接的结果，只是将来可能出现的情况。睡眠不足是“a possible source of future problems”。

48. C. 此题为推理题，判断的关键依据是文章第4段讲到Mr Olds “favors a later start over an earlier finish because he believes organized sport and activities would still consume the latter end of the day.”，他希望学校能推迟上课时间，而不要提早结束一天的活动上床睡觉，因为运动和活动还是要安排在“the latter end of the day”。在第2段Mr Olds 还说“governments should consider later or flexible school start times”，因此C项正确。

49.B. 词义猜测题，可充分利用上下文来完成此题。第6段开头就提出“overweight children sleep less”，瘦的孩子比“obese”的多睡20分钟，可见“obese”和“overweight”意思是一样的。

50. A. B项的错误在于讲反了，更多澳洲学生平时比周末缺少睡眠。在文章最后一句话可找到论据。C项谈的是肥胖和睡眠时间的关系，“being overweight had no specific effect on sleep patterns, and it was more likely that shorter sleep times triggered appetite-stimulating hormones”说明肥胖并不是睡眠时间少的原因，而是睡眠不足刺激食欲引起了肥胖，因此C项错误。青少年需要的睡眠时间是The US National Sleep Foundation提出来的，和此调查无关。“organized sport and activities would still consume the latter end of the day”，从“still”可推测学生通常在一天的后半段时间进行活动和锻炼，所以A项正确。