Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours sleep alternating with some16-17 hours wakefulness and that, broadly speaking, the sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified.
The question is no mere academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the- clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m to 4 p.m the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently.
One answer would seem to be longer periods on each shift, a month, or even three months. Recent research by Bonjer of the Netherlands, however, has shown that people on such systems will revert to their normal habits of sleep and wakefulness during the weekend and that this is quite enough to destroy any adaptation to night work
built up during the week.
The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carded out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on permanent night work.
This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the strains of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People engaged in normal day-time work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels, broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at intervals of two hours throughout the period of wakefulness it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.
61. The study of sleep cycle can be of practical use to places where __________.
A. strict work shifts are required to cater for the need of automatic machines
B. working at night is normal for most employees
C. employees work according to different requirements of machines
D. employees have to adapt to irregular work patterns and organizations
62. According to Bonier, after the training of a different sleep pattern during the weekdays, people __________.
A. resume their original sleep habits for night shifts before the training
B. tend to come back to their routine sleep patterns at weekends
C. suffer a lot when they come back home to sleep at weekends
D. enjoy the benefits of adjusting to various sleep patterns quickly
63. Which of the following is Brown's finding?
A. People should choose a sleep pattern and work according to the pattern.
B. Regular changes between day shifts and the night ones do good to workers.
C. Permanent night workers suffer no disturbed sleep or other disorders.
D. Workers act abnormally when they work on night shift every day.
64. What can be done in arranging day and night shifts in a factory?
A. Make a survey on employees' preference on different shifts.
B. Give a physical test and find those who are always energetic at nights.
C. Stick to the pattern for three months once the shifts are settled down.
D. Look for those who can adjust fast to the change of wakefulness and sleep.
65. According to the passage, body temperature__________.
A. plays a vital role in selecting people for alternative day and night shifts
B. changes every two hours during the day and every three hours during the night
C. has been used for industries in selecting people for alternative shifts
D. changes after a person has finished the training for alternative shifts
