十一国庆期间是备考的好时机，小编为大家精选了12篇阅读文章，大家在游玩之余可以学习一下，以便帮助大家突破ACT阅读难关。
突破ACT阅读,,ACT阅读
以下是小编节选自《ACT学习攻略阅读》中的一段文章，小编就其中的疑难词及复杂的句子加以分析，一来帮助大家扩充阅读领域，二来帮助大家积累更多的生词及语法，希望能够帮助大家尽早突破ACT阅读这一难关。
《The Secrets of Sleep》节选
FFI (fatal familial insomnia): an awful disease, made even worse by the fact that we know so little about how it works. After years of study, researchers have figured out that in a patient with FFI, malformed proteins called prions attack the sufferer’s thalamus, a structure deep in the brain,and that a damaged thalamus interferes with sleep. But they don’t know why this happens, or how to stop it, or ease its brutal symptoms. Before FFI was investigated, most researchers didn’t even know the thalamus had anything to do with sleep. FFI is exceedingly rare, known in only 40 families worldwide. But in one respect, it’s a lot like the less serious kinds of insomnia plaguing millions of people today: It’s pretty much a mystery.
If we don’t know why we can’t sleep, it’s in part because we don’t really know why we need to sleep in the first place. We know we miss it if we don't have it. And we know that no matter how much we try to resist it, sleep conquers us in the end. We know that seven to nine hours after giving in to sleep，most of us are ready to get up again, and 15 to 17 hours after that we are tired once more. We have known for 50 years that we divide our slumber between periods of deep-wave sleep and what is called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, when the brain is as active as when we're awake, but our voluntary muscles are paralyzed. We know that all mammals and birds sleep. A dolphin sleeps with half its brain awake. so it can remain aware of its underwater environment. When mallard ducks sleep in a line, the two outermost birds are able to keep half of their brains alert and one eye open to guard against predators. Fish,reptiles, and insects all experience some kind of repose too.
难词解析：
Awful adj. 可怕的，庄严的
Malformed adj. 畸形的，难看的
Proteins n. 蛋白质;朊adj. 蛋白质的
Thalamus n. [解剖] 丘脑;花托
exceedingly adv. 非常;极其;极度地;极端
insomnia n. 失眠症，失眠
Paralyze vt. 使麻痹;使瘫痪
Voluntary n. 志愿者;自愿行动adj. 自愿的;志愿的;自发的;故意的
Mallard n. 野鸭;野鸭肉
Predators n. [动] 捕食者;[动] 食肉动物;掠夺者
Conquer vt. 战胜，征服;攻克，攻取vi. 胜利;得胜
Slumber n. 睡眠;麻木状态;静止状态vi. 睡眠;蛰伏;麻木
Resist n. [助剂] 抗蚀剂;防染剂vt. 抵抗;忍耐，忍住
Alert n. 警戒，警惕;警报adj. 警惕的，警觉的;留心的vt. 使意识到
难句解析：
1.If we don’t know why we can’t sleep, it’s in part because we don’t really know why we need to sleep in the first place. 如果我们不知道为什么睡不着,部分是因为我们并不知道为什么我们首先需要睡觉。
这个句子虽然简单但是涉及到的从句比较多，从整体上看，是if引导的条件状语从句。细分到主句和从句，分别包含宾语从句以及原因状语从句。
这段文章中有很多从句的结合使用，大家可以逐个阅读，学会层层句子，对大家理解文章大意很有帮助。
以上就是小编对这段文章的分析，希望大家用心体会，遇到不会的单词注意积累归纳，更多精彩内容小编稍后为您呈现。最后，前程百利祝大家在留学考试中取得优异的成绩。
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