Question

Some colors people see late at night could cause signs of clinical(臨床的) depression(沮喪). That was the finding of a study that builds on earlier study findings. They show that individuals(個人) who live or work in low levels of light overnight(整夜) can develop clinical depression. Doctors use the word “clinical depression” to describe severe form of depression. Signs may include loss of interest or pleasure in most activities, low energy levels and thoughts of death or suicide.

In the new study, American investigators designed an experiment that exposed hamsters(倉鼠) to different colors. The researchers chose hamsters because they are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are active at night.

The animals were separated into four groups. One group of hamsters was kept in the dark during their night-time period. Another group was placed in front of a blue light, a third group slept in front of a white light, while a fourth was put in front of a red light.

After four weeks, the researchers noted how much sugary water the hamsters drank. They found that the most depressed animals drank the least amount of water.

Randy Nelson heads the Department of Neuroscience at Ohio State University. He says animals that slept in blue and white light appeared to be the most depressed. “What we saw is that these animals didn’t show any sleep uneasiness(不安) at all but they did mess up biological clock genes and they did show depressive sign while if they were in the dim(微弱) red light, they did not.”

Randy Nelson notes that photosensitive(感光) cells in the eyes have little to do with eyesight. He says these cells send signals to the area of the brain that controls what has been called the natural sleep-wake cycle.

He says there’s a lot of blue in white light. This explains why the blue light and white light hamsters appear to be more depressed than the hamsters seeing red light or darkness.

1.Researchers use hamsters in the experiment because __________.

A. they are similar to humans in dealing with colors

B. they are easy to observe and study

C. they are sensitive to colors like human beings

D. they are active at night and sleep during the day

2.What sign shows that the hamsters are being depressed?

A. They drink less sugary water.

B. They don’t sleep well.

C. Their eyesight becomes worse.

D. Their energy level becomes low.

3.__________ tends to cause hamsters to be depressed.

A. Dim light B. Red light

C. Blue light D. Darkness

4.What can help people who work late at night to avoid being depressed?

A. Not being exposed to dim red light when using computers.

B. Equipping their computer screens to put it more in the reddish light.

C. Living or working in low levels of light overnight.

D. Going to see doctors of clinical depression regularly for help.

Answer 1

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.B

【解析】

試題分析：文章主要介紹的是一項科學(xué)研究。人們在深夜看到的一些顏色能夠引起臨床沮喪的癥狀。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，整夜在較暗的環(huán)境中生活或工作的人可能會表現(xiàn)出臨床沮喪。相關(guān)癥狀包括對活動失去興趣和樂趣，精神不振和產(chǎn)生死亡或自殺念頭等。

1.The researchers chose hamsters because they are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and are active at night.”可知，研究人員選用倉鼠的原因是，它們白天睡覺，晚上變得活躍，故選D。

2.They found that the most depressed animals drank the least amount of water.”可知，最沮喪的倉鼠，它們喝的糖水也是最少的，說明倉鼠喝的糖水量能夠說明它們的沮喪程度，故選A。

3.He says animals that slept in blue and white light appeared to be the most depressed.”可知，處于藍(lán)光或白光下的倉鼠似乎最沮喪，說明藍(lán)光和白光容易使倉鼠感到沮喪，故選C。

4.while if they were in the dim(微弱) red light, they did not”和最后一段“the blue light and white light hamsters appear to be more depressed than the hamsters seeing red light or darkness”可知，藍(lán)色光和白色光比紅色光更能引起沮喪，因此，為了避免感到沮喪，應(yīng)該讓自己處于紅色光中，故選B。

考點：科學(xué)類短文閱讀