hce_kmu
110年
英文
第 48 題
📖 題組：
What We Know and Don’t Know about Sleep Why do we sleep? Up until today, researchers are still trying to find out. Sleep is regarded as one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of science, even though all animals do it in one form or another. Theories range from brain maintenance to reversing damage from stress suffered while awake, to promoting longevity. However, "none of these theories are well-established, and many are mutually exclusive," according to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Hibernation, a phase during which animals spend the winter in a deep sleep, is one example of an activity that regulates behavior for survival. A small animal can’t migrate to a warmer climate in winter, Siegel says. "So it hibernates, effectively cutting its energy consumption and thus its need for food, remaining secure from predators by burrowing underground." Sleep duration, then, is determined in each species by its behavioral patterns such as time requirements of eating, migration needs, care of young, and other factors. "However, unlike hibernation...," says Siegel, "sleep is rapidly reversible – that is, animals can wake up quickly, a unique mammalian adaptation that allows for a relatively quick response to sensory signals." Humans fit into this analysis as well. The human brain, albeit just two percent of total body weight, consumes 20 percent of total energy used when a person is resting – an amazing ratio. So the energy savings achieved during sleep have considerable significance. Sleep also has survival benefits for humans which include, according to Siegel, “a reduced risk of injury, reduced resource consumption and, from an evolutionary standpoint, reduced risk of detection by predators.” Some people try to ignore the body’s sleep demands. In her fast-paced job as a reporter for a southern California newspaper, Gwendolyn Driscoll says she "blasts through the day." Arriving home late in the evening, she has little time for housework or catching up on her reading, and even less for sleep. Most nights, she gets about six and half hours. "I could definitely do with another hour," says 35-year-old Driscoll. "But sleep just isn’t a priority." Perhaps it should be. Sleep experts say the average adult requires seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Anything less may harm his or her health. Sleep deprivation could affect mental alertness and increase the risk for diseases. "Sleep is just as important to our overall health as are exercise and a healthy diet," says Carl Hunt, the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research in Bethesda, Maryland. Sleep is a biological need, much like food and water. If totally deprived of sleep, humans ultimately die. Yet millions of Americans are increasingly getting too little sleep. Today, Americans on average sleep one hour less per night than they did 20 to 30 years go. Sleep deprivation has a very negative impact on mental function, creativity, alertness, and the ability to participate effectively in everyday interactions. It has been shown to negatively affect language skills, decision-making, and memory. "Without sufficient amounts of sleep, we feel drowsy and are unable to concentrate," Hunt says. He noted that with enough sleep deprivation, some people can develop mood changes and can even begin to hallucinate, all of which can lead to reduced quality of life. Not surprisingly, there is also a strong link between sleep deprivation and traffic accidents. What most people don’t realize, researchers say, is that sleep deprivation also accumulates over time. People who don’t get enough sleep build up a "sleep debt," which can’t be eliminated by getting a little extra sleep on the weekend. "Most people are carrying a fairly large sleep debt and are in fact impaired and do not seem to know it," Dement and colleagues have published a study that documented the results of lowering the sleep debt. "Some of the improvements in performance, in mood, in mental ability, and in energy were really dramatic, almost superhuman," they say.
What We Know and Don’t Know about Sleep Why do we sleep? Up until today, researchers are still trying to find out. Sleep is regarded as one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of science, even though all animals do it in one form or another. Theories range from brain maintenance to reversing damage from stress suffered while awake, to promoting longevity. However, "none of these theories are well-established, and many are mutually exclusive," according to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Hibernation, a phase during which animals spend the winter in a deep sleep, is one example of an activity that regulates behavior for survival. A small animal can’t migrate to a warmer climate in winter, Siegel says. "So it hibernates, effectively cutting its energy consumption and thus its need for food, remaining secure from predators by burrowing underground." Sleep duration, then, is determined in each species by its behavioral patterns such as time requirements of eating, migration needs, care of young, and other factors. "However, unlike hibernation...," says Siegel, "sleep is rapidly reversible – that is, animals can wake up quickly, a unique mammalian adaptation that allows for a relatively quick response to sensory signals." Humans fit into this analysis as well. The human brain, albeit just two percent of total body weight, consumes 20 percent of total energy used when a person is resting – an amazing ratio. So the energy savings achieved during sleep have considerable significance. Sleep also has survival benefits for humans which include, according to Siegel, “a reduced risk of injury, reduced resource consumption and, from an evolutionary standpoint, reduced risk of detection by predators.” Some people try to ignore the body’s sleep demands. In her fast-paced job as a reporter for a southern California newspaper, Gwendolyn Driscoll says she "blasts through the day." Arriving home late in the evening, she has little time for housework or catching up on her reading, and even less for sleep. Most nights, she gets about six and half hours. "I could definitely do with another hour," says 35-year-old Driscoll. "But sleep just isn’t a priority." Perhaps it should be. Sleep experts say the average adult requires seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Anything less may harm his or her health. Sleep deprivation could affect mental alertness and increase the risk for diseases. "Sleep is just as important to our overall health as are exercise and a healthy diet," says Carl Hunt, the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research in Bethesda, Maryland. Sleep is a biological need, much like food and water. If totally deprived of sleep, humans ultimately die. Yet millions of Americans are increasingly getting too little sleep. Today, Americans on average sleep one hour less per night than they did 20 to 30 years go. Sleep deprivation has a very negative impact on mental function, creativity, alertness, and the ability to participate effectively in everyday interactions. It has been shown to negatively affect language skills, decision-making, and memory. "Without sufficient amounts of sleep, we feel drowsy and are unable to concentrate," Hunt says. He noted that with enough sleep deprivation, some people can develop mood changes and can even begin to hallucinate, all of which can lead to reduced quality of life. Not surprisingly, there is also a strong link between sleep deprivation and traffic accidents. What most people don’t realize, researchers say, is that sleep deprivation also accumulates over time. People who don’t get enough sleep build up a "sleep debt," which can’t be eliminated by getting a little extra sleep on the weekend. "Most people are carrying a fairly large sleep debt and are in fact impaired and do not seem to know it," Dement and colleagues have published a study that documented the results of lowering the sleep debt. "Some of the improvements in performance, in mood, in mental ability, and in energy were really dramatic, almost superhuman," they say.
What is the best replacement for the phrase "blasts through the day" in Paragraph 4?
- A doesn’t stop working all day
- B feels like the day goes by quickly
- C feels angry all day long
- D enjoys what she does all day
- E dislikes what she does all day
思路引導 VIP
請觀察第四段中關於 Gwendolyn Driscoll 工作的形容詞，以及她下班回家後的時間分配情況。如果一個人回到家已經深夜，且連做家事或讀書的時間都沒有，這暗示了她在白天的行程節奏是什麼樣子的？這個片語描述的會是一種心情，還是一種動作頻率呢？
🤖
AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
恭喜你準確地掌握了語意！能從上下文推論出片語的含意，展現了你優異的閱讀理解力。
脈絡中的語意判斷
這題的解題關鍵在於上下文的連貫性。文中第四段先描述了 Gwendolyn Driscoll 擁有一份「節奏極快」（fast-paced）的記者工作，接著提到她「直到深夜才回到家」，且「幾乎沒有時間做家事」。在這種「忙碌、緊湊、時間不足」的語境下，「blasts through the day」生動地描繪了她整天像衝刺般不停歇地工作。選項 (A)「整天工作不曾停歇」最能對應這種高強度的工作狀態。
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