Before a big exam, a sound night’s sleep will do you better than poring over textbooks. That, at least, is the folk wisdom. And science, in the form of behavioral psychology, supports that wisdom. But such behavioral studies cannot distinguish between two competing theories of why sleep is good for the memory. One says that sleep is when permanent memories form. The other says that they are actually formed during the day, but then “edited” at night, to flush away what is superfluous.
To tell the difference, it is necessary to look into the brain of a sleeping person, and that is hard. But after a decade of painstaking work, a team led by Pierre Maquet at Liege University in Belgium has managed to do it. The particular stage of sleep in which the Belgian group is interested is rapid eye movement(REM) sleep, when brain and body are active, heart rate and blood pressure increase, the eyes move back and forth behind the eyelids as if watching a movie, and brainwave traces resemble those of wakefulness. It is during this period of sleep that people are most likely to relive events of the previous day in dreams.
Dr. Maquet used an electronic device called PET to study the brains of people as they practiced a task during the day, and as they slept during the following night. The task required them to press a button as fast as possible, in response to a light coming on in one of six positions. As they learnt how to do this, their response times got faster. What they did not know was that the appearance of the lights sometimes followed a pattern-what is referred to as “artificial grammar”. Yet the reductions in response time showed that they learnt faster when the pattern was present than when there was not.
What is more, those with more to learn (i.e., the “grammar”, as well as the mechanical task of pushing the button) have more active brains. The “editing” theory would not predict that, since the number of irrelevant stimuli would be the same in each case. And to eliminate any doubts that the experimental subjects were learning as opposed to unlearning, their response times when they woke up were even quicker than when they went to sleep.
The team, therefore, concluded that the nerve connections involved in memory are reinforced through reactivation during REM sleep, particularly if the brain detects an inherent structure in the material being learnt. So now, on the eve of that crucial test, maths students can sleep soundly in the knowledge that what they will remember the next day are the basic rules of algebra and not the incoherent talk from the radio next door.
6. Researchers in behavioral psychology are divided with regard to（ ）.
7. As manifested in the experimental study, rapid eye movement is characterized by（ ）.
8. By referring to the artificial grammar, the author intends to show（ ）.
9. In their study, researchers led by Pierre Maquet took advantage of the technique of（ ）.
10. What advice might Maquet give to those who have a crucial test the next day?
问题1选项
A.how dreams are modified in their courses
B.the difference between sleep and wakefulness
C.why sleep is of great benefit to memory
D.the functions of a good night’s sleep
问题2选项
A.intensely active brainwave traces
B.subjects’ quicker response times
C.complicated memory patterns
D.revival of events in the previous day
问题3选项
A.its significance in the study
B.an inherent pattern being learnt
C.its resemblance to the lights
D.the importance of a night’s sleep
问题4选项
A.exposing a long-held folk wisdom
B.clarifying the predictions on dreams
C.making contrasts and comparisons
D.correlating effects with their causes
问题5选项
A.Memorizing grammar with great efforts.
B.Study textbooks with close attention.
C.Have their brain images recorded.
D.Enjoy their sleep at night soundly.
