中国学生睡眠不足

江苏 温从秀

一份新的报告指出，在过去的十年里，中国儿童和青少年睡眠不足的情况有所恶化，超过80%的学生在上学期间睡眠不足。

题材健康体裁报道文章词数 难度 建议用时334 ★★★ 6 分钟

A new report says that lack of sleep among children and teenagers in China has worsened in the past decade, with more than 80 percent getting insufficient sleep on school days.

Chinese youngsters snoozed （小睡） an average of 7.8 hours a night on school days last year, 20 minutes less than in 2009, according to the report from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Psychology. Researchers surveyed more than 15,800 students from Henan, Hebei and Guangdong provinces from April to July, asking them what time they went to bed and woke up on days when they went to school. Only 46.4 percent slept for at least 8 hours, compared with 47.4 percent in 2009, the report said.

According to an action plan laying out measures to be taken from 2019 to 2030 to promote the health of citizens, primary school students are recommended to get a minimum of 10 hours' sleep a night. Nine hours is recommended for junior high school students and 8 hours for senior high school students. By those standards, more than 95 percent of students in primary schools, nearly 91 percent of those in junior high schools and 84 percent of students in senior high schools do not get enough sleep on school days, which can give rise to mental and physical health problems.

Hou Jinqin, a researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences who co-authored the report, said local authorities should make measures suggested by the Ministry of Education come into effect. These measures include lessening academic burdens, postponing start times at school and encouraging children to enroll at institutions closer to home so they can have more sleep.

In terms of the COVID-19 epidemic's impact on sleep, she said research overseas had shown that school closures forced by the epidemic had given young students studying at home an extra two hours of sleep a night. However, in China some studies had revealed no marked differences in sleeping patterns of students before and after schools reopened, she added.

Reading Check

Choose the best answer for each question.

1. How many students in China have got adequate sleep in the last decade?

A. About 60 percent.

B. Over 80 percent.

C. About 70 percent.

D. Less than 20 percent.

2. How does the author make the problem of insufficient sleep clear in Para. 2?

A. By analysis.

B. By using figures.

C. By giving examples.

D. By self-investigation.

3. What can be inferred according to Para. 3?

A. The action plan is issued for students only.

B. Students should sleep at least 9 hours per night.

C. The quality of students' sleep seems to be worrying.

D. Insufficient sleep has caused many problems among students.

4. What does Para. 4 mainly deal with?

A. The cause of insufficient sleep.

B. An introduction to a national institute.

C. The background of the new report.

D. Solutions to students' insufficient sleep.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Discover useful structures in the text

伴随状语的多样化表达

1. “with +宾语+非谓语动词”结构作伴随状语

A new report says that lack of sleep among children and teenagers in China has worsened in the past decade, with more than 80 percent getting insufficient sleep on school days. 一份新的报告指出，在过去的十年里，中国儿童和青少年睡眠不足的情况有所恶化，超过80%的人在上学期间睡眠不足。

2. 使用表示主动关系的现在分词作伴随状语

Researchers surveyed more than 15,800 students from Henan, Hebei and Guangdong provinces from April to July, asking them what time they went to bed and woke up on days when they went to school. 从4月至7月，研究人员调查了来自河南、河北和广东的15，800多名学生的情况，询问他们在上学期间什么时候睡觉，什么时候起床。

Ⅱ. Text-centered chunks

in the past decade 在过去的十年中

an average of 平均

compared with... 与……相比

lay out 规划；布置；设计

give rise to 引起；导致

come into effect 生效；实施

lessen academic burdens 减轻学业负担

in terms of 就……而言