Sleepwalking

    Alice: Hello, I'm Alice…Stephen: And I'm Stephen.

    Alice: And this is 6 Minute English! This week we’re talking about sleepwalking.

    Have you ever walked in your sleep, Stephen?

    Stephen: I don’t think so, but I’ve been known to tell stories in my sleep.

    Alice: Oh, fascinating. This is a new development by scientists in the United Statesthat shows that sleepwalking is genetic² – it’s passed on from parent to child.

    They’ve been looking at the genes³ of four generations of a family who have alot of sleepwalkers. But before we find out more, I have a question for you,Stephen. What do the letters REM stand for? And it’s not just the name of anAmerican pop group….

    Stephen: REM – that’s something to do with sleep?

    Alice: It is – does it stand for:

    a) rapid eye movementb) random⁴ eye movement orc) relative eye movementStephen: I’m going to guess a) rapid eye movement.

    Alice: As usual, I won’t tell you the answer now – we’ll find out at the end of theprogramme! So let’s hear more about what it’s like to be a sleepwalker. Here’sMargaret Brand, a woman who often spends several hours a night sleepwalking:

    Insert 1: Margaret BrandSometimes I was just back in bed and didn’t know that I’d sleepwalked. But I’d wakeup in the morning and find that things had been moved or eaten or forgotten – and ithad to be me because I was the only person in the flat. Other times I would wake up,usually in the kitchen. I took medication – on one occasion, three 20ml doses ofmorphine.

    Alice: Margaret Brand said that she moves or eats things when she’s sleepwalking,and she once took medication – drugs - while she was asleep.

    Stephen: She says on one occasion, she took doses of morphine.

    Alice: That’s dangerous. There are also other instances when sleepwalking can put theperson or other people in danger. Dr Dev Banerjee is a sleep expert at theHeartlands Hospital in Birmingham, in the UK. He says that there have beenoccasions when sleepwalkers have injured themselves, or even got into theircars to drive:

    Insert 2: Dr Dev BanerjeeI think (for) the majority of those that sleepwalk (it) is fairly harmless and quite novelactually, but there are a proportion who do injure themselves, fall down the stairs. I’vegot someone from Bristol who put his hand through a glass window and severed⁵ hisradial artery⁶. Not only just injuries, but risks of injuries such as getting out of the house,onto the street. There have been cases, I think in America, where people got into theircar and drove down a freeway.

    Alice: Dr Dev Banerjee, who says that usually sleepwalking is harmless – even novel– unique and quite amusing.

    Stephen: What else do scientists know about sleepwalking, Alice?

    Alice: They know it’s pretty common. One in five children sleepwalk and one in tenadults. And there’s a new development by scientists in the United States thatshows it runs in families – it’s genetic.

    Stephen: It is passed on from parent to child in a person’s genes. Genes control whichfeatures identify a person.

    Alice: Scientists examined the DNA⁷ – the genetic code of a family of four generationswho suffer from sleepwalking, and found that they carried a defective⁸ gene¹,chromosome⁹ 20.

    Stephen: A defective gene – that’s a gene which has a fault. DNA is the complicatedcode that makes a human unique and is carried from generation to generation.

    Alice: Once the defective gene has been identified it means it could be easier to findtreatments and tests for sleepwalkers. People that carry the defective gene havea 50-50 chance of passing it onto their children.

    Stephen: 50–50 - that means they have an equal chance of either inheriting the gene ornot inheriting it! 50 per cent vs per cent.

    Alice: Here’s the BBC’s Health Reporter, Michelle Roberts:

    Insert 2: Michelle RobertsDNA analysis of the 22 relatives, from the great-grandparents downwards¹⁰, located thechromosome where the fault lies. Sleepwalkers with these genes on chromosome 20, hada 50-50 chance of passing them onto their children. More work is needed to see if thediscovery will explain all cases of sleepwalking, but in the meantime, the researchers sayit should help them to develop tests and treatments.

    Alice: The BBC’s Health Reporter, Michelle Roberts, who says more work is neededto see if the discovery of the sleepwalking gene will help explain all cases ofsleepwalking. Well, that’s all we have time for today, Stephen – but before wego, what did you think about REM?

    Stephen: I guessed that it stands for ‘rapid eye movement’.

    Alice: And you’re right. It’s the stage of sleep where your eyes move around a lot –and it’s about 20-25% of your total sleep apparently¹¹.

    Stephen: Well, don’t say you don’t learn anything new on 6 Minute English!

    Alice: Exactly, Stephen. And before we go, because you did so well answering thequestion, would you mind reading some of the words and phrases we’ve heardtoday?

    Stephen: Yes of course:

    sleepwalkgeneticgenesdoses of medicationharmless6 Minute English ? bbclearningenglish.com 2011Page 5 of 6it runs in familiesgenerationsdefective50-50Alice: Thanks so much for that, Stephen. We hope you’ll join us next time on "6Minute English".

    Both: Bye.

1 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

4 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

5 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

7 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

8 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

9 chromosome   

n.染色体

参考例句：

• Chromosome material with exhibits of such behaviour is called heterochromatin.表现这种现象的染色体物质叫做异染色质。
• A segment of the chromosome may become lost,resulting in a deletion.染色体的一个片段可能会丢失，结果产生染色体的缺失。

10 downwards   

adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地）

参考例句：

• He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
• As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。

11 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。