Fred外刊笔记

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不知道大家有没有遇到这个问题：单词背也背了（有时背得还很辛苦），但就是用不出来（口语&写作中）

其实解决方式也不难：

1. 结合原文和大量例句看别人是怎么用的（这个过程叫“输入”）

p.s. 例句不要只看1个，否则自己还是学不到在【不同的语境中】该词的用法，这也是我会一个单词配好几个例句的原因

2. 自己造句（这个过程叫“输出”），通过造句，你就“逼”自己不得不思考“我可以把这个词用在哪呢？”“用的时候要注意什么？”等等问题，你在【主动学习】，那以后在口语或写作中，你当然就可以自然而然地用出来了，不需要在“用词”上烦恼了，只需要focus在你口语/写作的“内容”上，这才是核心，所以，记得完成页面底部的“趁热打铁”部分，要学就学透了，要学就追求高质量！

原 文 泛 读

Why Do Some People Need Less Sleep? It's in Their DNA

U.C.S.F researchers find a gene for flourishing with less shut-eye

We all wish we could get by on less sleep, but one father and son actually can—without suffering any health consequences and while actually performing on memory tests as well as, or better than, most people.

To understand this rare ability, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, first identified a genetic mutation—in both individuals—that they thought might deserve the credit. Then the scientists intentionally made the same small genetic spelling mistake in mice. The mice also needed less sleep, remembered better and suffered no other ill effects, according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine.

Although a medication with the same benefits will not be available anytime soon—and might never materialize—the idea is incredibly appealing: take a pill that replicates whatever the father and son’s body does and sleep less, with no negative repercussions.

“I find the concept of a gene product that might potentially provide protection against comorbid disorders of restricted sleep tantalizing,” says Patrick Fuller, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who was not involved with the work. “If true, this would indeed have ‘potential therapeutic implications,’ as well as provide another point of entry for exploring and answering the question ‘Why do we sleep?’ which remains [one] of the greatest mysteries in neuroscience.”

But as Jamie Zeitzer, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, notes, “There often are trade-offs.” Zeitzer says he worries that even if a drug like this could be produced without causing significant side effects, it would still have social consequences. Some individuals might be forced or pressured to take medication so they could work more hours. Even if people will not need as much sleep, they will still need downtime, he insists.

The study’s senior author, Ying-Hui Fu, a professor of neurology at U.C.S.F., says it is far too early for such fantasies. Instead she is interested in better understanding the mechanisms of healthy sleep to help prevent diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s.

“These people sleep more efficiently,” she says of the father-son pair. “Whatever function sleep is doing for us, it takes us eight [hours to feel rested], but it takes them six or four hours. If we can figure out why they are more efficient, we can use that knowledge to help everybody to be more efficient.”

The subjects, who live on the East Coast, reached out to Fu’s team after hearing about a previous publication of its work. She would not reveal any more information about them to protect their privacy, except that they are fully rested after four to six hours of sleep instead of the more typical seven to nine. Also, Fu says, the duo and others with similar mutations are more optimistic, more active and better at multitasking than the average person. “They like to keep busy. They don’t sit around wasting time,” she says.

If most people sleep less than their body needs, that deficit that will affect memory and performance, in addition to measures of health, Fu notes. Many think they can get away with five hours of sleep on weeknights and compensate for the loss on weekends—but few actually can. “Your perception is skewed, so you don’t really know your performance is not as good,” she says. “That’s why people think [adequate sleep] doesn’t matter. But actually, it does. If you test them, it’s obvious.”

Joking about her own academic experience, Fu adds, “All those nights that I stayed up to study, it would have been better to go to sleep.” That’s not true of the father and son, who genuinely needed just 5.5 and 4.3 hours of sleep each night, respectively, the new paper showed.

Stanford’s Zeitzer praises the study’s design, saying, “Starting with humans and going to rodents and then back is great.” Mice, he adds, are not ideal role models because they regulate sleep differently than humans. And many individuals believe they are short sleepers but, when put in a lab, turn out to slumber the typical seven to nine hours.

People are naturally short sleepers if they rest a relatively brief time even when given the chance to sleep in on weekends or vacations. “If you get extra sleep when you have the opportunity, it’s generally a good sign that you need more sleep,” Zeitzer says.

Jerome Siegel, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Sleep Research, says he is comfortable with Fu’s group’s main finding: that the neuropeptide S receptor 1 (NPSR1) gene is important in regulating sleep. But it is likely only one small piece in a very complex process, he adds. And he is not convinced by the connection between sleep and memory the group claims. Sleep may have many functions, but there is no indication, he says, that needing less of it somehow boosts memory or cognition. “We consolidate memory while we sleep and while we’re awake, even when we’re anesthetized,” he says. “It’s not something that just occurs during sleep.”

The mechanism of action of the newly discovered mutation is not entirely clear. Fu and her team used a molecular probe to explore how the protein made by the father and son’s mutant NPSR1 gene differs from that made by a normal gene. The mutation, they found, makes the receptor more sensitive and active. The specifics of that process, Fu says, still have to be worked out.

Fu and her collaborators previously discovered two other genes involved in sleep. They are continuing to explore the mechanisms behind these genes, she says, adding that the speed of their work would be faster if they had more financial support.

Fu says once she and her colleagues can find about 10 pieces of the genetic puzzle, “each piece can serve as a point to build upon. And hopefully, someday we can know the whole picture.”

