Trying to imagine fat, fuzzy white lambs, jumping one by one over a fence, is a well-known solution to sleeplessness. I don’t have insomnia (失眠) often, but I’ve often wondered just who came up with such a silly suggestion and why decided on sheep.

History supposedly provides the answer: It was said to be a way for medieval shepherds (中世纪的牧羊人), completely lacking in human company for weeks at a time, to fall asleep each night — they counted their sheep until drowsy. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know.

So does counting sheep really help you fall asleep? Search online, and you’ll soon find stories about a 2022 study on combating insomnia that put the concept to the test. However, that wasn’t the point of the research, said senior author Allison Harvey. “Our study more than 20 years ago wasn’t about counting sheep; it was just about using imagery to fight insomnia,” said Harvey, who conducted the research while a professor of psychology at Oxford University.

Her research split 50 people into three groups, Harvey said. The first had no instructions on how to fall asleep, while members of the second were told to distract from thoughts, worries and concerns in any way they wanted. The third group was instructed to perform an interesting and engaging imagery task, such as creating or remembering a meadow, a waterfall, a holiday or a summer afternoon in the sun. Those who used imagery reported falling asleep much faster than either of the two other groups, and they rated their thoughts, worries and concerns to be less uncomfortable and upsetting than people in the distraction or no instruction group.

As it happened, two of the study participants in the distraction group did count sheep as a way to fall asleep “and somehow people developed a strong interest in that, I guess because they thought it was fun,” Harvey said. While she didn’t actually study counting sheep as a way of overcoming insomnia (and isn’t aware of any other studies to do so), Harvey does have an opinion based on her years as a sleep specialist. 

1.How does the author feel about counting sheep?

A He/ She is amazed at it.

B He/ She is convinced of it.

C He/ She is curious about it.

D He/ She is enthusiastic about it.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第一段中的“but I’ve often wondered just who came up with such a silly suggestion and why decided on sheep”可知，作者经常想知道是谁想出了这么愚蠢的建议，并且为什么决定用羊（来数），由此可知，作者对于“数绵羊入睡”很好奇。故选C。

2.What does the underlined word “drowsy” probably mean?

A Sleepy.

B Impatient.

C Energetic.

D Brave.

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。前文说，这是中世纪牧羊人每天晚上入睡的一种方式，他们好几周完全没有人陪伴，因此他们通过数绵羊来让自己昏昏欲睡。故选A。

3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about the study in 2002?

A It lasted for more than two decades.

B It aimed to learn about counting sheep.

C It required the participants of the second group to count sheep.

D It showed using imagery was effective to overcome insomnia.

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第四段的最后一句“Those who used imagery reported falling asleep much faster than either of the two other groups, and they rated their thoughts, worries and concerns to be less uncomfortable and upsetting than people in the distraction or no instruction group.”可知，研究结果表明，使用想象的那一组比另两组更快入睡，并且他们认为他们心里的那些想法、焦虑和担忧让人不舒服或焦虑的程度更低，即研究表明，使用想象疗法对克服失眠是有效的。故选D。

4.What will be talked about in the following paragraph?

A How counting sheep works.

B Some tips to help fall asleep.

C Why Harvey conducted the research.

D Another study to be carried out soon.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。根据最后一段最后一句中的“Harvey does have an opinion based on her years as a sleep specialist”根据她多年的睡眠专家经验，哈维确实有自己关于克服失眠的看法，即她接下来可能会给出一些帮助入眠的建议。故选B。