Chinstrap penguins sleep in short bursts for babies帽带企鹅，“带娃”不易

涂丽平

對父母来说，睡眠不足是经常发生的事情，尤其是孩子刚出生的时候，父母为了照顾孩子，几乎每隔一段时间就要醒一次。同样有这个烦恼的还有帽带企鹅。它们每次只睡4秒，这样的微睡眠，一天要进行10，000次。

主题语境：动物睡眠 篇幅：350词 建议用时：7分钟

1 Chinstrap penguins in the Antarctica haveadapted to harsh conditions by sleeping in a very unusualway. They sleep in short bursts—about fourseconds at a time. By doing this thousands of timesdaily， they get about 11 hours of sleep a day.

2 Chinstrap penguins get their name from the thinblack line under their chins， which looks like a strap holding on a black hat or helmet. Likeother penguins， they spend much of their time in the water， catching fish to eat. But whenthe time comes to raise their young， they return to land.

3 Raising young penguins is a challenge. The eggs are often laid in nests made of smallrocks to keep the eggs from freezing. One parent takes care of the nest for long periods oftime， while the other parent hunts for food. The parent must constantly keep a sharp lookout.Birds called brown skuas target the eggs and young penguins of careless parents. Otherpenguins in these crowded areas may take stones from the nest， putting the young indanger.

4 But it＇s hard to stay alert and protect a nest 24 hours a day. Getting a good nightssleep could be deadly for the young. So chinstrap penguins have found an unusual way of solving the problem. In a new study， scientists report that chinstrap penguins take thousandsof tiny naps each day. Each nap—or“ microsleep”—lasts only about 4 seconds.

5 The scientists became curious about whether the penguins were sleeping after onescientist， Won Young Lee， noticed that the chinstrap parents were constantly blinking theireyes. So they attached tiny electrical devices to the heads of 14 chinstrap penguins. The devicesallowed the scientists to measure the brain activity of the penguins. At the same time，the scientists recorded the birds on video. Eleven days of studying the penguins revealedthat the tired parents were actually sleeping—very often， and for very short time periods.

6 It＇s not clear if the microsleeps allow the penguins to actually feel rested. But thepenguins are able to keep the pattern up for weeks， which allows them to protect theirnests， eggs and babies.

Reading Check

Gist

1. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about？

A. Chinstrap penguins＇ sleeping habits.

B. Chinstrap penguins＇ living conditions.

C. Chinstrap penguins＇ appearance.

D. Chinstrap penguins＇ difficulty in raising young penguins.

Inference

2. Why do chinstrap penguins sleep in short bursts？

A. To enjoy longer sleeping hours.

B. To stay warm in the cold climate.

C. To stay alert and protect their nests.

D. To adapt to their special lifestyle.

Detail

3. What is a threat to the eggs and the young chinstrap penguins？

A. The freezing temperatures.

B. Birds called brown skuas.

C. The lack of food.

D. The short bursts of sleep.

Detail

4. How did the scientists measure the chinstrap penguins brain activity？

A. By observing their sleep patterns.

B. By tracking their daily routines.

C. By conducting interviews with the penguins.

D. By attaching tiny electrical devices to the heads of the penguins.

Language Study

Ⅰ. 日積月累

nest n. 巢

microsleep n. 微睡眠

harsh conditions 严酷的条件

skuas 贼鸥（褐色掠食性海鸟）

sleep in short bursts 短暂地睡眠

hunt for food 寻找食物

stay alert 保持警觉

electrical devices 电子设备

Ⅱ. 语法填空

Chinstrap penguins have 1.________unusual sleep method， which is crucial fortheir survival and childcare. These birds， 2.________（name） for their distinctive facialmarking， sleep in brief four?second bursts， totaling about eleven 3.________（hour） a day.This allows them 4.________（protect） their young from threats， such as brown skuas andstone?stealing penguins. Chinstrap penguins create nests by 5.________（use） small rocksto keep their eggs from the freezing temperatures during the breeding season. Parentingduties change between guarding the nest 6.________fishing. To maintain constantalertness， the penguins have adapted to microsleeps， 7.________（enable） them to reactquickly to predators while still getting the rest they need. Researchers confirmed this sleepingpattern through a study 8.________they attached brain activity monitoring devices to thepenguins and observed their behavior. Over eleven days， the data showed that theseparents 9.________（be） indeed sleeping in these short intervals. Whether these microsleepsare as restorative as longer sleep periods remains unknown， but they are enough forthe penguins to 10.________（success） raise their young during the breeding season.