text one
Sleep Lets Brain File Memories1
To sleep. Perchance to file?2 Findings published online this week by the Proceedings3 of the National Academy of Sciences further support the theory that the brain organizes and stows memories formed during the day while the rest of the body is catching zzz’s4.
Gyorgy Buzsaki of Rutgers University5 and his colleagues analyzed the brain waves of sleeping rats and mice. Specifically, they examined the electrical activity emanating from6 the somatosensory neocortex7 (an area that processes sensory information) and the hippocampus8, which is a center for learning and memory. The scientists found that oscillations in brain waves from the two regions appear to be intertwined. So-called sleep spindles (bursts of activity from the neocortex) were followed tens of milliseconds9 later by beats in the hippocampus known as ripples. The team posits that this interplay between the two brain regions is a key step in memory consolidation. A second study, also published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, links age-associated memory decline10 to high glucose levels.
Previous research had shown that individuals with diabetes suffer from increased memory problems. In the new work, Antonio Convit of New York University School of Medicine and his collaborators studied 30 people whose average age was 69 to investigate whether sugar levels, which tend to increase with age, affect memory in healthy people as well. The scientists administered11 recall tests, brain scans and glucose tolerance tests, which measure how quickly sugar is absorbed from the blood by the body’s tissues. Subjects with the poorest memory recollection, the team discovered, also displayed the poorest glucose tolerance. In addition, their brain scans showed more hippocampus shrinkage than those of subjects better able to absorb blood sugar.
“Our study suggests that this impairment12 may contribute to the memory deficits13 that occur as people age.” Convit says. “And it raises the intriguing possibility that improving glucose tolerance could reverse some age-associated problems in cognition.14” Exercise and weight control can help keep glucose levels in check15, so there may be one more reason to go to the gym.
詞彙:
perchance /pE(:)5tFB:ns/adv.(古)偶然;或許 somatosensory /7sEumEtE5sensEri/adj.(耳、目、口等spindle /5spindl/n.紡錘體 以外的 )體覺 online adj.& adv.線上的(地) shrinkage /5FrinkidV/n.收縮，減少 ripple /5ripl/n.脈動，波動 neocortex /7niEu5kC:teks/n.新(大腦)皮層 stow v.儲藏，堆裝 impairment /im5pZEmEnt/n.損傷，損害 diabetes /7daiE5bi:ti:z/n.糖尿病 oscillation /7Csi5leiFEn/n.振盪 emanate /5emEneit/v.發源(from) intrigue /in5tri:^/v.引起……興趣 (或好奇心 ) recollection /7rekE5lekFEn/n.回憶;[常作～s] 回憶起intertwine /7intE(:)5twain/v.(使)纏結，(使)纏繞 的事物 cognition /kC^5niFEn/n.認知;認識的結果
註釋：
1. file memories：歸檔並儲存記憶。 file：意為 “to put or keep (papers，etc. ) in useful order for storage or reference”(把…歸檔)。
2. To sleep. Perchance to file?：從落士比亞筆下哈姆雷物的獨白中的名句“ To sleep: perchance to dream. ”改編而來。
3. the Proceedings (科學文獻、會議文獻 )彙編，常用複數形式。
4. zzz：(擬聲詞)打鼾聲
5. Rutgers University：美國新澤西州立大學 (the State University of New Jersey)。
6. emanating from：發源於。如：Delicious smells were emanating from the kitchen.香味從廚房傳出來的。 The rumor emanated from their section. 謠言是從他們室裡傳出來的。
7. neocortex：新(大腦)皮質，尤指大的高等哺乳動物大腦中新生長的部分，也叫做 neopallium。neo-：前縀，意思是“新的”。
8. the hippocampus：大腦側面腦室壁上的隆起物，也稱“海馬狀突起”，在泛記過程中起主要作用。
9. tens of milliseconds：數十毫秒
10. age-associated memory decline：與年齡相關的記憶衰退
11. administer：實施
12. this impairment：指上句中 hippocampus shrinkage.
13. memory deficits：記憶衰退
14. … the intriguing possibility that improving glucose tolerance could reverse some age-associated problems in cognition：令人興奮的可能性，即不斷改善葡萄糖容許量可以完全改變對某些與年齡相關的認知問題。
15. keep glucose levels in check：限制葡萄糖水平。 in check：在控制中，被阻止。
練習：
1. Which of the following statements is nearest in meaning to the sentence “To sleep. Perchance to file?”? A Does brain arrange memories in useful order during sleep? B Does brain have memories when one is sleeping? C Does brain remember files after one falls asleep? D Does brain work on files in sleep?
2. What is the result of the experiment with rats and mice carried out at Rutgers University? A The electrical activity is emanating from the somatosensory neocortex. B Oscillations in brain waves are from hippocampus. C Somatosensory neocortex and hippocampus work together in memory consolidation. D Somatosensory neocortex plays it primary role in memory consolidation.
3. What is the relation of memory to glucose tolerance, as is indicated by a research mentioned in paragraph 4? A People with poor memory have high glucose tolerance. B People with good memory have low glucose tolerance. C Memory level has nothing to do with glucose tolerance. D The poorer the memory, the poorer glucose tolerance.
