Has this happened to you? You’re about to drift off to sleep when suddenly you feel like you’re falling or coming down on a roller coaster.

You then wake up to realize that you’re safe in your bed. You may have been confused or frightened for a second or two and your heart may be beating faster. You may have also felt the muscles in your body jerk(抽搐) when this all happened. Did you ever wonder why?

This falling sensation, together with a body movement known as a “sleep start”, is what doctors and scientists call a myoclonic(肌阵挛的)jerk, and it usually happens right before going into deeper stages of sleep. Here’s why doctors think the falling feeling and myoclonic jerks happen. When you fall asleep, normally your body temperature goes down and your heart start to beat just a little slower. This is because your brain signals your body to relax to prepare for sleep. When your muscles are relaxed, you go into the very first stages of sleep, but you’re not sleeping too deeply yet.

This brain activity may cause your larger muscles to contract(收缩) a little bit. In response, another part of your brain will make up a very quick mini-dream to go along with what is happening. You might think this would take a while, but your brain works so fast that it makes up the story almost at the same instant that your muscles jerk.

During this light sleep, you can be awakened easily. People who wake up during this light sleep believe they haven’t fallen asleep yet. That’s why you may think that your body jerked right before you were about to fall asleep.

Myoclonic jerk are a normal part of sleep. Most people have them at one time or another. But many people don’t realize their muscles are jerking during night sleep if it doesn’t wake them up.

So the next time you dream about falling and wake up in a sweat, don’t worry! Your body is just telling your muscles to relax and get some rest!

1.People sometimes wake up during a light sleep because______.

A. they are disturbed by others.

B. they are too tired to fall asleep.

C. their bodies are preparing for sleep.

D. they believe their lives are in danger.

2. What does the underlined part “ what is happening” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. The body jerk B. The mini- dream

C. The slow heartbeat D. The falling body temperature

3.The author thinks myoclonic jerks during sleep are _____.

A. worrying B. usual C. abnormal D. useful

4.It can be inferred that myoclonic jerks ________.

A. lead to muscle disease

B. happen in a deep sleep

B. are related to brain disease

D. don’t always wake people up

When I was in junior high school, I was really a bad boy.My history teacher—Mr.Oven criticized me a lot because I was naughty(淘气的)in his class.By the end of the first semester, I’d had enough of his words and had decided that I would get my revenge(报复)on him.

The opportunity arose one morning when Mr.Oven was called to the office for a certain reason.While Mr.Oven left, my company Billy and I took Mr.Oven’s lunch bag from under his desk.I opened his sandwich and placed a worm(虫子) in between the two slices of breaD. We put it back and closed it.To keep it in memory, Billy took photos of the whole process.We laughed for weeks over this.

Well, it all went south during Thanksgiving break.Billy’s mother found the pictures in his room, and demanded that he should tell her where these pictures were from.Billy told his mother the whole story, and Mr.Oven was informeD. Not only was I punished from school for two weeks, but also I was kicked off the football and basketball team.Before I could return to school, I had to turn in a 1000-word essay on what I did and why I did that.I really felt embarrassed every time I saw Mr.Oven in the hallway for the rest of the school year.I felt a little regret that Mr.Oven left our school the next year.

1.Mr.Oven criticized me a lot because________.

A. I didn’t go to his class

B. I was naughty in my homework

C. I didn’t answer his questions

D. I disobeyed his rules in class

2.How can you imagine Mr.Oven would act when he had his lunch?

A. He would cry out, shocked that the worm lay in his sandwich.

B. He would eat it as usual when he had his sandwich.

C. He would be glad to eat his delicious sandwich with the worm.

D. He would be very hungry when he found the worm in his sandwich.

3.The underlined sentence “Well, it all went south during Thanksgiving break.” in Paragraph 3 probably means________.

A. Billy and I went south during Thanksgiving break.

B. All the students left on Thanksgiving break.

C. All the students went south on Thanksgiving break.

D. It was not until Thanksgiving break ended that the secret was let out.

4.Which one was NOT true according to the article?

A. He had to eat the sandwich he had made for Mr.Oven.

B. He was kicked off the football and basketball team.

C. He had to be punished to leave school for two weeks.

D. He had to write a 1000-word essay to admit his mistake.

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网