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.
The findings were reported in Current Biology by Brown University. In their report, the researchers said many people say they have a harder time sleeping the first night at a hotel or other places outside their homes. They call it “first-night influence”. “In Japan, they say if you change your bed, you can’t sleep.” said Yuka Sasaki, one of the reporters.
The researchers measured (测量) brain waves for 35 volunteers over two nights in a laboratory. The two nights were a week apart (间隔). 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 still 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 (轮换) with the right half later in the night”. They also do not know why 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 wake up feeling well-rested in the morning.
1. Why do lots of people have trouble sleeping in a new place?| A．They are too excited to sleep well. | B．One half of the brain is more active. |
| C．They don’t get used to the new bed. | D．They are too busy in the daytime. |
| A．Being awake all night. | B．Falling asleep harder. | C．Being sleepy soon. | D．Taking turns to work. |
| A．No all-night waves records. | B．Less study time to remain. |
| C．All activities on the left half. | D．Fewer volunteers to join in. |
| A．Pleasing. | B．Different. | C．Serious. | D．Strange. |
| A．A news report. | B．A sports poster. | C．A story book. | D．A science magazine. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】On Saturday, an underwater volcano(火山) in Tonga erupted(爆发) in the South Pacific Ocean. Tonga is an island nation in the South Pacific ocean, home to about 105, 000 people. The volcano, known as Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, is located off the coast of Tonga. Even though the volcano was underwater, it sent lots of gas, ash(灰烬)and stones 12 miles into the sky.
It took a while to get reports from Tonga because the event knocked out internet service in the area. Like most island nations, Tonga gets its internet through a cable that runs deep under the sea. Experts say it’s not yet clear whether the cable was broken during the event or simply lost power. A four-foot wave hit the capital, Nukualofa. People in low-lying areas were forced to go to higher ground. There are reports of serious damage(毁坏) in Tonga. Many houses near the shore were flooded. At present, the biggest danger is probably from the smoke and ash from the volcano hat has covered much of Tonga. The ash makes the air dangerous to breathe, and it is believed to have polluted many sources of drinking water.
New Zealand and Australia have sent teams to Tonga to help out. Some of the teams will use airplanes to get a better idea of the damage across the island nation. The large cloud of ash high above Tonga is making it impossible to get a good picture of what’s happening in the area from high in the air.
1. What information can we get about the volcano in Paragraph 1?| A．It is underwater and in an island nation. |
| B．More than 105, 000 people live next to it. |
| C．It’s quite far away from the South Pacific Ocean. |
| D．It’s under the ocean and sent stones into the water. |
| A．变化 | B．改进 | C．破坏 | D．带来 |
| A．The ash from the volcano has covered much of Tonga. |
| B．The ash makes the air in Tonga dangerous to breathe. |
| C．Houses in low-lying areas were completely damaged. |
| D．People in Tonga will be short of clean drinking water. |
| A．The airplanes cannot take off because of the ash. |
| B．There is still a lot of ash in the air above Tonga. |
| C．The teams don’t know how to take a good picture. |
| D．The clouds in the sky stop the teams seeing clearly. |
【推荐2】At the Beijing Winter Olympics, many cool technologies amaze the world. They make the Games stand out and help people stay safe during COVID-19. Here are some of them.
Cool technologies at the Games
| Driverless helpers There are different kinds of driverless cars in Shougang Industrial Park. People can get in a driverless minibus if tired.They can buy food from a “driverless car store”. Some driverless cars can even send things just like a delivery man (快递员).  | Body temperature check People can wear this thermometer (体温计) on their arms. It looks like a bandage (绷带). Users can check their body temperature through an app on their smart phones. If someone gets a fever, the thermometer will report it.  |
 Smart robots Smart robots can help ice hockey (冰球) players carry their heavy equipment. The robots can “see” and avoid obstacles (障碍). This saves athletes’ time and energy. |  Remote (远程的) interview To prevent the virus (病毒) spreading, the Beijing Winter Olympics do remote interviews. The reporters can’t meet the athletes. But they can talk with each other by video. |
| A．flowers | B．postcards | C．hamburgers | D．sportswear |
| A．Smart robots |
| B．Driverless helpers |
| C．Body temperature check |
| D．Remote interview |
| A．The deliverymen. | B．The reporters. |
| C．The drivers. | D．The robots. |
| A．carry equipment | B．make Games more exciting |
| C．help people stay safe | D．show China’s high technology |
| A．Food. | B．Health. | C．Travel. | D．Science. |
We did a survey among 1,000 students aged 12 to 16, and we found out that 30 percent of them slept for only 4 to 7 hours a day. Nearly a quarter said they fell asleep while they were watching TV, listening to music or using other electronic gadgets.’
Nowadays, almost all the teenagers have a phone, music system or TV in his or her bedroom. Almost 20 percent of the teenager boys said the quality of their sleep were not good. It was affected by leaving their TVs or computers on. The survey also found out that 40 percent of young people felt tired every day. What’s more, the girls aged 15 to 16 felt the worst among them.
“Teenagers need to realize the importance of sleeping well. If they sleep well, they will be able to study hard and perform well at school. I am shocked to know that so few teenagers have noticed the close connection between sleep and schoolwork,” said Dr Chris.
1. What disturbs British teenager in their bedrooms?
| A．Sleep. | B．Electronic gadgets. | C．Schoolwork. |
| A．3 to 7 hours. | B．4 to 7 minutes. | C．4 to 7 hours. |
| A．数量 | B．质量 | C．时间 |
| A．Junk food. | B．Junk sleep. | C．Teenagers. |
【推荐1】As parents, we like to make sure that our children are eating well and getting all the nutrients they need. Children need two to three kinds of vegetables every day.
