题型：阅读理解 题类：常考题 难易度：普通
北京市西城区20182019学年高二下学期英语期末考试试卷（含小段音频）
A new study suggests some language learning can take place during sleep. Researchers from Switzerland's University of Bern say they discovered people were able to learn new language words during deep levels of sleep.
Much of the earlier research found that memories made when awake were strengthened during sleep. This supported the idea that information learned while awake is replayed and deeply embedded in the sleeping brain.
The researchers theorized that, if replay during sleep improves the storage of learned information while awake, the processing and storage of new information should also be possible during sleep.
They carried out experiments on a group of young Germanspeaking men and women, which centered on periods of deep sleep called "upstates". They identified these slowwave peaks as the best moments for sleeplearning.
The researchers observed individuals in a controlled environment during brief periods of sleep. Brain activity was recorded as pairs of words were played for the study subjects. One word in the pair was a real German word. The other was a madeup foreign word. For later identification purposes, the German words chosen were things clearly larger or smaller than a shoebox.
Each word pair was played four times, with the order of the words changed each time. The word pairs were played at a rhythm that is similar to actual brain activity during deep sleep. The goal was to create a lasting memory link between the false word and the German word that individuals could identify while awake.
When the subjects woke, they were presented with the false language wordsboth by sight and sound. They were then asked to guess whether the false word played during sleep represented an object smaller or larger than a shoebox. Results of the study found that a majority of subjects gave more correct answers about the sleeplearned words than would be expected if they had only guessed at random.
The researchers said they measured increased signals affecting a part of the brain known as the hippocampus. This brain structure is very important for building relational memory during nonsleep periods. The researchers also said memory was best for word pairs presented during slowwave peaks during sleep.
The study suggests that memory formation in sleep appears to be caused by the same brain structures that support vocabulary learning while awake. The researchers say more studies are needed to support their findings. However, the experiments do provide new evidence that memories can be formed and vocabulary learning can take place in both conscious and unconscious states.
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