题文
Judging from recent surveys, most experts in sleep behavior agree that there is virtually an epidemic（流行病） of sleepiness in the nation．“I can’t think of a single study that hasn’t found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to,” says Dr．David．Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with more rest．The beginning of our sleep-deficit（lack）crises can be traced back to the invention of the light bulb a century ago．From diary entries and our personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night．“The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was dark．” By the 1950s and 1960s, the sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and 8 hours, and most people had to wake to an alarm clock．“People cheat in their sleep, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it,” says Dr．David．“They think they’re okay because they can get by on 6.5 hours, when they really need 7.5, 8 or even more to feel ideally energetic. ”
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researches say, is the complexity of the day．Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community increase, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on their programs．“In our society, you’re considered dynamic if you say you need only 5．5 hours’ sleep．If you’ve got to get 8．5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition．”
To determine the consequences of sleep-deficit, researchers have put subjects through a set of psychological and performance tests requiring them, for instance, to add columns of numbers or recall a passage read to them only minutes earlier．“We’ve found that if you’re in sleep deficit, performance suffers,” says Dr．David．“Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate．”
小题1:What is the main topic of the passage?A．The history of people’s sleeping patterns．B．The epidemic of sleepiness in the modern times．C．Research on the causes and consequences of sleep-deficit．D．The minimum of our sleeping hours．小题2:Which of the following is Dr．David’s opinion?A．People’s metal power suffers if they are lacking in sleep．B．Some people can remain energetic with only 6．5 hours’ sleep a night．C．If they get 8．5 hours’ sleep, people will be full of drive and ambition．D．People who think they are sleeping enough are better off than those who don't．小题3:People in the 18th and 19th centuries slept about 9．5 hours a night because _______．A．they had no electricity B．they knew what was best for their healthC．they were forced by their parents to do soD．they were not so dynamic and ambitious as modern people are小题4:The major cause of sleep-deficit of modern people is _______．A．the endless TV programs in the evenings and the internetB．the heavy work load of the dayC．the sufficient energy modern people usually haveD．loud noises in the modern cities小题5:What does the word “subjects” in paragraph 4 mean?A．Person or thing that is being discussed or described．B．Branch of knowledge studied in a school．C．Person or thing being treated in a certain way or being experimented on．D．Any member of a State apart from the supreme ruler． 题型：未知难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:A
小题4:B
小题5:C
解析
本文主要讲了研究员对睡眠不足对人类的影响做试验研究。
小题1:根据To determine the consequences of sleep-deficit，故选C。
小题2:根据We’ve found that if you’re in sleep deficit, performance suffers,” says Dr．David．“Short-term memory is weakened, as are abilities to make decisions and to concentrate．”，故选A。
小题3:根据“The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was dark．”，故选A。
小题4:根据Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researches say, is the complexity of the day．Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community increase, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on their programs，故选B。
小题5:根据through a set of psychological and performance tests requiring them，故选C。
点评：做这类题要有理有据，以文中所给事实细节为依据，全面把握作者思路与文章脉络，对隐含的观点进行合理推测与判断，深入领会作者“言外之意”，切忌主观臆断，断章取义，曲解作者本意。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Judging from recent .....”主要考查你对 [健康环保类阅读 ]考点的理解。健康环保类阅读
健康环保累阅读概念：
健康环保类文章常是介绍科学知识、生活常识和环境保护方面的短文。体裁有记叙文、 说明文、议论文和各种应用文。
健康环保类文章阅读技巧：
健康环保类文章常是介绍科学知识、生活常识和环境保护方面的短文。阅读此类短文要以现象或事物为中心进行思考，理解现象产生的原因、条件和客观规律等。同时要抓住事物的特征、用途和相互关系等。科普环保类文章一般为说明文，从结构上看大致可分为三个部分：
第一部分一般是文章的首段，主要用来提出文章的主题，即文章想要阐述、说明的主要内容；
第二部分是文章的主体，可由若干个段落组成，对文章的主题进行展开说明；
第三部分是结尾段，对文章的主题进行归纳总结。这类文章多用一般现在时，而且一般多使用客观性词语表述。有时为了强调客观性，也常使用被动语态。
从近几年的考试题来看，科普环保类的文章越来越与人们的实际生活相接近。由于此类文章缺乏故事情节，很多同学对此类文章感到费解。但一般的科普类文章都是就事论事，需要逻辑推理和想象的时候较少，因此此类阅读题也没有同学们想象中的那么难，只要多加训练，就能较好地答题。
【阅读策略】
1、概要(Summarizing)：
阅完材料后，将所阅材料浓缩，摘要，做出所阅材料的书面或口头梗概。
2、组织(Organization)：
阅读后根据阅读内容，识别观点、人物、事件之间的关系以及文章的结构关系。如：时间关系、比较或对比关系、相关关系及因果关系等。
