【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 he electric light bulb（電燈泡）. And now we have satellite television, the Internet, 24hour convenience stores, and longer hours at work. How much can we sleep? How much should we sleep? Like it or not ,many of us are sleeping less on average（平均）. In 1910, most Americans slept 9 hours a night. That dropped to hours by 1975. In 2002, a study by the National Sleep Foundation found that the average American got only hours. The news is even worse for people who work the night shift. They sleep an average of just 5 hours. Are we sleeping enough? Not if you believe in the old rule of eight hours of rest, eight hours of work, and eight hours of play. On the other hand, Norman Stanly, a British scientist who studies sleep, believes people’s sleep needs are different. Some people need as many as 11 hours, but others need as few as three. How much do you really need? “To find out,” he says, “simply sleep until you wake naturally, without the help of an alarm clock. That’s your sleep need.” Meanwhile, other scientists and researchers are searching for new ways to keep us awake longer. Some are developing chemicals（化學(xué)藥品）that are safer and more powerful than caffeine , the chemical found in coffee and tea. One experimental drug, CX717, kept laboratory monkeys working happily for 36 hours. Further developments may allow people to safely stay awake for several days straight. One group of researchers is studying a gene（基因）found in some fruit flies that lets them get by on onethird the usual amount of sleep. Another group is even working on an electric switch that immediately wakes up a sleeping brain. The meanings of this research are huge. On the one hand, this could lead to a world where we work longer and longer hours with less and less sleep. On the other hand, if we needed less sleep, we would have more free time to travel, read, volunteer, and spend time with family.27. How many hours did most Americans sleep a night in 1975?A. 5 B. C. D. 9【正確答案】C【解題思路】本題考查細(xì)節(jié)題。首先在題干中找到關(guān)鍵詞“in 1975”，直接回文定位到第二段第二句：“That dropped to hours by 1975.”。故正確答案為選項(xiàng)C。28. What can we learn from the passage?A. People have got enough sleep.B. People will work longer hours.C. Sleep time will be a big problem.D. Saying awake for long is possible.【正確答案】D 【解題思路】本題考查推斷題。通過(guò)文中第三段第三句：“believes people’s sleep needs are different.”無(wú)法判斷人們的睡眠是否充足，因?yàn)槊總€(gè)人的需求不同，選項(xiàng)A太過(guò)絕對(duì)，故排除A。通過(guò)文中第五段第二句：“On the one hand, this could lead to a world where we work longer and longer hours with less and less sleep”可知，這是研究的一個(gè)推測(cè)，并沒(méi)有確定，而選項(xiàng)B過(guò)于絕對(duì)，故選項(xiàng)B排除。選項(xiàng)C文中沒(méi)有提及，屬于無(wú)中生有，故選項(xiàng)C排除。故正確答案為選項(xiàng)D。29. What is probably the best title of the passage?A. To Sleep or Not to Sleep?B. How can We Sleep Longer?C. To Work or Not to Work?D. How Much can We Sleep?【正確答案】A 【解題思路】本題考查主旨題。文章第一段作者指出沒(méi)有電之前人們不擔(dān)憂(yōu)睡眠，接著指出人們有了電以后及衛(wèi)星、電視、網(wǎng)絡(luò)、24小時(shí)便利店、工作時(shí)間變長(zhǎng)了等這些事，最后連續(xù)用兩個(gè)問(wèn)句“How much can we sleep” “How much should we sleep”引出全文話(huà)題“睡眠”，第二三段回答了這兩個(gè)問(wèn)題“我們的睡眠時(shí)間越來(lái)越短以及每個(gè)人對(duì)睡眠時(shí)間要求不一樣——睡到自然醒才能算是足夠的睡眠”；第四、五兩段作者指出科學(xué)家和研究者一直在尋找可以讓我們保持清醒（不睡眠）狀態(tài)的方式；工作時(shí)間變長(zhǎng)睡眠時(shí)間變短各有利弊，比如優(yōu)點(diǎn)我們可以騰出更多時(shí)間去陪家人、旅游、閱讀等等（缺點(diǎn)是睡眠時(shí)間減少）。所以縱觀全文作者是在突出睡眠時(shí)間選擇。所以選項(xiàng)A“to sleep or not to sleep”更適合。選項(xiàng)B譯為“我們?nèi)绾文軌蛩酶谩保诘箶?shù)第二段中講到的是如何能夠讓清醒的狀態(tài)（不睡眠）保持更持久，故排除選項(xiàng)B。選項(xiàng)C譯為“工作或不工作”在中并沒(méi)有提及，故排除選項(xiàng)C。選項(xiàng)D譯為“我們需要睡多少時(shí)間”，針對(duì)這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)在第一段結(jié)尾處提出問(wèn)題，只是在第二段進(jìn)行解答，后面沒(méi)有圍繞該觀點(diǎn)展開(kāi)講解，選項(xiàng)D為以偏概全，故D選項(xiàng)排除。故正確答案為選項(xiàng)A。 DAll in the memory… Many people plain that their memory is bad, especially as they get older. Phone numbers, names, facts we studied only a few days ago — life would be so much easier if we could remember them all effortlessly. So how can we improve our memory? Many people think that repeating things is the best way to remember them. While this undoubtedly helps shortterm memory (remembering a telephone number for a few seconds, for example), psychologists (心理學(xué)家) doubt whether it can help you to remember things for very long. The British psychologist E. C. Stanford seemed to prove this point when he tested himself on five prayers (祈禱文) that he had read aloud every morning for 25 years. He found that he could remember no more than three words of some of them! More helpful, especially for remembering numbers, is grouping the information. The following numbers would be impossible for most of us to remember: 1492178919931848. But look at them in chunks, and it bees much easier: 1492 1789 1993 1848. So what about “memory training”? We’ve all heard about people who can memorize packs of cards by heart — how is this done and can anyone learn how to do it? According to experts, there are many ways of training your memory. Many of them involve forming a mental picture of the things to be memorized. One method, which may be useful in learning foreign languages, is to create a picture in your mind connected to a word you want to remember. Another method is to invent a story that includes all the things you want to remember. In experiments, people were asked to remember up to 120 words using this skill。 when tested afterwards, on average, they were able to recall 90% of them! However, not all of us are interested in learning long lists of names and numbers just for fun. For those studying large number of information, psychologists suggest that the best way to form meaningful connections is to ask yourself lots of questions as you go along. So, for example, if you were reading about a particular disease (疾病), you would ask yourself questions like: “Do people get it from water?”, “What parts of the body does it influence?” and so on. This is said to be far more effective than time spent passively reading and rereading notes.30. Which of the following is true about repeating things according to the passage?A. It helps shortterm me