Passage 6
Before a big exam, a sound night s sleep will do you more good 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 in is rapid eye movement 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 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.
26.Researchers in behavioral psychology are divided with regard to_______
how dreams are modified in their courses.
the difference between sleep and wakefulness.
why sleep is of great benefit to memory.
the functions of a good night s sleep.
27.As manifested in the experimental study, rapid eye movement is characterized by_______
intensely active brainwave traces.
subjects quicker response times.
complicated memory patterns.
revival of events in the previous day.
28.By referring to the artificial grammar, the author intends to show_______
its significance in the study.
an inherent pattern being learnt.
its resemblance to the lights.
the importance of night s sleep.
29.In their study, researchers led by Pierre Maquet took advantage of the technique of_______
exposing a long-held folk wisdom.
clarifying the predictions on dreams.
making contrasts and comparisons.
correlating effects with their causes.
30.What advice might Maquet give to those who have a crucial test the next day?
Memorizing grammar with great efforts.
Study textbooks with close attention.
Have their brain images recorded.
Enjoy their sleep at night soundly.
雅思口语素材:《西雅图未眠夜》经典台词
雅思口语范文:Spare Time
雅思口语考试的五个注意事项
雅思口语素材:中国好声音
雅思口语素材:名人名言-爱默生名言
谈谈雅思口语的练习方法
雅思口语范文:Kinds of music
雅思口语范文:书籍是心灵鸡汤
雅思口语范文:Friends
雅思口语考试女生着装指南
雅思口语话题大全:教育 education
雅思口语素材:名人名言-亚里士多德
雅思口语找谁练:找外教or靠自己?
雅思口语口语话题:体育明星
雅思口语范文:Career
雅思口语素材:名人名言-尼克松
雅思口语素材:名人名言-林肯
雅思口语素材:古诗翻译赏析
雅思口语菜鸟级攻略(实战篇)
雅思口语范文:Most important invention
雅思口语考试的注意事项
雅思口语范文:Married Person
雅思口语天天练:没听懂对方问话时的表达
雅思口语范文:电影《穿Prada的恶魔》
雅思口语素材:《功夫熊猫》经典台词
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-那些人
雅思口语范文:Family
雅思口语素材:好句推荐-幽默的定义
雅思口语范文:Festivals
雅思口语范文:food
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