Comprehension 理解
Answer these questions:
1 How does the author disprove the idea that we sleep in order to rest our muscles?
2 What is the relationship between eye-movements during sleep and dreaming?
Vocabulary 词汇
Refer to the text to see how the following words have been used, then write sentences of your own using these words: function (1.1); speculations (1.2); specifically (1.7); plausible hypothesis (1.9); evidence (1.11);fundamental (1.12); punctuated (1.14); jerky and rapid (1.15); implications (1.19).
The paragraph 段落
1 Drawing your information from the second paragraph (lines 8-20), write a list of points in note form to answer the following question: What appears to be the main function of the sleeping period?
2 Read the first paragraph again (lines 1-7)．Then, using the list of points given below, reconstruct the paragraph in your own words as far as possible．Do not refer to the passage until you have finished the exercise:
a We sleep a great deal: sleep must have a function.
b Problem has puzzled mankind thousands of years.
c Purpose of sleep is not to give the body a rest.
d We do not have to sleep to relax the muscles: this can be done by lying or sitting down for short periods.
e Body tissues function best when muscles are active.
f Movement occurs during sleep to prevent muscle inactivity.
3 Write a paragraph of about 200 words on one of the following subjects:
a Briefly describe a dream you had and attempt to interpret it.
b Sleep.
Key structures 关键句型
A Supply the missing words in the following sentences．Do not refer to the passage until you have finished the exercise:
1 Speculations ____ its nature have been going on ____ literally thousands ____ years ____．(11.2-3)
2 In fact a basic amount ____ movement occurs ____ sleep which is specifically concerned preventing muscle inactivity．(11.6-7)
3 Some years ago an American psychiatrist named William Dement published experiments dealing ____the recording ____ eye-movements ____ sleep．(11.12-13)
4 If one group ____ people were disturbed ____ their eye-movement sleep ____ several nights end, and another group were disturbed ____ an equal period ____ time．(11.16-18)
B Note the use of for in this sentence:
Speculations about its nature have been going on for literally thousands of years．(11.2-3)
Supply for or since in the following sentences:
1 He has been going to work regularly ____ he recovered from his illness.
2 They have been working overtime ____ several months.
3 The election results have been coming in steadily ____ midnight.
4 She's been working on her novel ____ the beginning of the year.
C Study this sentence:
Perhaps it is the brain that needs resting? (1.8)
Write similar sentences using the verbs want or need with the following words: cleaning; mending; decorating.
D Compare these two sentences:
Instead of saying: This might be a plausible hypothesis were it not for two factors．(11.8-9)
We can say: This might be a plausible hypothesis if it were not for two factors.
Rewrite the following sentences using if:
1 Were it possible,I would leave tomorrow.
2 I would take action at once were it not too late.
3 Were this allegation true, he would be arrested．
Special difficulties 难点
A Study the following pairs of words and then write sentences of your own to bring out the difference.
1 fairly (1.1)----enough
The water is fairly warm.
The water is warm enough to swim in.
2 puzzling (1.3)----confusing
The children showed a puzzling lack of curiosity about where their parents were.
The instructions are so confusing that I can't work out what they're saying.
3 factor (1.12)----fact
The rise in crime is mainly due to social and economic factors.
It is a fact that most deaths from lung cancer are caused by smoking.
B Explain the meaning of the verbs in italics in these sentences:
1 William Dement published experiments dealing with the recording of eye-movements．(1.13)
2 We have been dealing with the same firm for a number of years.
3 He's an extremely difficult child．His father is the only person who knows how to deal with him.
C Explain the meaning of the phrases in italics in these sentences:
1 If one group of people were disturbed from their eye-movement sleep for several nights on end … (11.16-17)
2 It wasn't an accident．That window was broken on purpose.
3 On the whole, business has been very good this year.
4 The doctor's very tired．He's been on duty for fourteen hours.
5 How many soldiers are on leave?
6 You mustn't open the door on any account when I'm out.
7 It's getting late．I must be on my way.
Multiple choice questions 多项选择题
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension 理解
1 Giving the body a rest ____.
a．seems to be the main function of sleep
b．doesn't seem to be the main function of sleep
c．means that sleep must have some function
d．prevents muscle inactivity
2 Electrical activity ____.
a．is a good indication of the way the body rests during sleep
b．doesn't seem to diminish during sleep
c．is a plausible explanation for the function of sleep
d．must always be recorded during sleep
3 Rapid eye movements are an indication that
a．a person is having a disturbed sleep
b．sleep is very deep
c．that a sleeper is dreaming
d．that a person is drifting into sleep
4 One of these statements is true．Which one?
a．The most important function of sleep is dreaming.
b．Rapid eye-movement is associated with deep sleep.
c．People who experience rapid eye-movements show personality disorders.
d．When people are woken, they don't report any dreams.
Structure 句型
5 ____ have speculations gone on? ____ For thousands of years．(11.2-3)
a．How many
b．How often
c．How much
d．How long
6 The bodies tissues can repair ____ .
a．themselves
b．their self
c．itself
d．them
7 Peculiar bursts of eye-movements ____ an individual's sleep．(1.14)
a．punctuate
b．is punctuating
c．are punctuating
d．have punctuated
8 People woken during these periods of eye-movements generally reported that they had been dreaming ____．(11.15-16)
a．for a while
b．during sleep
c．before they went to sleep
d．just this moment
Vocabulary 词汇
9 Speculations have been going on for thousands of years ____．(11.2-3)
a．so to speak
b．in history
c．and recorded
d．in fact
10 This might be a plausible ____．(11.8-9)
a．conclusion
b．deduction
c．philosophy
d．theory
11 The second factor is more interesting and more ____．(1.13)
a．obvious
b．basic
c．apparent
d．acceptable
12 Some eye-movements were slow, others ____ and rapid．(1.15)
a．smooth, quick
b．interrupted
c．sudden, irregular
d．painful, repeated