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．”
小題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． |
小題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． |
小題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 health |
| C．they were forced by their parents to do so |
| D．they were not so dynamic and ambitious as modern people are |
小題4:The major cause of sleep-deficit of modern people is _______．
| A．the endless TV programs in the evenings and the internet |
| B．the heavy work load of the day |
| C．the sufficient energy modern people usually have |
| D．loud noises in the modern cities |
小題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． |
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