2018年英语四级阅读理解题库：美国人的睡眠欠债

　　American society is not nap (午睡) friendly. In fact, says David Dinges, a sleep specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "There's even a prohibition against admitting we need sleep". Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at work. To quote a proverb: "Some sleep five hours, nature requires seven, laziness nine and wickedness eleven. " Wrong. The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them. " We have to totally change our attitude toward napping", says Dr. William Dement of Stanford University, the godfather of sleep research. ? Last year a national commission led by Dement identified an "American sleep debt" which one member said was as important as the national debt, The commission was concerned about the dangers of sleepiness: people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving. This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House. According to recent reports, president Clinton is trying to take a half?hour snooze (打瞌睡) every afternoon. ? About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity. We seem to have "a midafternoon quiet phase"also called"a secondary sleep gate. "Sleeping 15 minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed. Clearly, we were born to nap. ? We Superstars of Snooze don't nap to replace lost shut?eye or to prepare for a night shift. Rather, we"snack"on sleep, whenever, wherever and at whatever time we feel like it. I myself have napped in buses, cars, planes and on boats; on floors and beds; and in libraries, offices and museums.

　　这是一篇说明文，讨论了nap(小睡，打盹)及睡眠充足的积极意义。这是一个被人们忽视或误解已久的问题，作者试图在文中纠正人们的错误观点。

　　1. It is commonly accepted in American society that too much sleep is ______ .

　　A) unreasonable B) criminal C) harmful D) costly

　　2. The research done by the Dement commission shows that Americans ______ .

　　A) don't like to take naps

　　B) are terribly worried about their national debt

　　C) sleep less than is good for them

　　D) have caused many industrial and traffic accidents

　　3. The purpose of this article is to ______ .

　　A) warn us of the wickedness of napping

　　B) explain the danger of sleepiness

　　C) discuss the side effects of napping

　　D) convince the reader of the necessity of napping

　　4. The "American sleep debt"( Line 1, Para. 3) is the result of ______ .

　　A) the traditional misconception the Americans have about sleep

　　B) the new sleep policy of the Clinton Administration

　　C) the rapid development of American industry

　　D) the Americans' worry about the danger of sleepiness

　　5. The second sentence of the last paragraph tells us that it is ______ .

　　A) preferable to have a sound sleep before a night shift

　　B) good practice to eat something light before we go to bed

　　C) essential to make up for cost sleep

　　D) natural to take a nap whenever we feel the need for it

　　参考答案及解析

　　1、[答案及分析]：[A]事实辨认题。美国社会中被普遍接受的观点是过多的睡眠具有下列哪个特征。A项意为“不合理的”，B项意为“有罪的”，C项意为“有害的”，D项意为“代价高的”。根据第一段第一句和最后一句可知A恰当。因为美国人认为“nature requires seven”(生物本能需要7个小时)。

　　2、　[答案及分析]：[C]事实辨认题。问Dement Commission所做的研究表明了下列哪项事实。第三段说：去年，一个由Dement领导的国际委员会认为存在“美国人的睡眠欠债”，其中一个委员会成员认为该欠债跟国债一样重大。委员会很关注睡眠不足的危险……。显而易见C项正确。

　　3、[答案及分析]：[D]主旨题。问这篇文章的目的是什么。本文的主要内容是阐述napping的重要性，必要性。

　　4、[答案及分析]：[A]归纳事实题。问“美国人的睡眠欠债”是由下列何种原因造成的。文章在第一段开头就回答了这个问题：美国社会对napping持反对态度。第二段直接明了地对此作出评价：wrong.所以，毫无疑问正确答案为A。

　　5、[答案及分析]：[D]归纳事实题。问最后一段第二句话告诉了我们什么。最后一段第二句的意思是：不论是什么时候，什么地方，只要我们觉得有必要，就可以小寐片刻。D意为：当我们觉得需要小睡片刻是很自然的事。与文章原意吻合，所以D项正确。