IELTS Listening Part 4: A Lecture on Sleep and Memory

Part Four. You will hear a lecture about sleep and memory.

第四部分。你將聽到一場關於睡眠與記憶的講座。

You have some time to look at questions thirty-one to forty.

你有一些時間閱讀第三十一至第四十題。

Now listen carefully and answer questions thirty-one to forty.

現在請仔細聽，並回答第三十一至第四十題。

Good morning. Today, I want to challenge a habit many of you share: the all-nighter.

早安。今天我想挑戰一個你們很多人都有的習慣：熬夜通宵。

Yes, I can see some guilty faces already!

對，我已經看到幾張心虛的臉了！

We tend to think of sleep as wasted time, a pause in our productivity.

我們常把睡眠當成浪費時間，是生產力的暫停。

In fact, it's one of the busiest periods for the brain.

事實上，這是大腦最忙碌的時段之一。

During deep sleep, a region called the hippocampus replays what we learned that day.

在深層睡眠時，一個叫海馬迴的區域會重播我們當天學到的東西。

Those memories are then gradually moved to the cortex for long-term storage.

這些記憶接著會逐漸轉移到大腦皮質，長期保存。

Think of it as moving files from a cluttered desktop into a well-organised archive.

可以想像成把檔案從雜亂的桌面搬進井然有序的資料庫。

The evidence is striking.

證據非常驚人。

In one study, students who missed a night's sleep were around forty percent worse at forming new memories!

一項研究發現，熬了一整夜的學生形成新記憶的能力差了約百分之四十！

In other words, cramming all night can undermine the very learning you're trying to do.

換句話說，通宵死背反而會毀掉你努力想達成的學習效果。

Later in the night, during dreaming or REM sleep, something rather different happens.

到了後半夜，在做夢的快速動眼期，會發生相當不同的事。

The brain links new information with old, which seems to boost creativity.

大腦會把新資訊和舊資訊串連起來，這似乎能提升創造力。

Legend has it that Mendeleev saw the periodic table in a dream, though historians are sceptical!

傳說門得列夫是在夢裡看到元素週期表的，不過歷史學家抱持懷疑！

So, what does this mean in practice?

那麼，這在實際上代表什麼？

First, review difficult material shortly before you go to bed.

第一，在睡前不久複習困難的內容。

Second, a short nap of around twenty minutes can sharpen your focus.

第二，二十分鐘左右的小睡能讓你更專注。

And above all, protect seven to nine hours a night, especially before exams.

最重要的是，確保每晚七到九小時的睡眠，尤其是考前。

Next week, we'll look at what happens to memory as we get older.

下週，我們來看看隨著年紀增長，記憶會有什麼變化。

Until then, get some sleep. Thank you!

在那之前，記得好好睡覺。謝謝大家！

That is the end of Part Four.

第四部分到此結束。