American society is not nap (午睡)-friendly. In fact, says David Dinges, a sleep specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, “There’s even a prohibition against admitting we need sleep”. Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at work. To quote a proverb: “Some sleep five hours, nature requires seven, laziness nine and wickedness eleven.”
Wrong. The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them. “We have to totally change our attitude toward napping,” says Dr. William Dement of Stanford University, the godfather of sleep research.
Last year a national mission led by Dement identified an “American sleep debt” which one member said was as important as the national debt. The mission was concerned about the dangers of sleepiness: people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving. This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House. According to recent reports, President Clinton is trying to take a ha1f-hour snooze (瞌睡) every afternoon.
About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity. We seem to have “a mid afternoon quiet phase,” also called “a secondary sleep gate.” Sleeping 15 minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed. Clearly, we were born to nap.
We Superstars of Snooze don't nap to replace lost shut-eye or to prepare for a night shift.Rather, we “snack” on sleep, whenever, wherever and at whatever time we feel like it. I myself have napped in buses, cars, planes and on boats; on floors and beds; and in libraries, offices and museums.
【小题1】It is monly accepted in American society that too much sleep is .A．unreasonableB．criminalC．harmfulD．costly【小题2】The research done by the Dement Commission shows that Americans .A．don't like to take napsB．are terribly worried about their national debtC．sleep less than is good for themD．have caused many industrial and traffic accidents【小题3】The purpose of this article is to .A．warn us of the wickedness of nappingB．explain the danger of sleepinessC．discuss the side effects of nappingD．convince the reader of the necessity of napping【小题4】The underlined phrase “American sleep debt” in Para. 3 is the result of .A．the traditional misconception the Americans have about sleepB．the new sleep policy of the Clinton AdministrationC．the rapid development of American industryD．the Americans' worry about the danger of sleepiness【小题5】The second sentence of the last paragraph tells us that it is .A．preferable to have a sound sleep before a night shiftB．good practice to eat something light before we go to bedC．essential to make up for cost sleepD．natural to take a nap whenever we feel the need for itA
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(答案→)A
解析：文章讲述了美国传统观念是不允许午睡的，但是最近的研究表明午睡对于美国人是非常重要，美国的睡眠缺失现象非常严重，作者呼吁午睡是一种天性，无论何时何地只要感觉困了就应该小睡一会。
【小题1】推断题。由第一段，美国人不喜欢午睡，事实上，宾夕法尼亚大学医学院睡眠专家David Dinges说，“甚至有一个禁令不允许我们需要睡眠。在工作的时候，没有人愿意被发现在打瞌睡或在睡觉。引用一个谚语：有的人睡5个小时，正常情况需7个小时，懒惰者需9个小时，堕落者需11个小时。由此可知，美国人认为过多的失眠是不合理的。并不是罪恶的，有害的，昂贵的。故答案为A
【小题2】推断题。美国人都普遍缺乏睡眠，他们的睡眠欠缺和国债一样不可小觑。可见，美国认为睡眠少对他们有益，这样可以做更多的事情。故答案为C
【小题3】主旨题。由第二段The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them. We have to totally change our attitude toward napping。工作时不睡着的方法是当你困的时候就小睡一下，我们必须完全改变我们对于小睡的态度。可知，本文的意图是使读者认识到小睡的必要性。故答案为D
【小题4】细节题。由第一段可知，美国人不重视午睡，没有人想在工作时被发现在打盹或睡着了，还有一句俗语来抨击午睡，可见是传统观念在误导着他们。故选A
【小题5】推断题。由最后一段，睡觉是我们的一部分，无论何时，何地，我自己在公交车里，汽车，飞机，船上，在床上，图书馆，办公室，博物馆里都可以小睡。可知，本段是要告诉我们不论何时，当我们需要休息的时候，就应该小睡一会。故答案为D