Original article

“Study suggests how the brain, with sleep, learns meaningful maps of spaces” — David Orenstein, MIT News / The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, January 10, 2025.

Original article: https://news.mit.edu/2025/study-suggests-how-brain-with-sleep-learns-meaningful-maps-spaces-0110

Access checked: October 24, 2026 (UTC+8). Free to read in full without payment or login. This is a selected older article, not news published today. Read the full English text at the source; the exercises below are original.

Reading plan

Suggested level: B2–C1 (editorial estimate, not an official IELTS rating). Time: 15–18 minutes to read, plus 8 minutes for the questions.

先读正文，再回到实验步骤和结果段落定位。人类日常经验可以帮助理解比喻，但不能替代实验依据。

Introduction

今天练习把研究对象、实验条件与结果分开记录，并检查题目是否超出了研究范围。遇到神经科学术语，先根据上下文判断作用，再查释义。

Vocabulary

  • hippocampus — 海马体，脑内与记忆有关的区域。
  • neuron — 神经元。
  • cohesive — 连贯的；结合紧密的。
  • ensemble — 协同活动的群体。
  • latent — 潜在的；尚未显现的。
  • refinement — 改进；精细化。
  • schematic — 示意性的；简化结构的。
  • reinforcement — 强化；通过反馈增强行为或学习。

Reading comprehension

Answer questions 1–3 briefly in English. For questions 4–5, choose TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN. These are original practice questions, not official IELTS questions.

1. Which animals were studied?

Reference answer
Mice.

2. How long did daily maze exploration usually last?

Reference answer
About 30 minutes.

3. Did mice kept awake between the two same-day sessions show improved mental maps?

Reference answer
No. Their maps showed no significant improvement.

4. The mental maps were perfectly precise copies of the mazes.

Reference answer
FALSE. They were simplified representations, more like diagrams.

5. The study established the exact sleep duration humans need to learn a city.

Reference answer
NOT GIVEN. No such human sleep requirement was measured.

Reading strategy

为第 3 题建立“条件—结果”对照；第 4 题检查绝对词；第 5 题先核对研究对象，避免把生活比喻当成人体实验结论。

Expression practice

以下例句均为自拟，并非原文引文。

over time — 随着时间推移。

Example: My confidence in speaking English has grown over time.

rather than — 而不是。

Example: Compare the evidence rather than guessing from the headline.

Review

用两句英文复盘：一句说明实验比较了什么，一句说明不能从中直接推出什么。尝试用 however 连接。