Burning the midnight oil before an exam or interview has an opposite effect according to a research which found that sleep is necessary for memories to be “downloaded” into the brain.

“A good night's sleep within 30 hours of trying to remember a new task is a necessary condition of having good recall in the weeks ahead，” scientists have found.

“We think that getting that first night's sleep starts the process of memory consolidation(加强)，” said Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard Medical School who conducted the latest study.

“It seems that memories are normally washed out of the brain unless some process nails them down. I feel uncertain that sleep is one of those things that do the nailing down，” Professor Stickgold said.

Professor Stickgold's team trained the 24 people to tell the direction of three diagonal bars (斜线) shown for a sixtieth of a second on a computer screen full of horizontal stripes(水平线)．

Half the subjects were kept awake that night, while the others slept. Both groups were allowed to sleep for the second and third nights to make up for any differences in tiredness between the volunteers.

Those who slept the first night were much better at remembering the task while the second group showed no improvement in spite of enjoying two nights of catch－up sleep.

A further study by scientists at the Medical University at Lubeck in Germany showed that memories are laid down in two stages during the night. The first is during the deep, so－called “slow wave” sleep, which usually takes place in the first half of the night. The second, and less important stage happens during the periods of dreaming or “rapid eye movement (REM)”. When people don't sleep well in the first half of the night, their memory consolidation is almost the same as having no sleep at all.

1. Which of the following statements is CORRECT according to the first paragraph?

A. It is necessary to burn the midnight oil before an exam or interview.

B. Sleep speeds up the loss of memory.

C. Man should have a good sleep if he wants to keep a good memory.

D. Staying up late will make you better prepared for an exam or interview.

2. It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that________.

A. some process helps memories to be washed out of the brain

B. Professor Stickgold is doubtful about whether sleep can make memories worse

C. some memories normally influence the function of the brain

D. sleep may can improve the condition of memories

3. How was the research conducted by Professor Stickgold?

A. The subjects were divided into two groups.

B. All the subjects were kept awake for 3 nights.

C. One group slept at the first night but was kept awake the next two nights.

D. One group was kept awake for 3 nights but the other slept for the second and third nights.

4. What was the study result of the scientists' at the Medical University at Lubeck?

A. REM sleep is not important at all for the consolidation for memory.

B. Intellectual performance mainly depends on the slow wave sleep period.

C. When people sleep poorly in the first half of the night, it is almost the same as having no sleep at all.

D. REM sleep is as important as slow wave sleep in terms of memory recall.

5. The BEST title of this passage is “________”．

A. Sleep Necessary for Memories

B. The Importance of the First Stage of Sleep

C. Studies Made by Scientists About Sleep

D. The Scientists' Achievement in Sleep Research

Burning the midnight oil before an exam or interview has an opposite effect according to a research which found that sleep is necessary for memories to be “downloaded” into the brain.

“A good night’s sleep within 30 hours of trying to remember a new task is a necessary condition of having good recall（回忆）in the weeks ahead,” scientists have found.

“We think that getting that first night’s sleep starts the process of memory consolidation（加强）,” said Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard Meidical School who conducted the latest study.

“It seems that memories are normally washed out of the brain unless some process nails them down. I feel uncertain that sleep is one of those things that do the nailing down,” Professor Stickgold said.

Professor Stickgold’s team trained the 24 people to tell direction of three diagonal bars（斜线）shown for a sixtieth of a second on a computer screen full of horizontal stripes（水平线）.

Half the subjects were kept awake that night, while the others slept. Both groups were allowed to sleep for the second and third nights so make up for any differences in tiredness between the volunteers（志愿者）.

Those who slept the first night were much better at remembering the task while the second ground showed no improvement in spite of enjoying two nights of catch-up sleep.

A further study by scientists at the Medical University at Lubeck Germany showed that memories are laid down in two stages during the night. The first is during the deep, so-called “slow wave” sleep, which usually takes place in the first half of the night. The second, and less important stage happens during the period of dreaming or “rapid eye movement (REM)”. When people don’t sleep well in the first half of the night, their memory consolidation is almost the same as having no sleep at all.

1. Which of the following statements is correct according to Paragraph 1?

  A. It is necessary to burn the midnight oil before an exam or interview  

B. Sleep speeds up the loss of memory

  C. Man should have a good sleep if he wants to keep a good memory

  D. Staying up late will make you better prepared for an exam or interview

2. It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that _____.

  A. some process helps memories to be washed out of the brain

  B. professor Stickgold is doubtful about whether sleep can make memories better

  C. some memories normally influence the function of the brain

  D. sleep improves the condition of memories

3. How was the research conducted by Professor Stickgold?

  A. The subjects were divided into two groups 

B. All the subjects were kept awake for 3 nights

  C. One group slept at the first night but was kept awake the next two nights

  D. One group was kept awake for 3 nights but the other slept for the second and third nights

4. The best title of this passage is _____.

  A. Sleep is Necessary for Memories  B. The Importance of the First Stage of Sleep

  C. Studies Made By Scientists About Sleep  D. The Scientists’ Achievement in Sleep Research

　　CATV is a short way of saying“community antenna（共用天线）television”. But “cable television”（有线电视）is the term most people use. Cable television allows viewers to receive TV programs that they cannot pick up with their regular antennas.

