Making Light of1 Sleep
All we have a clock located inside our brains. Similar to your bedside alarm clock， your internal clock2 runs on a 24-hour cycle. This cycle，called a circadian rhythm，helps control when you wake，when you eat and when you sleep.
Somewhere around puberty，something happens in the timing of the biological clock. The clock pushes forward，so adolescents and teenagers are unable to fall asleep as early as they used to. When your mother tells you it's time for bed，your body may be pushing you to stay up3 for several hours more. And the light coming from your computer screen or TV could be pushing you to stay up even later.
This shift4 is natural for teenagers. But staying up very late and sleeping late can get your body's clock out of sync with the cycle of light and dark5. It can also make it hard to get out of bed in the morning and may bring other problems，too. Teenagers are put in a kind of a gray cloud6 when they don't get enough sleep，says Mary Carskadon，a sleep researcher at Brown University in Providence，RI7 .It affects their mood and their ability to think and learn.
But just like your alarm clock，your internal clock can be reset. In fact，it automatically resets itself every day. How? By using the light it gets through your eyes.
Scientists have known for a long time that the light of day and the dark of night play important roles in setting our internal clocks. For years，researchers thought that the signals that synchronize the body's clock8 were handled through the same pathways that we use to see.
But recent discoveries show that the human eye has two separate light-sensing systems. One system allows us to see. The second system tells our body whether it's day or night.
词汇：
circadian/s3:'keidi?n/ adj. 昼夜节奏的，生理节奏的
adolescent/?d?u'les?nt/ n.青少年;adj.青少年的
puberty/ 'pju:b?ti/ n.发育;青春期
sync/si?k/ n. (口语)同步;和谐，协调
synchronize/'si?kr?naiz / V.(使)同时发生;(使)同步
注释：
1.make light of ：轻视，不在乎。例如： We should not make light of their achievements.我们不应当低估他们的成就。
2. your internal clock ：指的是第一句中的a clock located inside our brains ，也即是第二段第一句中的the biological clock (生物钟)。
3. stay up：不睡觉，熬夜
4. This shift：这种调整。指上文所描述的由于生理时间的变化青少年上床时间越来越晚的现象。
5. get your body's clock out of sync with the cycle of light and dark ：打乱了你的生物钟与昼夜时间循环之间的平衡
6. gray cloud ：提不起精神的状态
7. Brown University in Providence， RI：位于美国罗得岛州普罗维登斯的布朗大学。RI是Rhode Island(罗得岛)的首字母缩写;Providence 是罗得岛州的首府。布朗大学是美国一流大学，创建于1764 年，是世界闻名的美国“常春藤联盟”(还包括哈佛大学、耶鲁大学、普林斯顿大学、布朗大学、哥伦比亚大学、宾夕法尼亚大学、达特茅斯大学和康奈尔大学)中的一员。
8. the signals that synchronize the body's clock：平衡生物钟的光信号
练习：
1 .The clock located inside our brains is similar to our bedside alarm clock because
A it controls when we wake，when we eat and when we sleep.
B it has a cycle of 24 hours.
C it is a cycle also called circadian rhythm.
D it can alarm any time during 24 hours.
2. What is implied in the second paragraph?
A Young children's biological clock has the same rhythm with that of the teenagers.
B People after puberty begin to go to bed earlier due to the change of the biological clock.
C Children before puberty tend to fall asleep earlier at night than adolescents.
D Teenagers go to bed later than they used to due to the light from the computer screen.
3. In the third paragraph the author wants to tell the reader that
A it is natural for teenagers to stay up late and get up late.
B staying up late has a bad effect on teenagers' ability to think and learn.
C during puberty most teenagers experience a kind of gray cloud.
D it is hard for teenagers to get out of bed in the morning.
4. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the fourth and fifth paragraphs?
A Our biological clock resets itself automatically.
B light gets through our eyes and resets our biological clock.
C Our internal clock as well as the alarm clock can be reset automatically.
D Our internal clock，like the alarm clock，can be reset.
5. According to the last two paragraphs， what did the previous researchers think about the human eye's light-sensing system?
A The human eye had two light-sensing systems.
B The human eye had one light-sensing system.
C The human eye could sense the light of day more quickly than the dark of night.
D The human eye could reset our internal clocks in accordance with the alarm clocks.
答案与题解：
1.B 第一段第二句提供了答案。句中的your internal clock 即指a clock located inside our Brains。
2. C 第二段主要内容是告诉读者，过了青春期(puberty)，由于生物钟节奏的变化，青少年(adolescents and teenagers)比以前要晚睡几小时。所以C是该段所隐含的内容。
3. B 第三段的最后一句直接给出了答案。
4. C 根据第四和第五段的内容，闹钟和生物钟都可以重新设定时间，但生物钟能通过眼睛接受的日光来自动调节生理节奏。所以A、B和D都是这两段中所述内容，C是正确选择，因为闹钟不能自动重新设定时间。
5.B 问题使用的是过去时，问的是研究者在最新发现(recent discoveries)之前对眼睛感光系统的认识，即，the signals that synchronize the body's clock were handled through the same pathways that we use to see (眼睛所接受到的平衡生物钟的光信号同样作用于人类的视觉系统)，也就是说，研究者之前认为人类的眼睛只有一个感光系统。但最新发现却是，人的眼睛有两个感光系统。
编辑推荐：
2013年职称英语考试《综合类A级》真题及答案汇总（4月2日更新）
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