Question

【题目】 Have you ever had trouble sleeping in a new place?

Lots of people do. And now researchers from Brown University in Rhode Island think they know why. They found that one-half of the brain “remains more awake” than the other half when people are trying to sleep in a new place.

This appears a case of the brain keeping people ready for trouble in a new place, the researchers said.

The sleep findings were reported in Current Biology by Brown University. In their report, the researchers said many people report they have a harder time sleeping the first night at a hotel or other places outside their home. They call it “first-night influence”. “In Japan they say, ‘If you change your pillow, you can’t sleep,’” said Yuka Sasaki, one of the report’s writers, “You don’t sleep very well in a new place. We all know about it.”

The researchers measured brain waves(测量脑波) for 35 volunteers over two nights in a laboratory. The two nights were a week apart. They found during the first night the left half of the brain was more active than the right half. This was during the first deep-sleep period, the researchers said.

Sasaki said a lot of questions remain.

Researchers did not keep measuring brain waves all night long. So, they don’t know if the left half keeps “watch” all night. Or whether it “works in shifts” with the right half later in the night. They also don’t know why the brain activity, at least during the first period of deep sleep, is always on the left half.

For some, this research may be calming. It is good to know that our brain is “looking out for us” in a new place. But it may not help with sleep. That brain activity, at least according to this new research, makes it harder to get the sleep people need to wake up well rested in the morning.

【1】What did the research find during the first deep-sleep period?

A.They found the brain wave remained the same.

B.They found the brain activity helped with sleep.

C.They found the right half of the brain kept “watch”.

D.They found the left half of the brain was more active.

【2】Which of the following is one of the questions that remain?

A.Whether the new bed keeps you from sleeping.

B.How you have trouble sleeping in a new place.

C.Why the brain activity is always on the left half.

D.What people can do when they can’t sleep well.

【3】The underlined word “calming” has the closest meaning to ______.

A.pleasingB.differentC.seriousD.strange

【4】What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A.The brain wave.

B.The brain activity.

C.The whole brain.

D.The left half of the brain.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】C

【3】A

【4】D

【解析】

本文是一篇说明文，介绍了针对有些人在新地方的第一夜通常睡不好觉这个现象，研究员们进行了实验研究，发现在新地方睡觉的第一夜，左半边大脑在深睡眠的第一阶段仍然保持着活跃状态，主要是为了应对新环境可能会带来的麻烦。

【1】细节理解题。根据They found during the first night the left half of the brain was more active than the right half，可知实验发现在此阶段，左半边大脑比右半边更活跃，故选D。

【2】细节理解题。根据They also don’t know why the brain activity, at least during the first period of deep sleep, is always on the left half，可知还未解决的问题是大家不知道为什么保持活跃状态的总是左脑。

【3】词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句的句意“对于一些人来说，这个研究可能是_______ 的”，以及后文提到“知道我们的大脑在新环境下仍然在看护着我们是很好的”可知横线处是一个褒义词；A. pleasing令人高兴的；B. different不同的；C. serious严重的；D. strange奇怪的；故选A。

【4】词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句的句意“或者它是否是和右脑轮流在夜间值班”，以及前文说到“他们不知道左脑是否整夜一直保持活跃状态”，可知此处的“它”指的是前文提到的“左脑”，故选D。