4. In what way is memory related to hippocampus shrinkage? A There is no relation between memory and hippocampus shrinkage. B The more hippocampus shrinks, the poorer one’s memory. C The more hippocampus shrinks, the better one’s memory. D The less hippocampus shrinks, the poorer one's memory.
5. According to the last paragraph, what is the ultimate reason for going to the gym? A To prevent hippocampus shrinkage. B To control weight. C To exercise. D To control glucose levels.
答案與解釋 :
1. A文章第一段告訴我們，科學新發現進一步支援了一種理論，即，當人體進入睡眠狀態時，大腦對在白天形成的記憶進行組織和儲存。 To sleep. Perchance to file?見註釋 1和註釋 2。
2. C 第二段告訴我們，科學家分析了老鼠的腦電波，尤其是從 somatosensory neocortex和 hippocampus兩個區域發出的腦電波。該段是後兩句指出，這兩個大腦區域的活動是互相作用的。第二段並沒有說 somatosensory neocortex或 hippocampus起主導作用。
3. D 該段倒數第二句提供了答案。
4. B 第四段昀後一句中 their brain scans，指上句中的 subjects with the poorest memory recollection的大腦掃描，所以選擇 B。
5. D 鍛鍊身體和體重控制能保持葡萄糖水平，閒此，去健身房就有了另外一個理由。
text two
Hurricane Katrina
A hurricane is n fiercely powerful , rotating form of tropical storm that can be 124 to 1,240 miles in diameter. The term hurricane is derived from Hurican, the name of 8 native American storm god1. Hurricanes are typical of2 a calm central region of low pressure between 12 to 60 miles in diameter, known as the eye. They occur in tropical regions. Over its lifetime3, one of these storms can release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs4.
The seed for hurricane formation5 is a cluster of thunderstorms over warm tropical waters. Hurricanes can only form and be fed6 when the sea-surface temperature exceeds 270C and the surrounding atmosphere is calm. These requirements are met between June and November in the northern hemisphere.
Under these conditions, large quantities of water evaporate and condense into clouds and rain — releasing heat in the process. It is this heat energy, combined with the rotation of the Earth, that drives a hurricane.
When the warm column of air7 from the sea surface first begins to rise, it causes an area of low pressure. This in turn creates wind as air is drawn into the area. This spinning wind drags up more moisture-laden air from the sea surface in a process that swells the storm8. Cold air falls back to the ocean surface through the eye9 and on the outside of the storm.
Initially, when wind speeds reach 23 miles per hour, these mild, wet and grey weather systems are known as depressions10. Hurricane Katrina formed in this way over the southeastern Bahamas on 23 August 2005. Katrina has had a devastating impact on the Gulf Coast of the US, leaving a disaster zone of 90,000 square miles in its wake11 — almost the size of the UK. Thousands have been killed or injured and more than half a million people have been displaced in a humanitarian crisis of a scale not seen in the US since the great depression.12 The cost of the damage may top13 $ 100 billion.
詞彙:
hurricane / 5hQrikEn /n.颶風 evaporate /i5vApEreit/v.(使)蒸發，(使)揮發 rotate / rEu5teit /v.旋轉，轉動 condense /kEn5dens/v.使冷卻凝結;使濃縮 cluster /5klQstE/n.一群,一束 moisture-laden adj.充滿水分的，充滿溼度的 thunderstorm n.雷暴 sustain /sEs5tein/v.保持，持續 hemisphere /5hemisfiE/n.(地球的)半球 humanitarian / hju(:)7mAni5tZEriEn/adj.人道主義的
註釋:
1. storm god:風暴之神。原為加勒比海 (Caribbean-Sea)地區加勒比人心目中的“罪惡之神” (the god of evil)。
2. are typical of:以……為特徵，有……特點。
3. over its lifetime:在(颶風)肆虐的整個過程中
4. release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs:釋放相當於 l萬顆核彈的能量
5. The seed for hurricane formation: 颶風形成的原因。 seed原義為“種子”，在這裡的意思是“原因”。
6. ... be fed: feed在這裡的'意思是 : to supply with something essential for growth, maintenance, or operation (為生長、維持或執行提供某些必要的物質條件 )，在此可理解為“引發”。
7. the warm column of air:柱狀暖氣流
8. a process that swells the storm:增大暴風雨威力的變化過程。 swell:在此作動詞用，意思是 to cause to increase in volume, size, number, degree, or intensity (增強體積、尺寸、數量、程度或強度 )。
9. the eye:指第一段中提到的“颶風中心”。
10. depressions:低氣壓區
11. in its wakes在……之後。例如 : The car left clouds of dust in its wake.車後揚起了一陣塵土。
12. … more than half a million people have been displaced in a humanitarian crisis of a scale not seen in the US since the great depression:五十多萬人被迫離開家園，如此大規模的人道主義危機是美國自大蕭條以來還未經歷過的。 be displaced:被迫離開某地。 the great depression:大蕭條，指從 1929年開始、持續至大約 1939年在北美洲、歐洲和世界其他工業化地區發生的經濟衰退。
13. top:在此作動詞用，意思是 to exceed or surpass(多於，越過 )。
