上夜班损害健康
A study suggests working at night can be harmful to one’s health. Especially, it increases the risk of some cancers, diabetes, mental illnesses and some heart troubles.
Researchers from the Sleep Research Centre at the UK’s University of Surrey discovered that many genes(基因) in the body need to follow a regular(规律的) 24-hour cycle, during which the body sleeps at night. If this cycle is broken up, up to 1,500 genes could get damaged, and this finally makes people fall ill. Professor Derk-Jan Dijk said, “The study means a lot because we now need to discover why these rhythms(节律) exist and think about the results of that.”
The human body has around 24,000 genes. Many of these turn off if the body does not follow a regular sleeping pattern. This can cause parts of the immune system(免疫系统) to become less helpful. One of the researchers, Dr Simon Archer, said, “Over 97 percent of rhythmic genes become out-of-step when you sleep at the wrong time. It can really explain why we feel so bad during jet lag(时差) or if we have to work irregular shifts(轮班).”
Dr Dijk said that although we all know the bad results from the research, it would be difficult for people to change their ways of work and life. He explained it was difficult for society to function(运转) without people working at night, but he thought people needed to understand the dangers.
1.How many kinds of diseases is night work most likely to cause?
A Two.
B Three.
C Four.
D Five.
解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第一段第二句“it increases the risk of some cancers, diabetes, mental illnesses and some heart troubles”可知上夜班最有可能引起癌症、糖尿病、精神疾病以及心脏病这大四类疾病。故选 C。
2.What will actually lead to people’s illnesses?
A Sleeping body.
B Damaged genes.
C The 24-hour cycle.
D The 1,500 genes.
解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第二段的“up to 1,500 genes could get damaged, and this finally makes people fall ill”可知基因受损导致了人们生病。故选 B。
3.What does Professor Derk-Jan Dijk think of the study?
A It’s of no use.
B It’s interesting.
C It’s meaningless.
D It’s very important.
解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据第二段最后一句的“The study means a lot...”可知，他认为这项研究很重要。故选 D。
4.What does the underlined word “these” refer to?
A Genes.
B Bodies.
C Diseases.
D Shifts.
解析：选A。A 词意指代题。根据前一句的“The human body has around 24,000 genes.”可知，these 指代的是基因(genes)。故选 A。
5.Why can’t people change their lifestyles?
A The society needs people to work at night.
B They like the lifestyles of the working shifts.
C They don’t know the effect of working at night.
D It’s hard to know the danger of the working shifts.
解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据最后一段的“He explained it was difficult for society to function without people working at night”可知，如果没有人晚上工作的话，社会很难正常运转。故选 A。