A simple way to get our children to eat vegetables is by eating them ourselves. Following our example, they may start eating vegetables themselves. Don’t say things like, “If you eat your vegetables, you can have dessert.” These methods work for a little while but can possibly lead them to hate vegetables more. Give your children new varieties of foods which will help them develop a taste for trying new things.
Sometimes the simple things just don’t work. We have to start becoming a little creative to make our children eat vegetables. By doing this in the beginning when children are small, we will help them learn to love vegetables.
Think of creative ways to make children eat vegetables. For example, cut up vegetables like carrots, cucumbers and place them in a creative way on a plate for an afternoon snack. Or try using cheese sauce either by dipping the vegetables in it or by putting the cheese right on top of cooked or raw (生的) vegetables.
If you prefer, you can also add a teaspoon of sugar on top of cooked green beans and peas to make them taste a little sweeter. Doing this shouldn’t lead to a sweet tooth as long as you only give them a small amount.
If you have children that refuse to eat vegetables, some of these suggestions I’ve listed will help to turn that around. In the end, you’re not only just getting them to eat vegetables, you’re also helping them to live a healthier lifestyle.
1. The underlined word “them” (in Paragraph 2) refers to “________”.| A．foods | B．vegetables | C．cheese | D．nutrients |
| A．It is necessary to think of creative ways to make children eat vegetables. |
| B．Children need to eat vegetables every day for their health. |
| C．Parents should help children live a healthy lifestyle. |
| D．Sugar can make children keep a healthy diet. |
| A．How to Make Children Eat More Vegetables |
| B．More and More Children Like Eating Vegetables |
| C．There Are Many Kinds of Vegetables for Children |
| D．Vegetables Are Very Important for Children’s Health |
Washing clothes is easy for most people living in cities, as washing machines do the job. However, in many poor areas, people have to wash their clothes by hand, as they don’t have electricity or money to buy the machines. Now, a new bamboo washing machine might help them solve this problem.
The machine is as simple as the traditional washing machine. However, it uses the natural flow of water instead of electricity. It has a wooden rotation shaft (转轴) in the center and a bamboo drum (桶) outside. You just put the machine in a river and water will go into the bottom of the machine and rotate the main drum. This creates an eddy (涡流) that cleans clothes.
Pan Cheng, one of the designers, said, “There are 836 million people living in extreme poverty (极端贫困) in the world. They have to spend lots of time and energy doing little things like washing clothes. We want the bamboo washing machine to help them free up their time so they can do more meaningful things, like fighting poverty.”
“The best thing about this machine is that it’s cheap and easy to make,” said Yu Yue, another designer. “We give people the rotation shaft and teach them how to set up the machine. They can find bamboo locally and make it into drums. If there is no bamboo, they can also use materials like wood.”
The designers said they spent more than half a year working on the machine. They had countless team meetings and changed their design at least four times. But in the end, they were happy with the results.
1. The bamboo washing machine was created for people who ________.| A．live in big cities |
| B．want to save power |
| C．live in poor areas |
① Put the machine into a river.
② Eddy in the machine cleans clothes.
③ Water goes into the bottom of the machine.
④ Water in the drum drives the wooden rotation shaft.
| A．①②③④ | B．①③④② | C．③①②④ |
| A．he grew up in a rural area without much electricity |
| B．he thinks washing clothes is not important |
| C．he wanted to help people in poor areas fight poverty |
| A．why the machine is suitable for poor areas |
| B．how to make a bamboo washing machine |
| C．what is needed to set up the washing machine |
【推荐3】“How are you?” is a nice question. It’s a friendly way that people in the United States greet each other. But “How are you?” is also a very unusual question. It’s a question that often doesn’t need an answer. The person who asks “How are you?” hopes to hear the answer “Fine.” even if the person’s friend isn’t fine. The reason is that, “How are you?” isn’t really a question and “Fine.” isn’t really an answer. They are simply other ways of saying “Hello” or “Hi”.
Sometimes, people don’t say exactly what they mean. For example, when someone asks, “Do you agree?”, the other person might think, “No, I disagree. I think you’re wrong”. But it isn’t very polite to disagree so strongly, so the other person might say “I’m not sure”. It’s a more polite way to say that you don’t agree with someone.
People also don’t say exactly what they are thinking when they finish talking with other people. For example, many talks over the phone finish when one person says “I have to go now”. Often, the person who wants to hang up gives an excuse like “someone’s at the door” or “something is burning on the stove”. The excuses might be real, or not. Perhaps the person who wants to hang up simply doesn’t want to talk any more, but it isn’t polite to say that. The excuse is more polite, and it doesn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
Whether they are greeting each other, talking about an idea, or finishing a talk, people don’t say exactly what they are thinking. It’s an important way that people try to be polite to each other, and it is part of the game of language.
1. As a greeting, when a person in American asks “How are you?”, he or she wants to hear “________”.| A．I am not fine. | B．Fine, thank you. | C．How do you do? | D．Hello. |
| A．No, I disagree. | B．You are wrong. | C．I’m not sure. | D．Of course not. |
| A．someone is knocking at the door. | B．he wants to hang up the phone. |
| C．he asks you to hold on. | D．he will call you later. |
| A．You should not show your disagreement too strongly. |
| B．If someone says “How are you?”, you should give him a real answer. |
| C．“Something is burning on the stove.” means “I am afraid I want to hang up.” |
| D．Sometimes people don’t say exactly what they mean because they want to be nice and polite. |
