Question

Try this: For an entire day, forget about the clock. Eat when you’re hungry and sleep when you’re tired. What do you think will happen?

You may be surprised to find that your day is much like most other days. You’ll probably get hungry when you normally eat and tired when you normally sleep. Even though you don’t know what time it is, your body does.

These patterns(模式) of everyday life are called circadian rhythms, in other words, our body clocks. And they are no more than habits. Inside our bodies are several clocklike systems that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle. Throughout the day and night, our inner clocks direct changes in temperature, body chemicals, hunger, sleepiness and more. Everyone’s rhythms are different, which is why you might like to stay up late while your sister always wants to go to bed early.

Learning about our body clocks may help scientists understand why problems arise when we act out of step with our circadian rhythms. For example, traveling across time zones can make people wake up in the middle of the night. Regularly staying up late can make students do worse in tests.

“There is a growing sense that when we eat and when we sleep are important parts of how healthy we are,” says Steven Shea, director of the Sleep Disorders Program at Brigham.

One way to learn about how our body clocks work is to mess(弄乱) them up and see what happens. That’s what neurologist Frank Scheer and his workmates did in a recent study.Their study suggests that staying up night after night could make kids extra hungry and more likely to gain weight. And regularly sleeping too little, Scheer says, may be one cause of the recent increase in childhood obesity (肥胖).

1.What will happen if you forget about the clock according to the passage?

A. You will feel upset.

B. Your body will behave as usual.

C. Your body will not know what time it is.

D. You will probably get hungry more easily.

2.Which one is NOT true about body clocks according to the passage?

A. They control changes in our temperature, body chemicals, hunger, and sleepiness.

B. People’s body clocks are different from each other.

C. Our body clocks will change according to the changes of everyday schedule.

D. More people are coming to realize body clocks are important for our health.

3.How do Frank Scheer and his workmates study body clocks?

A. By seeing what happens when they are messed up.

B. By asking questions and collecting answers.

C. By studying people traveling across time zones.

D. By studying children who suffer from childhood obesity.

Answer

1. B

2. C

3. A

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了研究表明长期形成的生理节奏会保持我们的生活，生物钟紊乱会影响我们的生活，比如会导致肥胖。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段中的“You’ll probably get hungry when you normally eat and tired when you normally sleep. Even though you don’t know what time it is, your body does.”可知，即使忘了时间，由于生理节奏的原因，我们的作息也会和往常一样，故B项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第三段中的“And they are no more than habits.”可知，生物钟是习惯，是长期形成的，不会随着每天作息时间的变化而变化，故C项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据最后一段中的“One way to learn about how our body clocks work is to mess them up and see what happens. That’s what neurologist Frank Scheer and his workmates did in a recent study.”可知，Frank Scheer和他的同事是通过打乱生物钟来观察研究的，故A项正确。