词 汇 卡 片

1. eccentric [ɪkˈsen.trɪk] adj.

strange or unusual, sometimes in a humorous way

怪异的，古怪的；异乎寻常的

- eccentric behaviour

怪异的行为

- eccentric clothes

奇装异服

2. wary [ˈweə.ri] adj.

not completely trusting or certain about something or someone

谨慎的；小心翼翼的

- I'm a little wary of/about giving people my address when I don't know them very well.

如果不是太熟的话，我不会轻易告诉别人我的地址。

- The police will need to keep a wary eye on this area of town.

警方必须密切注意这一带城区。

- Be wary of strangers who offer you a ride.

提防那些主动让你搭车的陌生人。

3. albeit [ɔːlˈbiː.ɪt] conj.

although

虽然，尽管

- The evening was very pleasant, albeit a little quiet.

那个夜晚过得非常愉快，尽管有点儿冷清。

- He tried, albeit without success.

虽然没有成功，可他努力了。

4. contempt [kənˈtempt] UN

a strong feeling of disliking and having no respect for someone or something

蔑视；鄙视；轻视；轻蔑

- At school she had complete contempt for all her teachers.

在学校读书时她对所有老师都不屑一顾。

- You should treat those remarks with the contempt that they deserve.

你理应对那些话不屑一顾。

- She's beneath contempt (= I have no respect for her)!

她为人所不齿！

注：

补充该词的一个短语：hold sb/sth in contempt

to feel contempt for someone or something

对…不屑一顾

- How could she have loved a man who so clearly held her in contempt?

她怎么会爱上了一个明显看不起她的男人呢？

5. adulation [ˌæd.jʊˈleɪ.ʃən] UN

very great admiration or praise for someone, especially when it is more than is deserved

（尤指名不副实的）称赞，吹捧，恭维，奉承

- As a born performer, she loves the excitement and she loves the adulation.

她是个天生的表演家，喜欢刺激，爱听吹捧。

- The true hero doesn't seek adulation.

真正的英雄不求恭维。

6. swot [swɒt] vi.

to study hard, usually by reading about or learning something, especially before taking an exam

（尤指在考试前）刻苦学习，用功复习

- students swotting for exams

用功备考的学生

注：

该词的现在分词和过去式都要双写t

7. get away with

to succeed in avoiding punishment for something

做（错事）而未被惩罚，做（坏事）而未被发觉

- If I thought I could get away with it, I wouldn't pay my taxes at all.

如果我认为逃税可以不受处罚的话，我就干脆一分钱都不交了。

- The child ought to be punished. You shouldn't let him get away with telling lies.

应该处罚这孩子，不能让他撒谎而不受惩罚。

注：

不要将该短语和get away from（远离......）混淆

8. grip [ɡrɪp] CN

control over something or someone

控制，支配

- Rebels have tightened their grip on the city.

叛军已经加强了他们对这座城市的控制。

He will do anything to keep his grip on power.

为了保住权力他什么都会干。

注：

1. 该词以单数形式出现

2. 文中的political grip即“政治控制力”

9. sympathise vi.

to support and agree with someone or something

支持

- I sympathise with the general aims of the organization, but on this particular issue I disagree.

我支持这个机构的总体目标，但在这个具体议题上，恐怕我不能苟同。

注：

通过例句和原文中的句子可以看出，该词后面若加宾语，则要在该词后加介词with

10. prosecute [ˈprɒs.ɪ.kjuːt] vt./vi. C2

to officially accuse someone of committing a crime in a law court, or (of a lawyer) to try to prove that a person accused of committing a crime is guilty of that crime

起诉；检举

- Shoplifters will be prosecuted.

商店扒手将遭到起诉。

- He was prosecuted for fraud.

他因诈骗而被起诉。

- Any manufacturer who does not conform to the standards could be prosecuted under the Consumers Protection Act, 1987.

对任何不遵守标准的生产商都可依据1987年通过的《消费者保护法》予以起诉。

- The victim has said that she will not prosecute.

受害者说她不会起诉。

11. inculcate [ˈɪŋ.kʌl.keɪt] vt.

to fix beliefs or ideas in someone's mind, especially by repeating them often

反复灌输；谆谆教诲

- Our coach has worked hard to inculcate a team spirit in/into the players.

我们的教练努力给运动员灌输团队精神。

12. play safe

to be careful and not take risks

谨慎行事，不冒险

- To play safe, I'd allow an extra ten minutes, just in case.

谨慎起见，我会再多留出10分钟，以防万一。

- I don't think it will rain today, but I'd better play safe and take a raincoat.

我看今天不会下雨，不过为稳妥起见，我还是带件雨衣好。

语法/长难句分析

❶ Wang Dong, a lawyer in the southern city of Kunming who specialises in education, has yet to hear of any parent being prosecuted for home schooling.

自己先试着分析：

1. 整句话的主干是什么？

2. 加粗的成分是什么？其内部结构是什么？

整句话的主干：

Wang Dong has yet to hear of any parent being prosecuted for home schooling.

加粗成分分析：

1. a lawyer... 是Wang Dong的同位语，用来介绍Wang Dong这个人

2. who specialises in education是定语从句修饰a lawyer，who指代a lawyer，在从句中作主语

3. being prosecuted for home schooling其实是hear of sb doing sth这个短语里的doing sth，该短语的意思是“听说某人做某事”

❷ 有一个细节要提醒各位：

第六段首句的Most of the parents are urban and well educated.要注意，很多人会写成most of parents...，这个是错的，必须加上the

趁 热 打 铁

任选上面12个词中的1个造句，下方评论告诉我哦，会一一回复哒～

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