第1题:C
第2题:A
第3题:A
第4题:C
第5题:D
第1题:
【选项释义】
Researchers in behavioral psychology are divided with regard to _____. 行为心理学的研究人员对_____存在分歧。
A. how dreams are modified in their courses A. 梦境是如何在其过程中被修改的
B. the difference between sleep and wakefulness B. 睡眠和觉醒的区别
C. why sleep is of great benefit to memory C. 为什么睡眠对记忆有很大的好处
D. the functions of a good night’s sleep D. 一夜好眠的功能
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】文中第一段提到：But such behavioral studies cannot distinguish between two competing theories of why sleep is good for the memory.（但是这样的行为研究并不能区分为什么睡眠对记忆力有好处的两种相互矛盾的理论），所以他们对为什么睡眠对记忆力有好处持有不同的观点，故应选C。
【干扰项排除】
A、B选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项在文章第一句话提到，但与题干无关，属于出处错位。
第2题:
【选项释义】
As manifested in the experimental study, rapid eye movement is characterized by _____. 在实验研究中，快速眼动的特征是_____。
A. intensely active brainwave traces A. 非常活跃的脑电波痕迹
B. subjects’ quicker response times B. 受试者更快的反应时间
C. complicated memory patterns C. 复杂的记忆模式
D. revival of events in the previous day D. 前一天事件的重现
【考查点】事实细节题
【解题思路】根据rapid eye movement定位到第二段的第三句话：The particular stage of sleep in which the Belgian group is interested is rapid eye movement(REM) sleep, when brain and body are active, heart rate and blood pressure increase, the eyes move back and forth behind the eyelids as if watching a movie, and brainwave traces resemble those of wakefulness.（比利时小组感兴趣的特定睡眠阶段是快速眼动（REM）睡眠，此时大脑和身体都很活跃，心率和血压上升，眼睛在眼睑后面来回移动，就像看电影一样，脑电波的痕迹与清醒时相似。）可知快速眼动时，脑电波的痕迹是十分活跃的，故A选项符合题意。
【干扰项排除】
B、C选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项，文中第二段最后一句提到，It is during this period of sleep that people are most likely to relive events of the previous day in dreams.（正是在这段睡眠期间，人们最有可能在梦中重温前一天的事件。）与题干无关，属于出处错位。
第3题:
【选项释义】
By referring to the artificial grammar, the author intends to show _____. 通过参考人工语法，作者打算展示_____。
A. its significance in the study A. 它在研究中的意义
B. an inherent pattern being learnt B. 正在学习的固有模式
C. its resemblance to the lights C. 它与灯光的相似
D. the importance of a night’s sleep D. 晚上睡眠的重要性
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】原文的第三段的最后两句提到：What they did not know was that the appearance of the lights sometimes followed a pattern—what is referred to as “artificial grammar”. Yet the reductions in response time showed that they learnt faster when the pattern was present than when there was not.（他们不知道的是，灯光的出现有时遵循一种模式——即所谓的“人工语法”。然而，反应时间的减少表明，当该模式出现时，他们的学习速度比没有模式时快。）说明了这种内在模式，也就是artificial grantor对于记忆的重要性，故作者想展示人工语法的意义，因此A选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项，根据解析可知人工语法就是实验中人们学习时遵循的模式，通过模式去展现模式明显是不对的，属于曲解原文；
C、D选项在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
第4题:
【选项释义】
In their study, researchers led by Pierre Maquet took advantage of the technique of _____. 在他们的研究中，由Pierre Maquet领导的研究人员利用了_____的方法。
A. exposing a long-held folk wisdom A. 揭露一种长期流传的民间智慧
B. clarifying the predictions on dreams B. 澄清梦的预言
C. making contrasts and comparisons C. 做对比和比较
D. correlating effects with their causes D. 将结果与原因联系起来
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】这个题考查的是对文章内容的归纳。首先文章第三段最后提到：Yet the reductions in response time showed that they learnt faster when the pattern was present than when there was not.（然而，反应时间的减少表明，当模式出现时，他们的学习速度比没有模式时快。）这体现了一种对比性的研究方法。接着第四段最后…their response times when they woke up were even quicker than when they went to sleep（……他们醒来时的反应时间甚至比他们睡觉时更快。）也采用了对比的分析研究，因此C选项正确。
【干扰项排除】A、B、D选项不能根据文章相关信息推理出来。
第5题:
【选项释义】
What advice might Maquet give to those who have a crucial test the next day? Maquet可能会给那些第二天有关键考试的人什么建议？
A. Memorizing grammar with great efforts. A. 用极大的努力来记忆语法。
B. Study textbooks with close attention. B. 仔细研究课本。
C. Have their brain images recorded. C. 让人记录他们的大脑图像。
D. Enjoy their sleep at night soundly. D. 晚上酣畅地享受他们的睡眠。
【考查点】推理判断题
【解题思路】文章第一句就指出Before a big exam, a sound night’s sleep will do you better than poring over textbooks. （在大考之前，睡个好觉比死记硬背课本更有效果。）意思是在晚上好好地睡觉对记忆是有好处的。最后作者又归纳了研究的结果：…concluded that the nerve connections involved in memory are reinforced through reactivation during REM sleep…（……研究小组得出结论，参与记忆的神经连接在快速眼动睡眠期间通过重新激活得到加强……）也说明睡眠对记忆有好处，故给第二天要考试的人的建议是睡觉，因此D选项正确。
【干扰项排除】A、B、C选项不能根据文章相关信息推理出来。
