A
Every new parent knows that rocking can calm that uneasy baby when it’s time to take a nap. But the benefits of gentle movement may go beyond the baby stage. Because two new studies show that rocking also helps grown-ups, both human and mouse, get a good night’s sleep.
What should be no surprise is that movement can calm someone. Think of how many times you’ve fallen asleep on a train. But can motion really cause a nap, and make for a deeper sleep?
To find out, researchers invited 18 healthy volunteers for a sleepover. “So they came to the lab and slept one time on the motionless, normal bed. And one night where they got rocked.” said Aurore Perrault, a sleep researcher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. “And what we find is that when compared to a motionless night, a whole night of rocking sleep has a beneficial effect not only on sleep beginning but also on sleep continuity. “Subjects who were rocked also did better on a memory test the next morning than the stiller sleepers.
In the second study, Kompotis, a student at the University of Lausanne, rocked a group of mice. “Whether rocking affects sleep in other species was never before discussed. So the main questions for our study were whether rocking affects sleep in mice and what is the possible system? ”
Kompotis placed the mouse cages on a platform that moved from side to side. Though mice were rocked four times faster than their human counterparts—a frequency of one back-and-forth per second, or 1 Hertz, worked best—the results were strikingly similar. “During rocking at 1 Hertz, time spent asleep increased, and mice fell asleep twice as fast as at still condition.” However, additional studies could allow the researchers to identify a new aim for treating sleep disorders, including insomnia (失眠).
If you want a good night’s sleep, you might think about adding a little swing to your night-time routine.
1. What’s the purpose of the second study in the passage?
A. To do research on the sleep system of other species.
B. To see whether rocking affects sleep of other species.
C. To discuss in which case rocking affects baby’s sleep.
D. To study the influence of rocking on sleep disorders.
2. What do we know about the mice in Paragraph 5?
A. Their sleeping time went up when rocked at 1 Hertz.
B. Their sleep disorder including insomnia was treated.
C. When rocked, they fell asleep four times faster than at still condition.
D. When rocked, they slept faster than their human counterparts.
3. What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Rocking Helps Grown-ups Sleep Too.
B. Deep Sleep Needs the Constant Swing.
C. Rocking Greatly Affects Deep Sleep.
D. Rocking Can Treat Sleep Disorders.
【答案】1. B 2. A 3. A
【解析】
【分析】
本文是说明文。文章介绍了两项新的研究表明，摇晃不仅能帮助婴儿入睡，也可以帮助成年人睡眠更好。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。根据第四段中“In the second study, Kompotis… rocked a group of mice. “Whether rocking affects sleep in other species was never before discussed. ”可知，第二项研究的目的是为了研究摇晃是否会影响其他物种的睡眠。故选B项。
【2题详解】
细节理解题。根据第五段中“During rocking at 1 Hertz, time spent asleep increased, and mice fell asleep twice as fast as at still condition.”可知，当以1赫兹的速度摇晃时，老鼠的睡眠时间增加了，老鼠睡着的速度是静止状态的两倍。故选A项。
【3题详解】
主旨大意题。文章第一段中“Because two new studies show that rocking also helps grown-ups, both human and mouse, get a good night’s sleep. ”因为两项新
研究表明，摇摆也有助于成年人，包括人类和老鼠，获得良好的睡眠。是全文的主题句。因此文章的标题应该是“摇晃也能帮助成年人睡眠好”。故选A项。
【点睛】阅读理解题中标题选择题的解题思路
标题选择题是理解文章主旨大题，是深层理解题，它要求整体把握文章，准确的把握文章的主题思想，要抓住文中具有概括性的信息。概括文章标题的方法有：
1. 注意反复出现或强调信息
在阅读文章时，要注意文章中反复出现或强调的信息，寻找与文章大多数内容相关的信
息，找出覆盖全文的核心词汇。如本篇文章中，反复出现的核心词汇是rocking，rock，affect sleep，a good night’s sleep等。
2.寻找文章的主题句
了解文章主题的关键是找到全文的主题句。主题句通常在文章首段，但是也可能在
文章的末段、在文章的某一段落，或者分散在文章的各个段中。。
如本篇文章主题句位于首段，是文章第一段最后一句“Because two new studies show that rocking also helps grown-ups, both human and mouse, get a good night’s sleep”因为两项新的研究表明，摇摆也有助于成年人，包括人类和老鼠，获得良好的睡眠。下文是介绍研究的具体过程。因此可以确定标题是“摇晃也能有助于成人入睡。”选项B和选项C中提到的“Deep Sleep”，在文章中没有提及摇晃与深度睡眠的关系；文章中提到“However, additional studies could allow the researchers to identify a new aim for treating sleep disorders, including insomnia (失眠)”可以判断，选项D错误原因是与文章内容不符，而且也不是文章的主题，而是一个细节。
