Question

    Advice to “sleep on it” could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night’s sleep a problem that couldn’t be solved the night before can often appear more manageable, although the evidence until now has been anecdotal. But researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight and problem-solving.

“If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures them, so that after sleep the insight into problem which you could not solve before increases,” said Dr. Jan Born, a neuroscientist, at the university. To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn a string of numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake.

Dr. Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group. “Sleep helped,” Born said in a telephone interview. “The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation in your brain of the problem you want to solve and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem.

“But Born admitted that he and his team don’t know how restructuring of memories occurs or what governs it. Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the anecdotal suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added.

1.The underlined phrase “sleep on it” in Paragraph 1 probably means _____.

A.to get as much sleep as possible

B.to go on sleeping without being disturbed

C.to delay deciding something until the next day

D.to sleep till after the time you usually get up in the morning

2.What is the purpose of the experiment?

A.To test problem-solving ability in sleep. B.To discover people’s insight during sleep.

C.To prove a good sleep helps solve problems. D.To discuss how to improve sleeping quality.

3.How did Jan Born and his team carry out the experiment?

A.Through comparison. B.Through interviews.

C.Through talks. D.Through imagination.

4.What can we learn about the experimental evidence?

A.It helps scientists control memories. B.It explains the role of sleep in human.

C.It tells us the role of sleep is a mystery. D.It shows sleep does good to creative thinking.

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.A

4.D

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。短文介绍了良好的睡眠可以提高洞察力和解决问题的能力。

1.

词义猜测题。根据后文After a good night’s sleep a problem that couldn’t be solved the night before can often appear more manageable可知睡了一夜好觉后，前一天晚上无法解决的问题通常会显得更容易处理，由此可知，科学家们表示，“推迟到第二天再做决定”的建议是有充分根据的。即划线短语意思为“推迟到第二天再做决定”。故选C。

2.

推理判断题。根据第一段中But researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight and problem-solving.可知但德国吕贝克大学的研究人员设计了一项实验，表明良好的睡眠可以提高洞察力和解决问题的能力。由此可知，这个实验的目的是证明良好的睡眠有助于解决问题。故选C。

3.

推理判断题。根据第二段中The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake.可知研究人员将志愿者分成两组:训练结束后，一半人被允许睡觉，另一半人被强迫保持清醒。以及第三段中Dr. Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group.可知Jan Born博士和他的团队注意到，在训练后睡觉的那组人发现第三条规则的可能性是另一组人的两倍。由此可推知，Jan Born和他的团队是通过比较进行实验的。故选A。

4.

细节理解题。根据最后一段中Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the anecdotal suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking.可知比利时列日大学的Pierre Maquet和Perrine Ruby说，实验证据支持了睡眠有助于培养创造性思维的说法。由此我们能从实验证据中了解到，睡眠对创造性思维有好处。故选D。