【閱讀練習】

　　Baekeland and Hartmann report that the “short sleepers” had been more or less average in their sleep needs until the men were in their teens. But at about age 15 or so, the men voluntarily began cutting down their nightly sleep time because of pressures from school, work, and other activities. These men tended to view their nightly periods of unconsciousness as bothersome interruptions in their daily routines.

　　In general, these “short sleeps” appeared ambitious, active, energetic, cheerful, conformist(不動搖) in their opinions, and very sure about their career choices. They often held several jobs at once, or workers full-or part-time while going to school. And many of them had a strong urge to appear “normal” or “acceptable” to their friends and associates.

　　When asked to recall their dreams, the “short sleepers” did poorly. More than this, they seemed to prefer not remembering. In similar fashion, their usual way of dealing with psychological problems was to deny that the problem existed, and then to keep busy in the hope that the trouble would go away.

　　The sleep patterns of the “short sleepers” were similar to, but less extreme than, sleep patterns shown by many mental patients categorized as manic(瘋人).

　　The “long sleepers” were quite different indeed. Baekeland and Hartmann report that these young men had been lengthy sleeps since childhood. They seemed to enjoy their sleep, protected it, and were quite concerned when they were occasionally deprived of their desired 9 hours of nightly bed rest. They tended to recall their dreams much better than did the “short sleepers.”

　　Many of the “long sleepers” were shy, anxious, introverted (內向), inhibited (壓抑), passive, mildly depressed, and unsure of themselves (particularly in social situations). Several openly states that sleep was an escape from their daily problems.

　　1. According to the report,______.

　　A) many short sleepers need less sleep by nature

　　B) many short sleepers are obliged to reduce their nightly sleep time because they are busy with their work

　　C) long sleepers sleep a longer period of time during the day

　　D) many long sleepers preserve their sleeping habit formed during their childhood

　　2. Many “short sleepers” are likely to hold the view that _____.

　　A) sleep is a withdrawal from the reality

　　B) sleep interferes with their sound judgement

　　C) sleep is the least expensive item on their routine program

　　D) sleep is the best way to deal with psychological troubles

　　3. It is stated in the third paragraph that short sleepers _____.

　　A) are ideally vigorous even under the pressures of life

　　B) often neglect the consequences of inadequate sleep

　　C) do not know how to relax properly

　　D) are more unlikely to run into mental problems

　　4. When sometimes they cannot enjoy adequate sleep, the long sleepers might ____.

　　A) appear disturbed

　　B) become energetic

　　C) feel dissatisfied

　　D) be extremely depressed

　　5. Which of the following is Not included in the passage?

　　A) If one sleeps inadequately, his performance suffers and his memory is weakened

　　B) The sleep patterns of short sleepers are exactly the sane as those shown by many mental patients

　　C) Long and short sleepers differ in their attitudes towards sleep

　　D) Short sleepers would be better off with more rest

　　【答案及詳解】

　　答案：DCBAB

　　貝克爾和哈特曼報道說，“睡眠少的人”在未進入少年期之前，其正常睡眠時間大致與所需要的時間差不多。但到了15歲左右，由于學校、工作或其它活動的地壓力，他們就故意地減少了夜間睡眠的時間。這些人持有這樣的觀點：夜間睡眠是一件令人討厭的事情，打斷了日常事務。

　　總的說來，這些“睡眠少的人”表現得雄心勃勃、積極活躍、精力充沛、無意識樂觀豁達、立場堅定，對自己職業的選擇胸有成竹。他們往往同時從事幾項工作，或者一邊上學讀書，一邊從事專職或兼職工作。其中許多人有強烈愿望，想在朋友和熟人面前表現得“正�！被颉昂先骸�。

　　當讓他們回憶夢境時，“睡眠少的人”回憶不起什么來。更有甚者，他們似乎情愿什么都記不住。類似的情況是他們通常處理心理問題的方式：不承認問題的存在，希望只要忙忙碌碌，麻煩總會過去的。

　　“睡眠少的人”的睡眠模式與被劃入瘋子之類精神病患者的睡眠模式十分相似，只不過沒有那么嚴重而已。

　　“睡眠多的人”情形則大不相同。貝克爾和哈特曼報道說，這些年輕人從小的，有抱負的睡眠就一直很長。他們好像注重睡眠，不讓睡眠受打攪。偶爾沒有所需的9個小時夜間臥床休息，他們便會十分不安。他們比“睡眠少的人”要更能回憶得起夢的內容。許多“睡眠多的人”靦腆、焦躁、內向、壓抑、消極和稍微有點兒沮喪，尤其在社交場合缺乏自信。好幾個人坦言，睡眠是擺脫每天煩惱的一種方式。