Sleep apnea is a serious disorder where a person’s breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. It affects millions, yet many are unaware they have it. In serious cases, breathing may stop every minute for over ten seconds at a time. People often wake up with no memory of these events but feel extremely tired during the day. This condition is becoming more common, especially among younger adults, partly due to rising obesity. If left untreated, it can shorten life expectancy and lead to health problems like diabetes and heart disease.
To raise awareness, I agreed to take a sleep study. The test kit included a small tube to monitor airflow, belts to measure breathing effort, and a finger clip to check heart rate and oxygen levels. A common misunderstanding is that only older, overweight men suffer from sleep apnea. While they are at higher risk, it can affect people of all ages, body types, and genders — even slim women like me.
The results were startling. The doctor showed me graphs from my sleep study: my airflow had dropped sharply many times, meaning I had completely stopped breathing. In just one hour, this happened ten times, each lasting about thirty seconds. She explained that my body would wake itself up briefly to breathe again, though I never remembered these moments. I was diagnosed with a mild form of obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when throat muscles relax too much and block the airway during sleep.
Treatment options are available. For moderate to severe cases, a CPAP machine — which pumps air through a mask — can help keep the airway open. Another treatment is a specially made mouthguard that gently holds the lower jaw forward to aid breathing at night. For mild symptoms, doctors may suggest lifestyle changes such as sleeping on one’s side, reducing evening alcohol, exercising regularly, or losing weight. If you often snore loudly, gasp at night, or feel unusually tired, it may be wise to discuss sleep apnea with a doctor. Understanding this condition can truly change — and even save — lives.
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1.1. According to the passage, breathing pauses in severe sleep apnea are ________.
A frequent and long
B rare and short
C irregular and mild
D sudden and severe
解析：选A。1.A 细节理解题。文章第一段第三句明确指出：“In serious cases, breathing may stop every minute for over ten seconds at a time.”（在严重的情况下，呼吸可能每分钟停止一次，每次持续超过十秒。）“every minute”表示频繁（frequent），“over ten seconds”表示时间长（long）。因此，正确答案A（frequent and long）是对原文信息的直接、准确转述。选项B（rare and short）与原文相反；选项C（irregular and mild）中的“mild（轻微）”与题干“severe（严重）”矛盾；选项D（sudden and severe）中的“sudden（突然）”在原文中并未强调，且“severe”重复了题干信息，并未描述暂停本身的特点。故选A。
2.2.What can be inferred from the passage about sleep apnea?
A It is often unnoticed.
B It affects few people.
C It is easy to test.
D It rarely strikes women.
解析：选A。2.A推理判断题。第一段提到“many are unaware they have it”（许多人不知道自己患有此病），且患者醒来后“no memory of these events”（对这些事件没有记忆）；第二段作者以自身经历说明，即使作为不超重的女性也可能患病而不自知；第三段提到身体会短暂醒来呼吸但本人毫无记忆。这些线索共同支持“睡眠呼吸暂停常被忽视”的推断。选项B（影响很少人）与原文“affects millions”矛盾；选项C（容易检测）未提及且与作者需要专业睡眠监测的经历不符；选项D（很少影响女性）与作者本人是女性患者及“can affect people of all … genders”的描述直接矛盾。故选A。
3.3.The underlined word “startling” (Paragraph 3) is closest in meaning to “________”.
A puzzling
B common
C expected
D shocking
解析：选D。3. D词义猜测题。该词出现在第三段开头“The results were startling.”。紧接着，作者描述了令她“startling”的具体内容：图表显示她的气流多次急剧下降（即呼吸完全停止），在一小时内发生了十次，每次约三十秒。这种频率和持续时间对于被诊断为“轻度”疾病的作者来说，显然是出乎意料且令人震惊的。因此，“startling”在此语境下的含义应为“令人震惊的”，故D选项“shocking”最接近。选项A（puzzling令人困惑的）、B（common常见的）、C（expected预料之中的）均与下文描述的惊人事实不符。故选D。
4.4.What is the main purpose of the passage?
A To describe a personal health story.
B To warn of a hidden health risk.
C To explain how a CPAP machine works.
D To call for more sleep study clinics.
解析：选B。4.B主旨大意题。文章不仅描述了作者的个人经历（A选项的部分内容），更重要的是，它从科学角度介绍了睡眠呼吸暂停的定义、普遍性、严重危害、诊断方法、易感人群的误区以及治疗方案。全文以作者的个人故事为引子和例证，核心目的是向读者普及这种疾病的隐匿性和危害性，从而提高公众意识，促使有相关症状的人去就医。因此，B选项“警告一种隐藏的健康风险”最全面地概括了文章的写作意图。A选项（描述个人健康故事）过于片面，个人故事是为核心目的服务的工具。C选项（解释CPAP机器工作原理）只是文中提到的一个治疗细节，并非主旨。D选项（呼吁建立更多睡眠研究诊所）在文中并未提及。故选B。
