Judging from recent surveys, most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic(流行病)of sleepiness in the nation.“I can’t think of a single study that hasn’t found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to,” says Dr David.Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit crisis can be traced back to the invention of the light bulb a century age.From diary entries and our personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night.“The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was dark.” By the 1950s and 1960s, the sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and 8 hours, and most people had to wake to an alarm clock.“People cheat in their sleep, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it,” says Dr David.“They think they’re okay because they can get by on 6.5 hours, when they really need 7.5, 8 or even more to feel ideally energetic.”
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researchers say, is the complexity of the day.Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community increase, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on their programme.“In our society, you’re considered dynamic if you say you need only 5.5 hours’ sleep.If you’ve got to get 8.5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition.”
To determine the consequences of sleep-deficit, researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performance tests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall a passage read to them only minutes earlier.“We’ve found that if you’re in sleep-deficit, performance suffers,” says Dr David.“Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate.”
(1)
What is the main topic of the passage?
[ ]
A.
Research on the causes and consequences of sleep-deficit.
B.
The epidemic of sleepiness in the modern times.
C.
The history of people’s sleeping patterns.
D.
The minimum of our sleeping hours.
(2)
Which of the following is Di David’s opinion?
[ ]
A.
People who think they are sleeping enough are better off than those who don’t.
B.
Some people can remain energetic with only 6.5 hours’ sleep a night.
C.
If they get 8.5 hours’ sleep, people will be full of drive and ambition.
D.
People’s mental power suffers if they are lacking in sleep.
(3)
People in the 18th and 19th centuries slept about 9.5 hours a night because __________.
[ ]
A.
they were forced by their parents to do so
B.
they knew what was best for their health
C.
they had no electricity
D.
they were not so dynamic and ambitious as modern people are
(4)
The major cause of sleep-deficit of modern people is __________.
[ ]
A.
the endless TV programmes in the evenings and the Internet
B.
the pressures of the day
C.
the sufficient energy modern people usually have
D.
loud noises in modern cities
(5)
What does the word “subjects” in the last paragraph mean?
[ ]
A.
Persons or things being discussed or described.
B.
Branched of knowledge studied in a school.
C.
Persons or things being treated in a certain way or being experimented on.
D.
Any member of a state apart from the supreme ruler.
阅读理解
We have met the enemy and he i s our s.We bought him at a pet shop.When monkey-pox, a di sea se u sually found in the African rain fore st suddenly turn s up in children in the American Midwe st, it' s hard not to wonder of the di sea se that come s from foreign animal s i s homing in on human being s.“Mo st of the infection s we think of a s human infection s started in other animal s, ” say s Stephen Mor se, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedne s s at Columbia Univer sity.
It' s not ju st that we're going to where the animal s are; we're al so bringing them clo ser to u s.Popular foreign pet s have brought a whole new di sea se to thi s country.A strange illne s s killed I sak sen' s pet s and she now think s that keeping foreign pet s i s a bad idea, “I don't think it' s fair to have them a s pet s when we have such alimited knowledge of them.” say s I sak sen.
“Law s allowing the se animal s to be brought in from deep fore st area s without stricter control need changing.” say s Peter Schantz.Monkey-pox may be the wake-up call.Re searcher s believe infected animal s may infect their owner s.We know very little about the se new di sea se s.A new bug(病毒)may be kind at fir st.But it may develop into something harmful.Monkey-pox doe sn't look a major infectiou s di sea se.But it i s not impo s sible to pa s s the di sea se from per son to per son.
(1)
We learn from Paragraph 1 that the pet sold at the shop may ________.
[ ]
A.
come from Columbia
B.
prevent u s from being infected
C.
enjoy being with children
D.
suffer from monkey-pox
(2)
Why did I sak sen advi se people not to have foreign pet s?
[ ]
A.
Becau se they attack human being s.
B.
Becau se we need to study native animal s.
C.
Becau se they can't live out of the rain fore st.
D.
Becau se we do not know much about them yet.
(3)
What doe s the phra se “the wake-up call” in Paragraph 3 mo st probably mean?