Question

Scientists say they now have proof to support the old-fashioned advice that it's best to sleep on a problem. They say sleep strengthens the memory and helps the brain organize the masses of information we receive each day.

Lead researcher Bob Stickgold at the Harvard Medical School said, "Sleep helps us draw rules from our experiences. It's like knowing the difference between dogs and cats even if it's hard to explain."

The US research team studied how well students remembered connections between words and symbols (象征) , reports New Scientist. They compared how the students performed if they had had a sleep between seeing the words and having the test, and if they had not slept. They found that people were better able to remember lists of related words after a night's sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day. They also found it easier to remember themes (主题) that the words had in common. But they forgot around one in four more themes if they had been awake. Prof. John Groeger, of Surrey University's Sleep Research Centre, said, "People have been trying for years to find out what the purpose of sleep is, as we know that only certain parts of it have a restorative (有助恢复的) value. " "We form and store huge numbers of experiences in the head every day, and sleep seems to be the way the brain deals with it all."

1.The phrase" to sleep on a problem" in Paragraph 1 most likely means to______.

A. pay full attention to a problem                         B. wait until later for a decision

C. sleep to forget a problem                                  D. have difficulty sleeping

2.In the study by the US research team, students were asked to______.

A. put together words of similar meanings

B. remember words and their meanings

C. show their knowledge of words

D. make up lists of related words

3.Which of the following may be easier to remember?

A. Themes learned right before the test

B. Rules from personal experience

C. Words learnt before a good sleep

D. Ideas stored together in the brain

4.What may be the importance of the research?

A. It shows sleep may help us manage information

B. It helps find out the common themes of word

C. It tells us that more sleep can improve health

D. It proves the value of old-fashioned advice

Answer

1.B

2.B

3.C

4.A

【解析】

试题分析： 本文讲述的睡眠对人的记忆的影响，在睡觉之前背诵的东西，醒了以后更加容易被记得。

1..B 推理题。根据本句Scientists say they now have proof to support the old-fashioned advice that it's best to sleep on a problem.是指带着问题入睡，也就是指暂时无法解决问题，或者记不住，或想不起来。要等到醒了以后再说。故B项符合上下文。

2.B 推理题。根据第3段2,3,4行. They compared how the students performed if they had had a sleep between seeing the words and having the test, and if they had not slept. They found that people were better able to remember lists of related words after a night's sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day可知这个研究主要是针对单词和象征之间的联系。研究学生在睡着以后，再醒来和一直醒着。哪一种记忆的效果更好。故B正确。

3.C 细节题。根据第三段4,5行They found that people were better able to remember lists of related words after a night's sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day.可知在睡觉之前背诵的单词更容易被记住。故C正确。

4.A 推理题。根据文章最后4行"People have been trying for years to find out what the purpose of sleep is, as we know that only certain parts of it have a restorative (有助恢复的) value. " "We form and store huge numbers of experiences in the head every day, and sleep seems to be the way the brain deals with it all."可知睡眠可以帮助我们管理好信息，帮助我们记忆。故A正确。

考点：考察科普类短文阅读