第三篇 The Body Clock Why is it that flying to New York from London will leave you feeling less tired than flying to London from New York The answer may be a clear case of biology not being able to keep up with technology. Deep inside the brain there is a "clock" that governs every aspect of the body’s functioning: sleep and wake cycles, levels of alertness, performance, mood, hormone levels, digestion, body temperature and so on. It regulates all of these functions on a 24-hour basis and is called the biological clock. This body clock programmes us to be sleepy twice a day, between 3-5 am and again between 3-5 pm. Afternoon tea and nap are all cultural responses to our natural biological sleepiness in the afternoon. One of the major causes of the travellers’ malady known as jet lag is the non-alignment of a person’s internal body clock with clocks in the external world. Crossing different time zones confuses the biological clock, which then has to adjust to the new time and patterns of light and activity. To make matters more complex, not all internal body functions adjust at the same rate. So your sleep/wake may adjust to a new time zone at one rate, while your temperature adjusts at a different pace. Your digestion may be on a different schedule altogether. Though we live in a 24-hour day, the natural tendency of the body clock is to extend our day beyond 24 hours. It is contrary to our biological programming to "shrink" our day. That is why traveling in a westward direction is more body-clock friendly than flying east. NASA studies of long haul pilots showed that westward travel was associated with significantly better sleep quantity and quality than eastward flights. When flying west, you are "extending" your day, thus traveling in the natural direction of your internal clock. Flying eastward will involve "shrinking’" or reducing your day and is in direct opposition to your internal clock’s natural tendency. One of the more common complaints of travelers is that their sleep becomes disrupted. There are many reasons for this: changing time zones and schedules, changing light and activity levels, trying to sleep when your body clock is programmed to be awake, disruption of the internal biological clock and working longer hours. It is often suggested that you adjust your watch as soon as you board a plane, supposedly to try to help you adjust to your destination’s schedule as soon as you arrive. But it can take the body clock several days to several weeks to fully adjust to a new time zone. So, our body clock truly can "govern" us. The role of the body clock is to
A. enable us to sleep 6 hours a day.
B. help us adapt to a 24-hour cycle.
C. regulate the body’s functions.
D. interfere with the body’s functions.
在本节中,你将听到15个对话。每个对话有一个问题。请从[A]、[B]、[C]三个选项中选出答案,并标在试卷的相应位置。每段对话后有15秒钟的停顿,以便回答问题和阅读下一问题及其选项。每段对话读两遍。 What did they decide to do
A. [A] They would meet later in the library.
B. They would meet at 11: 00.
C. They wouldn’t meet in the classroom.
二、定义判断。每道题先给出定义,然后列出四种情况,要求你严格依据定义,从中选出一个最符合或最不符合该定义的答案。注意:假设这个定义是正确的,不容置疑的。 请开始答题: 虚假安全:指在高度紧张状态下大脑处于极度兴奋中,反而不容易出问题:而在接近成功状态下精神越来越放松,顿时有了安全感,然而恰恰是这一瞬间的放松,酿成大祸。 下列属于虚假安全的是( )。
A. 一些唯利是图的中介机构,暗示、提醒、协助高危企业炮制虚假材料,骗取安全生产许可证
B. 利空出尽是利好,许多股票都会在出了不尽如人意的年报后走出一波蓬勃向上的行情
C. 高考前,小李总觉得睡眠不足;可是高考结束了,小李却经常睡不着
D. 在电热厂这种特殊行业,在用电高峰期、恶劣天气下,一般不会出现人为误操作的事故;但在平时,事故却是屡见不鲜