　　Television signals（信号）do not follow the curve（曲线）of the earth. They travel in straight lines in all directions. Signals from a TV station move toward the horizon（水平线）and then go into space. If you live a few miles from a TV station you may get a good picture on your set. But if you live more than 50 miles from a station, you may not get any pictures at all.

　　CATV began in 1948. People in places far from TV stations shared the cost of putting up high antennas. A community antenna was usually placed on a hill, a mountain or on a high tower. The antenna picked up TV signals and fed them into a small local station. From the station, thick wires called cable ran out to nearby homes. Each person using the cable paid a monthly charge.

　　CATV worked well, and soon new uses were found for it. Local stations could feed programs into empty channels that were not in use. People along the cable could have local news, weather report, and farm and school news at no extra charge.

　　Today, cable television has moved onto cities. It brings in extra programs that city viewers with regular antennas cannot see. It is also used in many classrooms throughout the country.

(1)From the first paragraph we know that ________.

[　　]

A．most people use cable television

B．“community antenna”is another name for “regular antenna”

C．a community antenna is used for cable television

D．regular antenna cannot pick up TV programs

(2)Which of the following is NOT the way TV signals travel?

[　　]

A．In a curve.

B．In a straight line.

C．In all directions.

D．Towards the horizon.

(3)Cable TV is becoming more and more popular because ________.

[　　]

A．it is free of charge

B．it can provide more programs

C．it provides all TV users good pictures

D．TV sets with regular antenna can also have a good reception through CATV

(4)On the whole, this passage is about ________.

[　　]

A．how to put up high antennas

B．a way of picking up better TV pro-grams

C．how to use the empty channels

D．the way that TV signals are sent

Burning the midnight oil before an exam or interview has an opposite effect according to a research which found that sleep is necessary for memories to be “downloaded” into the brain.

“A good night’s sleep within 30 hours of trying to remember a new task is a necessary condition of having good recall（回忆）in the weeks ahead,” scientists have found.

“We think that getting that first night’s sleep starts the process of memory consolidation（加强）,” said Robert Stickgold, a sleep researcher at Harvard Meidical School who conducted the latest study.

“It seems that memories are normally washed out of the brain unless some process nails them down. I feel uncertain that sleep is one of those things that do the nailing down,” Professor Stickgold said.

Professor Stickgold’s team trained the 24 people to tell direction of three diagonal bars（斜线）shown for a sixtieth of a second on a computer screen full of horizontal stripes（水平线）.

Half the subjects were kept awake that night, while the others slept. Both groups were allowed to sleep for the second and third nights so make up for any differences in tiredness between the volunteers（志愿者）.

Those who slept the first night were much better at remembering the task while the second ground showed no improvement in spite of enjoying two nights of catch-up sleep.

A further study by scientists at the Medical University at Lubeck Germany showed that memories are laid down in two stages during the night. The first is during the deep, so-called “slow wave” sleep, which usually takes place in the first half of the night. The second, and less important stage happens during the period of dreaming or “rapid eye movement (REM)”. When people don’t sleep well in the first half of the night, their memory consolidation is almost the same as having no sleep at all.

1.Which of the following statements is correct according to Paragraph 1?

  A. It is necessary to burn the midnight oil before an exam or interview. 

B. Sleep speeds up the loss of memory.

  C. Man should have a good sleep if he wants to keep a good memory.

  D. Staying up late will make you better prepared for an exam or interview.

2. It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 that _____.

  A. some process helps memories to be washed out of the brain

  B. professor Stickgold is doubtful about whether sleep can make memories better

  C. some memories normally influence the function of the brain

  D. sleep improves the condition of memories

3. How was the research conducted by Professor Stickgold?

A. The subjects were divided into two groups 

B. All the subjects were kept awake for 3 nights

  C. One group slept at the first night but was kept awake the next two nights

  D. One group was kept awake for 3 nights but the other slept for the second and third nights

4. The best title of this passage is _____.

A. Sleep is Necessary for Memories          

B. The Importance of the First Stage of Sleep

C. Studies Made by Scientists About Sleep   

D. The Scientists’ Achievement in Sleep Research