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n. 痛苦，苦恼，不幸
vt. 使痛苦，使苦恼
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Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:
Birds that are literally half-asleep—with one brain hemisphere alert and the other sleeping—control which side of the brain remains awake, according to a new study of sleeping ducks.
Earlier studies have documented half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds. The brain hemispheres take turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves. The eye controlled by the sleeping hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere’s eye stays open and alert. Birds also can sleep with both hemispheres resting at once.
Earlier studies have documented half-brain sleep in a wide range of birds. The brain hemispheres take turns sinking into the sleep stage characterized by slow brain waves. The eye controlled by the sleeping hemisphere keeps shut, while the wakeful hemisphere’s eye stays open and alert. Birds also can sleep with both hemispheres resting at once.
Decades of studies of bird flocks led researchers to predict extra alertness in the more vulnerable, end-of-the-row sleepers, Sure enough, the end birds tended to watch carefully on the side away from their companions. Ducks in the inner spots showed no preference for gaze direction.
Also, birds dozing（打盹）at the end of the line resorted to single-hemisphere sleep, rather than total relaxation, more often than inner ducks did. Rotating 16 birds through the positions in a four-duck row, the researchers found outer birds half-asleep during some 32 percent of dozing time versus about 12 percent for birds in internal spots.
“We believe this is the first evidence for an animal behaviorally controlling sleep and wakefulness simultaneously in different regions of the brain,” the researchers say.
The results provide the best evidence for a long-standing supposition that single-hemisphere sleep evolved as creatures scanned for enemies. The preference for opening an eye on the lookout side could be widespread, he predicts. He’s seen it in a pair of birds dozing side-by-side in the zoo and in a single pet bird sleeping by mirror. The mirror-side eye closed as if the reflection were a companion and the other eye stayed open.
Useful as half-sleeping might be, it’s only been found in birds and such water mammals（哺乳动物）as dolphins, whales, and seals. Perhaps keeping one side of the brain awake allows a sleeping animal to surface occasionally to avoid drowning.
Studies of birds may offer unique insights into sleep. Jerome M. Siegel of the UGLA says he wonders if birds’ half-brain sleep “is just the tip of the iceberg（冰山）”. He speculates that more examples may turn up when we take a closer look at other species.
11. A new study on birds’ sleep has revealed that ____________.
A) birds can control their half-brain sleep consciously
B) birds seldom sleep with the whole of their brain at rest
C) half-brain sleep is found in a wide variety of birds
D) half-brain sleep is characterized by slow brain waves
12. According to the passage, birds often half sleep because ______________.
A) they have to constantly keep an eye on their companions
B) the two halves of their brain are differently structured
C) they have to watch out for possible attacks
D) their brain hemisphere take turns to rest
13. The example of a bird sleeping in front of a mirror indicates that _____________.
A) birds prefer to sleep in pairs for the sake of security
B) the phenomenon of birds dozing in pairs is widespread
C) a single pet bird enjoys seeing its own reflection in the mirror
D) even an imagined companion gives the bird a sense of security
14. While sleeping, some water mammals tend to keep half awake in order to __________.
A) avoid being swept away by rapid currents
B) emerge from water now and then to breathe
C) alert themselves to the approaching enemy
D) be sensitive to the ever-changing environment
15. By “just the tip of the iceberg” (Line 2, Para.8), Siegel suggests that ____________.
A) half-brain sleep is a phenomenon that could exist among other species
B) most birds living in cold regions tend to be half sleepers
C) the mystery of half-brain sleep is close to being solved
D) half-brain sleep has something to do with icy weather
| 重点单词 | 查看全部解释 | |||
| distress | [dis'tres] | 联想记忆 | ||
| unwilling | ['ʌn'wiliŋ] | |||
| independent | [indi'pendənt] | 联想记忆 | ||
| control | [kən'trəul] | |||
| smooth | [smu:ð] | |||
| alternative | [ɔ:l'tə:nətiv] | 联想记忆 | ||
| occasionally | [ə'keiʒənəli] | |||
| particular | [pə'tikjulə] | 联想记忆 | ||
| specify | ['spesifai] | |||
| minor | ['mainə] | 联想记忆 |
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