A scientist claims that needing less sleep as you age is a myth and could do you harm

The idea that people need less sleep as they age is a myth and could be contributing to a decline in memory among the elderly, according to a researcher.

Professor Sean Drummond, and expert in sleep and memory, said that an older 1 ________. But because they found it harder to sleep so soundly they assumed this meant they did not need so much. This could damage their health and brain ability. Maintaining the same amount of sleep you had when you were 35 could 2 _____________ and improve general health, he said.

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Prof Drummond, a psychologist at the University of California, said: “The ability to sleep 3 ___________ but it is a myth that older people need less sleep. Older adults benefit from getting as much sleep as they get when they were in their 30s. This varies from person to person but whatever you slept when you were 35 should be the same from 75.”

“The problem is people find it harder to sleep as they get older and they think that that is a sign that they need less sleep but that is not the case. “The quality of sleep may go down 4 _________. This will have relevance to age related cognitive decline.”

Prof Drummond carried out a test on 33 older adults, average age 68, and proved that insufficient sleep 5 _____________. In the study the less sleep the volunteers had the less likely they were to memorise a list of unrelated nouns. He said: “People think that they can survive on less sleep 6 __________. Seven to eight hours seems to be the optimal for longevity. “Less than six hours has the effect of reducing their ability to carry out tasks and remember things.

A. goes down as you age

B. adult needed just as much sleep as a younger one

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

There are grounds for deep suspicion, in the idea of a family group which does not occasionally dissolve into a mass of screaming squabblers. I know of families where no word of dissent is ever permitted before – or from – the children, and these to be families where no word of tenderness either is ever permitted before – or from – the children. Not to put too fine a point on it, if two or three or four or five or six people live together in one house, sooner or later something is going to come up about which they do not see eye to eye and are prepared to say so. The children are displeased with their parents, perhaps, or displeased with each other or some outside element; it is even possible that the parents are displeased with their children. It would be unsafe to imagine that the average family could keep these emotions unspoken without some damage to the psyche, particularly the parents’.

In our family we are six – two parents and four children – and we are given to what I might call unceasing differences of opinion, more or less violent. Anyone, of course, may start the fray, but once begun, certain immutable ground rules apply and must not be broken. Approximately, the ground rules may be stated as: the battle must be joined in a spirit of high moral indignation and a correspondingly high voice. The more vivid the detail, the more forceful the complaint. "He hit me and scratched me and pulled my hair and bit me” is clearly a finer many-angle trench than merely: “He hit me”.

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A15 The story gives us information on how...

1. to settle a family quarrel

2. to conduct a family quarrel properly

3. to avoid a family quarrel

4. to take advantage of a family quarrel

A16 The author claims that families who have quarrels turn out to be...

1. more affectionate to each other

2. more cruel

3. more tolerant

4. more united

A17 What is the reason for a family quarrel? It starts when family members...

1. can’t see the eyes of each other

2. see the matters differently

3. don’t see much of each other

4. don’t see tenderness from each other

A18 Why is it impossible for an average family to live without quarrelling?

1. It may affect the family’s mental health, the children’s especially.

2. It may affect the family’s mental health, the parents’ especially.

3. It may make the parents feel displeased with the children.

4. It may make the children feel displeased with the parents.

A19 What is one of the most important rules to remember when starting a family quarrel?

1. To determine who is going to start it.

2. To arrange a forceful battle.

3. To show very emotionally indignation.

4. To keep in mind the scheme of the quarrel.

A20 What should be done if the father of the family interferes in the quarrel?

1. You should silence him immediately.

2. You should pretend you are listening.

3. You should pay no attention to him.

4. You should listen to him in silence.

A21 What should the end of the family quarrel be like?

1. You should sincerely give the family their earned apology.

2. You should apologize reluctantly and in a cold voice.

3. You should teach your family good manners

4. You shouldn’t repeat the apology for the second time.