If you start each day desperately wishing for an extra hour in bed, the following is likely to leave you feeling even more bad-tempered. Scientists have identified a "sleepless elite" — small group of people for whom a lie-in is a waste of time. Rather than being tired, bad-tempered under-achievers, they are an energetic, outgoing and optimistic group who can happily and healthily get by on just four or five shut-eye a night. If that were not irritating enough, they tend to be slim, able to hold down two jobs at the same time, and breeze through their extra-long days without needing caffeine pick-me-ups(咖啡因提神物)or cat naps. Working out how the gene cuts sleep without any obvious impact on health could help in the design of drugs us all a few extra hours in our day. The bad news is that while many of us get by on a few hours' sleep a night, just one to three people in 100 qualify to be part of the sleepless elite. The research team is now appealing for members of the lucky group to come forward to allow their DNA to be studied. University of California researcher Ying-Hui Fu said: " My long term goal is to someday learn enough so we can manipulate the sleep pathways without damaging our health. Everybody can use more waking hours, even if you just watch movies. " Many of those who have already volunteered share fascinating characteristics. They are thinner than average, relentlessly upbeat(兴奋)and seem to have a high tolerance for physical pain and psychological set-backs. Researcher Dr. Christopher Jones told the Wall Street Journal: " Typically, at the end of a long-structured phone interview, they will admit they have been texting and surfing the Internet and doing cross-word puzzles at the same time, all on less than six hours of sleep. "
单选题 Which of the following could be the title of this passage?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析:主旨题。文章首段就提出文章的主旨,sleepless elite“夜猫子”精英一族,后面段落主要叙述了“夜猫子”精英一族的特点。故选A。
单选题 According to this passage, the sleepless elite, ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:细节题。虽然睡眠时间短,但他们精力充沛、外向活泼、乐观向上,而不是疲惫而且脾气坏的“后进生”。他们每晚只睡四到五个小时,却过得快乐健康。故选D。
单选题 It is stated in the passage that the sleepless elite______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:本题定位于第三段,如果你还不觉得烦恼,那告诉你,他们通常身材苗条,可以一心二用,轻松度过悠长的一天,而不必靠咖啡饮品提神,也不打瞌睡。故选C。
单选题 Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】解析:研究基因如何在不明显影响健康的情况下缩短了睡眠时间有助于研制缩短睡眠时间的药物。根据这句话叙述,C项不正确,故选C。
单选题 The phrase "come forward"(Para. 6)most probably means "______".
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】解析:词义题。“come forward”根据文章可以推测出为“自告奋勇,自愿”与volunteer词义相近,故选A。
单选题 Which of the following is a shared feature of the sleepless elite?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】解析:根据关键词shared feature定位于倒数第二段,已自愿接受检测的受试者有些共同特点。他们身材更苗条,始终保持乐观,而且似乎对疼痛感和心理挫折的忍耐力更强。故选D。