Question

On May 23, 1989, Stefania Follini came out from a cave at Carlsbad, New Mexico. She hadn’t seen the sun for eighteen and a half weeks. Stefania was in a research program, and the scientists in the program were studying body rhythms. In this experiment Stefania had spent 130days in a cave, 30 feet in depth.

During her time in the cave, Stefania had been completely alone except for two white mice. Her living place had been very comfortable, but there had been nothing to tell her the time. She’d had no clocks or watches, no television or radio. There had been no natural light and the temperature had always been kept at 21℃.

The results were very interesting. Stefania had been in the cave for over four months, but she thought she had been there for only two. Her body clock had changed. She hadn’t kept to a 24-hour day, she had stayed awake for 20～25 hours and then had slept for 10 hours. She had eaten fewer meals and had lost 171bs in weight as a result! She had also become rather depressed.

How had she spent her time in the cave? As part of the experiment she’d done some physical and mental tests. She’d recorded her daily activities and the results of the tests on a computer. This computer had been specially programmed for the project. Whenever she was free, she’d played cards, read books and listened to music. She’d also learned French from tapes.

The experiment showed that our body clocks are affected by light and temperature. For example， the pattern of day and night makes us wake up and go to sleep. However, people are affected in different ways. Some people wake up naturally at 5:00 a.m., but others don’t start to wake up till 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. This affects the whole daily rhythm. As a result the early risers are at their best in the late morning. The late risers, on the other hand, are tired during the day and only come to life in the afternoon or evening!

1.Stefania stayed in the cave for a long time because ________.

A. she was asked to do research on mice

B. she wanted to experience loneliness

C. she was the subject of a study

D. she needed to record her life

2.What is a cause for the change of Stefania’s body clock?

A. Eating fewer meals.    B. Having more hours of sheep.

C. Lacking physical exercise.    D. Getting no natural light.

3.This passage mainly tells about ________.

A. an experiment and its result    B. a woman living in the cave

C. a depressed woman    D. a woman and two mice

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.A

【解析】本文讲述一项实验的结果表明人的生物钟是受光线和温度影响的。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段最后两句Stefania was in a research program, and the scientists in the program were studying body rhythms. In this experiment Stefania had spent 130days in a cave, 30 feet in depth.可知，Stefania参加了一个实验项目，她在30英尺深的洞穴里生活了130天；第三段介绍了实验的结果。由此可以看出Stefania是这项研究的实验对象。故选C项。

2.细节理解题。根据最后一段首句The experiment showed that our body clocks are affected by light and temperature.可知，人体的生物钟受光和温度的影响；第二段末句There had been no natural light and the temperature had always been kept at 21℃.说明，在洞穴里没有自然光，温度保持在21℃。由此可推断答案为D项，Stefania身体生物钟的改变是由于接受不到自然光。

3.推理判断题。从全文内容看，本文讲述了1989年进行的一项研究实验和其结果， 故选A。

【名师点睛】

细节理解题有以下五类：（1）一一对应型。答案与题目在表达形式和意义上直接吻合，一一对应，一目了然。属于浅层次的阅读试题，分数比例较少。（2）语言转述型。这是一类间接事实细节题，答案与题目在意义上充分运用了词义之间的转述关系，即正确选项是原文有关词语和句子的另类表达。属于中档难度题，分数比例较大。（3）语意理解型。这是一类深层事实细节理解题，答案与题目之间存在着一定的逻辑联系，这种联系需要建立在事实的基础上通过上、下文来进行判断、分析、归纳和整合，才能得出正确答案。属于较高难度的事实细节题。（4）是非辨别型。这是一类综合事实细节题，出题形式常常是“三正一误”(三项正确，只有一项不符合原文内容)或“三误一正”（三项错误，只有一项符合原文内容)。（5）事实排序型。这是一类运用多项事实进行排序的事实细节题，要求根据动作发生的先后顺序、时间顺序或者句子之间的逻辑关系，找出时间发生，发展的正确顺序。

如此题的第1小题为语意理解型。这是一类深层事实细节理解题，答案与题目之间存在着一定的逻辑联系，这种联系需要建立在事实的基础上通过上、下文来进行判断、分析、归纳和整合，才能得出正确答案。属于较高难度的事实细节题。此题答案要根据第一段后两句话(Stefania参加了一个实验项目，她在30英尺深的洞穴里生活了130天)和第三段（介绍了实验的结果）看出，Stefania是这项研究的实验对象。

第二小题也为语意理解型。此题的答案需要根据最后一段的首句（人体的生物钟受光和温度的影响）以及第二段末句（洞穴里没有自然光，温度保持在21℃。）才能得出。