Napping to a Healthier Heart?

　　1. Researchers say they have developed a simple test that can tell if a person with heart disease is likely to suffer a heart attack2. The test measures levels of a protein in the blood. The researchers say people with high levels of this protein are at high risk of heart attack, heart failure3 or stroke.

　　2. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo of the University of California in San Francisco led the team. For about four years, they studied almost one thousand patients with heart disease. The researchers tested the heart disease patients for a protein called NT-proBNP4.Patients with the highest levels were nearly eight times more likely than those with the lowest levels to have a heart attack,heart failure or stroke.

　　3.The researchers say the presence of high levels of the protein in the blood shows that the heart muscle is under pressure in some way.The study involved mostly men,so the researchers could not say for sure5 that the results are also true for women.They say the patients with the highest levels of NT-proBNP were older and had other problems like diabetes or high blood pressure.

　　4.Other researchers say more studies are needed to confirm if knowing the protein levels of a heart patient should affect that person’s treatment.They also would like to know if more aggressive treatment6 could reduce the patient’s chance of a heart attack or stroke.The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association7.

　　5.Could a little sleep during the middle of the day reduce the risk of a heart attack?An unrelated study earlier this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine8 suggests that the answer may be yes.In countries like the United States,afternoon naps are mostly for children.But they are common for adults in Mediterranean countries.And these countries generally have lower rates of heart disease.So scientists in the United States and Greece wondered if naps could play a part.Twenty-three thousand healthy adults took part in the study by Harvard University and the University of Athens9.Those who took thirty-minute naps three times a week had a thirty-seven percent lower risk of death from heart problems than people who did not take naps.

　　6.The researchers say napping may improve heart health by reducing stress.They say the research suggests that naps are especially good for working men.But they say not enough female subjects died during the study to judge the benefits for women.

　　練習(xí)：

　　1.Paragraph 2 ________

　　2.Paragraph 3 ________

　　3.Paragraph 5 ________

　　4.Paragraph 6 ________

　　A Effects of Napping in Females Still Uncertain

　　B Older Males Have Higher Levels of NT-proBNP

　　C Development of a Simple but Important Test

　　D Evidence of Positive Relationship Between Napping and Heart Disease

　　E How to Control the Levels of NT-proBNP

　　F Effects of NT-proBNP on Heart Disease

　　5.According to some researchers,by measuring the levels of NT-proBNP in the blood people may know ________.

　　6.If a person has a high level of NT-proBNP ________.

　　7.People who take regular afternoon naps ________.

　　8.So far there have not been definite data to confirm ________.

　　A where fewer people die from heart problem

　　B whether they have the risk of heart attack,heart failure or stroke

　　C would probably have lower rates of heart disease

　　D how to test a person's NT-proBNP level in the blood by himself

　　E his heart muscle would be under pressure in some way

　　F that napping is of great benefit to women too

　　答案與題解：

　　1.F　本段后面兩句說道，通過檢查心臟病人的NT-pmBNP水平，發(fā)現(xiàn)水平最高的病人與水平最低的病人之間患心臟病的可能性相差近八倍。

　　2.B　本段說到，他們所查的是男性，并發(fā)現(xiàn)老年男性且患有糖尿病和高血壓者NT-proBNP的水平最高。

　　3.D　本段說道，地中海國家的成年人普遍都午睡，而且患心臟病的比率較低。哈佛大學(xué)和雅典大學(xué)的研究證明，每周午睡三次、每次30分鐘的人比完全不午睡的人死于心臟病的比率少37%。

　　4.A　最后一段說，午睡對工作的男性尤其有益，調(diào)查時死亡的女性并不多，因此，午睡對女性的益處尚不能得出一個明確結(jié)論。

　　5.B　答案來源于第一段的第二、三句。

　　6.E　答案來源于第三段第一句。

　　7.C　答案來源于第五段第三、四句和該段最后一句。

　　8.F　答案來源于第三段第二句和文章的最后一句。