英语高考时文阅读材料(八)

英语高考时文阅读材料（八）

编者：如今的英语高考、模拟考的阅读材料（完形填空、阅读理解、任务型阅读）大都选自中国、欧美等主流媒体的最新时鲜文章，与最新人文科技、政治文化接轨。作为一名考生，在接触阅读世界最新潮流的同时也应该积累素材，并培养相关英语文章的阅读能力。

下面摘取了最新的来自中国日报网（CHINA DAILY）的两篇文章，并做了必要的批注，且于文章末尾增添了几个小习题，可自行按照所附的参考答案检测阅读效果。

打算把卧室墙壁涂成灰色？睡眠专家表示：考虑一下蓝色吧

Is the colour of your bedroom walls keeping YOU awake?

中国日报网2020-02-05 13:35

Sidekix Media

It may be the decor colour of the moment but painting your bedroom wall the same shade as a bleak English sky could actually stop you from getting your eight hours' in.

Grey is one of the colours that you should blacklist（黑名单）when thinking of re-painting

your bedroom, according to a sleep expert at mattress company Sealy. However, blue could actually promote（促进）sleep because it sends calming messages to the brain.

And while you might sleep in the dark, creeping light from streetlamps, and clutter（凌乱）from an untidy room could all add up to a night of insomnia.

Grey isn't the only colour you should avoid if you're reaching for a paintbrush.

Reds, browns and purples can all hinder a peaceful night's sleep, says Sealy's sleep expert Natalie Armstrong.

She told Femail: 'While your room is dark when you go to sleep, many of us spend an hour or more in our bedrooms with the light on before going to sleep, which is when the colour of your bedroom can be so disruptive（颠覆性的）.

'Colours that are too bright can put your brain into a state of high alert, which can last long after you’ve turned the light off and can no longer see the colour.

'Grey, while gentle, is also quite suppressive（压抑的）. The absence of any strong colour has

a depressive effect on the brain because it is a colour typically used to represent sadness and dreariness（凄凉）. While the current trend for grey is trying to change this, the deep rooted associations of grey as a drab（单调的）colour can make it a bad choice for bedroom décor.'

dreariness[ˈdrɪərinəs]：n.凄凉；沉寂；可怕

Annie Spratt

The real colour champion when it comes to good sleep is blue, which is easily picked up by ganglion cells in the retinas of your eyes. The cells then send a message direct to your brain that you're in a calm environment.

Another well-documented enemy of sleep includes smartphones but it isn't just your mobile that can stand in the way of sweet dreams.

stand in the way of：妨碍

Reading a book on a Kindle or watching your favourite television show while tucked up in bed exposes you to exactly the same kind of 'blue' light.

Says Armstrong: 'These devices emit the same blue light as phones, which has been shown to suppress melatonin, the sleep hormone, and disturb the body’s natural circadian rhythms(昼夜节律), which regulates our sleep-wake cycle.'

circadian [sɜːˈkeɪdiən]：adj.生理节奏的

Black-out blinds and heavy curtains can be the difference between a peaceful night's kip and tossing and turning, with lights from streetlamps outside a trigger to keep your brain activated. 因为室外的路灯灯光可能会使大脑保持活跃，闭合的遮光帘和厚重的窗帘可以让人免于辗转反侧，给人带来宁静的夜间睡眠。

And while the phrase 'tidy house, tidy mind' might be ordinarily used in the daytime, it can be just as pertinent at night-time.

pertinent [ˈpɜːtɪnənt]：adj.相关的，中肯的