Question

【題目】 People born in winter are more likely to suffer mental health disorders, according to a recent study carried out by researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

Researchers raised baby mice from birth to weaning in either “summer” light cycles of 16 hours of light and 8 hours of dark or “winter” cycles of 8 hours of light and 16 hours of dark. A third group experienced 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark a day.

Then half the winter mice stayed in a winter cycle, while half switched to a summer schedule. The summer mice were similarly split. The mice raised in equal periods of light and dark were split into three groups, one of which stayed on the 12hour schedule, one of which joined the winter group, and one of which joined the summer group.

After 28 days, it turns out the summerborn mice behaved the same whether they stayed on the summer cycle or switched to winter. But among the winterborn mice, those that stayed in winter kept their previous schedule, while those that switched to summer stayed active for an extra hour and a half, which indicates that mice born and weaned in a winter light cycle showed dramatic disruptions in their biological clocks.

The finding is the first of its kind in mammals, and it could explain why people born in winter are at higher risk for mental health disorders.

“We know that the biological clock regulates mood in humans,” said study researcher McMahon. “If the mechanism similar to the one that we found in mice operates in humans, then it could not only have an effect on a number of behavioral disorders, but also have a more general effect on personality.”

【1】What’s the main idea of the text?

A.The biological clock regulates mood in humans.

B.Being born in winter has a negative effect on people’s mental health.

C.People born in winter are at higher risk for physical health disorders.

D.The length of light will influence the behavior of the mice.

【2】The underlined word “split”(Paragraph 3) can be replaced by ________.

A.dividedB.torn

C.hitD.ended

【3】Who is probably the reader of the passage?

A.A jobhunter.B.A student in the university.

C.A newlymarried couple.D.An experienced dentist.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】A

【3】C

【解析】

本文是一篇說明文。美國田納西州范德比爾特大學(xué)的研究人員最近進(jìn)行的一項研究顯示，冬天出生的人更容易出現(xiàn)心理健康問題。文章介紹了這項研究進(jìn)行的過程，以及這一情況對人會產(chǎn)生的一些影響。

【1】

主旨大意題。根據(jù)第一段People born in winter are more likely to suffer mental health disorders, according to a recent study carried out by researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.可知美國田納西州范德比爾特大學(xué)的研究人員最近進(jìn)行的一項研究顯示，冬天出生的人更容易出現(xiàn)心理健康問題。以及文章還介紹了這項研究進(jìn)行的過程，以及這一情況對人會產(chǎn)生的一些影響。由此可知，這篇文章的主旨是出生在冬天對人的心理健康有負(fù)面影響。故選B。

【2】

詞義猜測題。根據(jù)上文Then half the winter mice stayed in a winter cycle, while half switched to a summer schedule.可知然后，一半的“冬季”老鼠停留在“冬季”周期中，另一半則切換到“夏季”周期中。以及后文were split into three groups可推知在相同光照和黑暗環(huán)境下長大的老鼠被分為三組，劃線單詞“split”表示“被分開”。A. divided被分開；B. torn被撕開；C. hit被打擊；D. ended被結(jié)束。故選A。

【3】

推理判斷題。美國田納西州范德比爾特大學(xué)的研究人員最近進(jìn)行的一項研究顯示，冬天出生的人更容易出現(xiàn)心理健康問題。文章介紹了這項研究進(jìn)行的過程，以及這一情況對人會產(chǎn)生的一些影響。再結(jié)合四個備選項可推知，新婚夫婦應(yīng)是最合適的讀者。故選C。