That people often experience trouble sleeping in a different bed in unfamiliar surroundings is a phenomenon known as the 4Tirst-nighf, effect. If a person stays in the same room the following night they tend to sleep more soundly. Yuka Sasaki and her colleagues at Brown University set out to investigate the origins of this effect.
Dr. Sasaki knew the first-night effect probably has something to do with how humans evolved.
The puzzle was what benefit would be gained from it when performance might be affected the following day. She also knew from previous work conducted on birds and dolphins that these animals put half of their brains to sleep at a time so that they can rest while remaining alert enough to avoid predators (捕食者). This led her to wonder if people might be doing the same thing. To take a closer look, her team studied 35 healthy people as they slept in the unfamiliar environment of the university’s Department of Psychological Sciences. The participants each slept in the department for two nights and were carefully monitored with techniques that looked at the activity of their brains. Dr. Sasaki found, as expected, the participants slept less well on their first night than they did on their second, taking more than twice as long to fall asleep and sleeping less overall. During deep sleep, the participants’ brains behaved in a similar manner seen in birds and dolphins. On the first night only, the left hemispheres (半球) of their brains did not sleep nearly as deeply as their right hemispheres did.
Curious if the left hemispheres were indeed remaining awake to process information detected in the surrounding environment, Dr. Sasaki re-ran the experiment while presenting the sleeping participants with a mix of regularly timed beeps (蜂鸣声) of the same tone and irregular beeps of a different tone during the night. She worked out that, if the left hemisphere was staying alert to keep guard in a strange environment, then it would react to the irregular beeps by stirring people from sleep and would ignore the regularly timed ones. This is precisely what she found.
1.What do we learn about Dr. Yuka Sasaki doing her research?
A.She found birds and dolphins remain alert while asleep.
B.She found birds and dolphins sleep in much the same way.
C.She got some idea from previous studies on birds and dolphins
D.She conducted studies on birds’ and dolphins’ sleeping patterns.
2.What did Dr. Sasaki do when she first did her experiment?
A.She monitored the brain activity of participants sleeping in a new environment.
B.She recruited (招募) 35 participants from her Department of Psychological Sciences.
C.She studied the differences between the two sides of participants’ brains.
D.She tested her findings about birds and dolphins on human subjects.
3.What did Dr. Sasaki do when re-running her experiment?
A.She analyzed the negative effect of irregular tones on brains.
B.She recorded participants’ adaptation to changed environment.
C.She exposed her participants to two different stimuli (刺激物).
D.She compared the responses of different participants.
4.What did Dr. Sasaki find about the participants in her experiment?
A.They tended to enjoy certain tones more than others.
B.They tended to recognize irregular beeps as a threat.
C.They felt sleepy when exposed to regular beeps.
D.They differed in their tolerance of irregular tones
“One of the reason I find this topic very interesting is because my mom was a smoker when I was younger,” says Lindson-Hawley, who studies tobacco and health at the University of Oxford.
By studying about 700 adult smokers, she found out that mom quit the right way-by stopping abruptly and completely.
In her Study, participants were randomly(随机地) assigned to two groups. One had to quit abruptly on a given day, going from about a pack a day to zero. The other cut down gradually over the course of two weeks. People in both groups used nicotine replacement, like gum or spray. They also had talk therapy(疗法) with a nurse before and after quit day.
Six months later, more people who had quit abruptly had stuck with it--more than one-fifth of them, compared to about one-seventh in the other group. Although these numbers appear low, it is much higher than if people try without support.
And the quit rates were particularly convincing given that before the study started, most of the people had said they’d rather cut down gradually before quitting. “If you’re training for a marathon, you wouldn’t expect to turn up and just be able to run it. And I think people see that for smoking as well. They think, ‘Well, if I gradually reduce, it’s like practice,’” says Lindson-Hawley. But that wasn’t the case. Instead of giving people practice, the gradual reduction likely gave them addiction and withdrawal symptoms(脱瘾症状) before they even reached the day, which could be why fewer people in that group actually made it to that point. “Regardless of your stated preference, if you’re ready to quit, quitting abruptly is more effective,” says Dr. Gabriela Ferreira. “When you can quote a specific number like a fifth of the patients were able to quit, that’s acceptable. It gives them the encouragement, I think, to really go for it,” Ferreira says.
People rarely manage to quit the first time they try. But at least, she says, they can maximize the odds of success.
1.What dose Lindson-Hawley say about her mother?
