3 . Many college students turn to ADHD (注意缺陷障碍) medicine during the exam week, which is regarded as “smart drugs” that will help their academic performance. The thinking is that if the drugs help students with ADHD improve their focus, they should provide the same benefit for people who don’t have the disorder.
But a new study shows that drugs can actually damage brain function of healthy students who take the drug hoping to boost their intelligence. “It’s not a smart drug which will suddenly improve their ability to understand information they read,” said Lisa Weyandt, a professor at the University of Rhode Island.
To test whether this effect is real or not, researchers organized 13 students to take part in two five-hour study sessions (一段时间) in the lab. The students took the standard 30mg ADHD drugs before one session, and a sugar pill before the other. Students on ADHD drugs did experience an increase in their blood pressure and heart rates. “The medicine was having an effect on their brain,” Weyandt said. The students also showed an improvement in their ability to focus, the researchers found.
However, students on ADHD drugs experienced no improvement in reading comprehension, reading fluency or knowledge reviews, compared to when they’d taken a sugar pill. “We read aloud stories to them and asked them to recall information from the stories, ”she said. “That didn’t improve.”
Worse, the ADHD drug actually harms students’ memory. It’s often misused because people pull all-nighters and they’re tired, and they think it’s going to keep them awake. Maybe it does, but it’s certainly not going to help their academic work. The brain is still developing until the mid to late 20s. It’s important to keep it healthy. There’s also a chance that ADHD drugs could endanger a student’s heart health.
1. Why do many college students turn to ADHD medicine during exam week?
| A．To improve their focus and academic performance. |
| B．To boost their intelligence and understanding of information. |
| C．To stay awake during all-night study sessions. |
| D．To improve their memory and reading comprehension. |
2. Which one does the word of “boost” underlined in Paragraph 2 have the similar meaning ?
| A．stabilize | B．make good use of | C．better | D．understand |
3. What did the new study find regarding the effects of ADHD drugs on healthy students?
| A．The drugs significantly improved their reading comprehension. |
| B．The drugs enhanced their memory and knowledge recall. |
| C．The drugs increased their heart rate and blood pressure. |
| D．The drugs had no impact on their ability to focus. |
4. In the study, what did researchers find regarding the students’ reading comprehension and memory after taking ADHD drugs?
| A．Neither reading comprehension nor memory improved. |
| B．Reading comprehension improved but memory declined. |
| C．Reading comprehension and memory significantly improved. |
| D．Reading comprehension declined but memory improved. |
