Section IIReading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　Directions:

　　Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on Answer Sheet 1. (40 points)

　　Text 1

　　Sloth(怠惰, 懶惰) may be seen as a sin, but some of history’s most accomplished men were fond of lounging around. Leonardo da Vinci enjoyed napping. So did Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill. Richard Buckminster Fuller advocated taking 30�瞞inute naps every six hours. No one has yet proved a correlation between napping and artistic brilliance or professional success, but an intriguing study published this week claims to find a link between daytime siestas and good health. A team of researchers led by Androniki Naska and Dimitrios Trichopoulos of Harvard’s School of Public Health followed over 23000 Greek patients with no history of cancer or stroke, for an average of six years. Their conclusion: napping just might save your life.

　　The study found that the group of adults who took 30�瞞inute siestas at least three times a week had a third fewer deaths from heart disease than an equivalent group who did not sleep at all during the day. The benefit was greater for men than for women. It was also greater for working males than for those who had retired. However, a number of previous studies done in the Mediterranean and in parts of Central America (where siestas remain common) have come up with conflicting results, but Dr. Naska and Dr. Trichopoulos argue that those studies have often been flawed. The subjects in some, for example, had survived heart attacks and may therefore have benefited more from napping than healthy individuals do.

　　Given that all of the subjects of this new study were Greeks; could the much�瞔elebrated Mediterranean diet deserve credit, rather than the siestas? The firm answer from Dr Trichopoulos is “No”. And he is in a good position to say so, for it was he who did the pioneering research that put olive oil and a plant�瞓ased diet on the scientific map in the first place. Unlike some other nap studies, his was controlled for diet, smoking, exercise and other relevant variables. The earlier findings about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet are confirmed, he says, and napping seems to help on top of that.

　　Before buying a sofa for the office, however, it might be wise to consider the possibility of selection bias. Dr Trichopoulos concludes that “Type A” personalities, whose hard�瞱orking lives may make them prone to heart attacks, are also much less likely to take naps during the day. That bias might be distorting the study’s results. Even so, he advises, “Take a nap if you can.”

　　21. The word “siesta” (Line 5, Paragraph 1) most probably denotes

　　[A] laziness [B]silence 　　[C] nap [D] labor

　　22. Dr. Naska and Dr. Trichopoulos have concluded in their study that siestas

　　[A] make scientists more brilliant.

　　[B] may prolong people’s life.

　　[C] help people become professionally successful.

　　[D] can cure patients of some fatal diseases.

　　23. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that

　　[A] those taking naps regularly are less likely to die from heart diseases.

　　[B] men are sure to survive heart attacks better than women.

　　[C] the retired can enjoy a happier life than the employed.

　　[D] people in Central America don’t sleep at all during the day.

　　24. Dr. Trichopoulos firmly denies the advantages of the Mediterranean diet in his study because

　　[A] the Mediterranean diet does more harm than good to people’s health.

　　[B] he has done some studies to refute the benefits of Mediterranean diet.

　　[C] the benefits of the Mediterranean diet are still waiting to be proved.

　　[D] he has controlled such a related viable as diet in his research.

　　25. Which of the following is true according to the text?

　　[A] Most of the celebrities gain a great deal from taking naps.

　　[B] Taking naps may reduce the incidence of heart attacks at work.

　　[C] Dr. Trichopoulos’ study of napping conflicts with his previous study on diet.

　　[D] People should sacrifice napping in order to be successful in their career.