Question

Owls and Larks

Larks are most likely to be healthy, wealthy and wise, according to the old saying.

But those who are early to bed and early to rise do not always have the upper hand, researchers say. They have found that night owls are generally brighter and wealthier than those able to get up early in the morning.

Experts from the University of Madrid carried out tests on around 1,000 teenagers and found that those who preferred to stay up late proved the kind of intelligence associated with honored jobs and higher incomes. “Larks” or “morning people”, however, often acquired better exam results, possibly because lessons are held at the wrong time of day for night owls. The researchers examined the habits and body clocks of the youngsters to determine whether they liked to stay up late and sleep later in the morning, or preferred to go to bed early and were at their peak in the morning. School performance and inductive(归纳的)intelligence, or problem solving, were measured and academic grades in the major subjects were also taken into account. The results showed that evening types scored higher than morning types on inductive reasoning, which has been shown to be a good estimate of general intelligence and a strong indicator of academic（学术的） performance. They also had a greater capacity（能力） to think conceptually（概念地） as well as analytically. Such abilities have been linked to innovative(创新的) thinking, more admired occupations and better incomes.

Famous night owls include President Trump, Obama, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, Keith Richards and Elvis Presley. George W. Bush, who is regularly in bed by 10 p.m., Thomas Edison, Napoleon, Condoleezza Rice, who wakes at 4:30 a.m., and Ernest Hemingway are among those known as larks. Jim Horne, professor of psychophysiology at Loughborough University, said, “Evening types tend to be the more active and creative types, the poets, artists and inventors, while the morning types are the deducers(推导者), as are often seen with civil servants and accountants.” A previous study of US Air Force recruits found that evening types were much better at thinking to solve problems than larks.

1.What does the word “owl” mean in the text?

A. A bird of prey that flies at night.

B. A bird of prey that is a symbol of wisdom.

C. A kind of person who stays up late.

D. A kind of person who gets up early.

2.The following features belong to night owls EXCEPT that ________.

A. Night owls are much healthier, wealthier and wiser

B. Night owls stay up late and sleep later in the morning

C. Night owls have a strong ability of inductive reasoning

D. Night owls are expert in analyzing and innovative thinking

3.What’s the author’s attitude towards night owls?

A. Doubtful. B. Objective.

C. Subjective. D. Negative.

4.According to the passage, which of the following is true?

A. President Trump and George W. Bush are models of night owls.

B. The early bird will catch the worm.

C. Morning types have a tendency to do some creative jobs.

D. Night owls usually do poorer in the examinations than larks.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.B

4.D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文。文中说明了两种类型的人，一种是早起类型的人，另一种是熬夜类型的人。通过测试研究发现：熬夜类型的人更聪明，更富裕，这两种类型的人各有特长。

1.词义猜测题。根据第二段中 They have found that night owls are generally brighter and wealthier than those able to get up early in the morning和第三段中 Found that those who preferred to stay up late proved the kind of intelligence associated with honored jobs and higher incomes可知，喜欢熬夜的人比早起的人更聪明，更富有。故可推知owls就是指熬夜的那类人。故选C。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句可知，熬夜的人更聪明更富裕，但文中没有从健康的角度对这两类人进行比较。B.C.D项在第三段中均可看到，属于熬夜类型人的特征。故选A。

3.推理判断题。根据最后一段可以看出作者列举了这两种类型人的一些名人大家，他们各有特长。熬夜型的人多是一些诗人，艺术家和发明家，而早起型的人都是一些服务人员和会计。故可推知作者是很客观的评论熬夜类型人才的。故选B。

4.细节理解题。根据第三段中 "Larks"or" morning people", however, often acquired better exam results, possibly because lessons are held at the wrong time of day for night owls可知早起的人的考试成绩优于熬夜的人，这可能因为上课时间对于熬夜之人来说是不合适的，即熬夜之人不擅长考试。故选D。