A.She quit smoking with her daughter’s help
B.She was also a researcher of tobacco and health
C.She studied the smoking patterns of adult smokers
D.She succeeded in quitting smoking abruptly
2.What kind of support did smokers receive to quit smoking in Lindson-Hawley’s study?
A.They were given physical training
B.They were offered nicotine replacement
C.They were encouraged by psychologist
D.They were looked after by physicians
3.How does Dr. Gabriela Ferreira view the result of Lindson-Hawley’s experiment?
A.It is encouraging B.It is unexpected
C.It is impractical D.It is misleading
4.Take the idea of “a marathon” (Para.5) as an example to show that quitting smoking .
A.is something few can accomplish B.requires a lot of patience
C.needs some practice first D.is a challenge at the beginning
Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale
Young people are bursting with artistic energy. The Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale (CYSS) of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts is a fun way for boys and girls to express themselves visually. It focuses on encouraging the creative growth of young people, believing they can develop their artistic potential through personal expression in individual original objects.
CYSS is a highlight of Children and Youth Day, Wednesday, July 12, 2018. This day features performances for and by young people, art and craft workshops and demonstrations. All artists must he between the ages of 8 and 18 and live or have relatives living in any of the centrally located Pennsylvania counties to participate.
All artworks must be original and age-appropriate for the event’s audience, most of whom are under 18. The sales of work made from small animals and the sales of food are prohibited. A complete listing of the rules can be found in the application. Please review the rules carefully as they may have changed since you last participated in the event.
Artists must personally be present during the entire clay. Representatives, including family members, may not attend in place of the artist.
How to Enter
1. Complete both sides of the entry form. A parent signature is required.
2. On a separate sheet, provide a brief description of the artwork and the materials used. Do not send samples; they cannot be returned.
3. Enclose at least one photograph of your work.
4. Mail application and photo of your work to P. O. Box 1023, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
1.What’s the aim of CYSS?
A.To teach young people to develop their interest in arts.
B.To help young people get some extra money for their work.
C.To get young people to develop their artistic potential.
D.To improve the performing skills of young people.
2.What’s the feature of Children and Youth Day?
A.All the artworks are original and proper for young people.
B.Most of the artworks are focused on animal protection.
C.The participants must be residents of central Pennsylvania.
D.The sales of artworks about animals are not allowed.
3.Which of the following is required for application?
A.A sample of the applicant’s artwork.
B.A return envelope with stamps on it.
C.Detailed description of the artwork.
D.The signature of the applicant’s parent.
The dangers of sitting all day are obvious. Researchers have shown that remaining sitting for extended periods of time (like at your 9-to-5 desk job) can do harm to your health. While exercise is a big part of reducing the harmful effects of sitting, it was unclear how many gym periods were needed to help – until now.
A new study, published in The Lancet, shows the ideal formula for reducing the negative effects of a sedentary（久坐的）job. Instead of a fixed number of hours spent exercising, the ratio（比率）depends on how much you sit: people who work a typical eight-hour day should spend at least one hour each day moving. If you sit six hours a day, you should spend half an hour exercising. The research also indicates that the exercise doesn’t have to be all once – or rigorous（严格的）. It can be spread throughout the day and be as simple as walking.
The team behind the study analyzed data from a pool of a million adults over the age of 45 in Western Europe, the United States, and Australia. Using previous data, the researches examined data from 16 published studies and used it to determine how much exercise is required to compensate for sitting. Their recommended daily exercise goal is higher than previous advice but not necessarily less achievable, given it can be completed throughout the day.
Fitting in an hour of exercise a day sounds especially discouraging if you have a desk job, but there are plenty of workouts you can complete before and after work. Even if it means taking a 10-minute walk during lunch, your body will thank you in the long run.
1.The underlined words “compensate for” can be best replaced by ________.
A.make up for B.break away from
C.give up D.take the place of
2.According to the new study, good news for the people working long hours at desk
is that ________.
A.workouts may reduce the harm of sitting for long
B.the harm of sitting for long has been proved
C.they don’t have to exercise as long as suggested previously
D.the time spent on exercise is flexible
3.What can be inferred from the article?
A.The best form of workouts is walking.
B.The longer you exercise, the better.
C.The new exercise goal is practical though higher.
D.A desk job makes it impossible to exercise regularly.
4.The second paragraph is developed mainly ________.
A.by example B.by process
C.by comparison D.by contrast
________snacks and drinks, but they also brought cards for entertainment when they had a picnic in the forest.
A.Not only they brought
B.Not only did they bring
C.Not only brought they
D.Not only they did bring
When the student wanted to have a go, the teacher gave him a nod of ________.
A.support B.promise C.approval D.suggestion
