Question

    Sleep, considered a luxury by many, is essential for a person's wellbeing. Researchers have found that insufficient sleep and tiredness increase a person's risk of developing severe medical conditions, such as obesity (being very overweight), high blood sugar levels, and heart disease. Now, a new study has found that getting sufficient sleep is also the key to improving academic performance.

Jeffrey Gross, the university science professor who led the research, was not trying to find the relationship between sleep and grades when he handed out smart watches to the 100 students in his chemistry class. Instead, the professor hoped the wrist-worm devices, which track a person's physical activity, would show a connection between exercise and academic achievement.

While Gross's data showed no relationship between these two factors, the study found something surprising. As the researchers were analyzing their data, they noticed that there was a straight-line relationship between the average amount of sleep a student got and their results in the course's 11 quizzes, three midterm tests, and the final exam.

Even more interesting, it was not sufficient for students to just head to bed early the night before a test. Instead, it's the sleep you get during the days when learning is happening that matters most.

The time students went to bed each night was similarly important. Those who went to bed in early hours of the morning performed poorly, even if the total sleep time was the same as a higher-performing student. "When you go to bed matters," Gross says, "If you go to bed at 10, or 12, or 1 at night, and sleep for seven hours, your performance is the same. But if you go to bed after 2, your performance starts to go down even if you get the same seven hours. So, quantity isn't everything."

Perhaps the most interesting was the huge impact that small differences in sleep patterns had on the students' grades. The overall course grades for students averaging six and a half hours of sleep each night were 25% lower than students who averaged just one hour more sleep. Similarly, students who varied their bedtime by even one hour each night had grades that dropped 45% below those with more regular bedtimes.

Who knew getting A's just required some extra ZZZ's?

1.Based on his original objectives, which best describes Professor Gross's research findings?

A.Accidental. B.Complete. C.Convincing. D.Doubtful.

2.Who were the people taking part in the study?

A.Middle school chemistry students. B.Volunteers from different universities.

C.Professor Gross's own students. D.University student athletes.

3.How did Professor Gross's team measure academic performance?

A.Making the students wear a special watch.

B.Using students' university entrance test results.

C.Giving the students regular after class quizzes.

D.Using the students' normal test and quiz grades.

4.Based on the study's findings, who is likely to perform best academically.

A.A person who has a good night's sleep the night before an important test.

B.A person whose normal bedtime varies between 9 p.m. and 12 p.m.

C.A person who sleeps from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day.

D.A person who sleeps for a total of 7 hours each night.

Answer

1.A

2.C

3.D

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。一项新的研究表明，睡眠质量不足除了对身体健康造成不良影响之外，也会对学习成绩产生影响，好的睡眠质量是提高学习成绩的关键。

1.推理判断题。根据第二段中“Jeffrey Gross,… , was not trying to find the relationship between sleep and grades when he handed out smart watches to the 100 students in his chemistry class.”和“Instead, the professor hoped the wrist-worm devices, which track a person's physical activity, would show a connection between exercise and academic achievement.”可知，在给他化学课里的100个学生发放智能手环时，Jeffrey Gross并没有试图去发现睡眠和成绩之间的关系，相反的，他最初目标是想发现运动与学习成绩之间的关系，意在表明发现睡眠与成绩之间的关系是一个意外收获，A项符合语境。故选A项。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段中“Jeffrey Gross,… , was not trying to find the relationship between sleep and grades when he handed out smart watches to the 100 students in his chemistry class.”可知在给他化学课里的100个学生发放智能手环时，Jeffrey Gross并没有试图去发现睡眠和成绩之间的关系，因此参加研究的人是上他化学课的学生，C项切题。故选C项。

3.细节理解题。根据第三段中“As the researchers were analyzing their data, they noticed that there was a straight-line relationship between the average amount of sleep a student got and their results in the course's 11 quizzes, three midterm tests, and the final exam.”可知在分析实验数据时，他们注意到在平均睡眠时间和课程测验、三次期中考试和期末考试成绩之间存在一个直接联系，因此作者是通过学生正常测验和考试成绩来衡量他们的学习表现，D项切合题意。故选D项。

4.推理判断题。根据第五段中“If you go to bed at 10, or 12, or 1 at night, and sleep for seven hours, your performance is the same. But if you go to bed after 2, your performance starts to go down even if you get the same seven hours.”可知，如果在晚上10点、12点或者1点上床睡觉，睡7小时，你的学习表现是一样的，但如果在2点之后睡觉，哪怕睡了7个小时，学习表现也会下降，说明睡觉时间在晚上10点到1点之间，睡7个小时学习表现是最好的，C项睡觉时间11 p.m. to 6 a.m.满足7小时标准，符合语境。故选C项。