Exit Test - Upper-intermediate

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  For centuries, sleep was a complete mystery. In the last few years, however, scientists have been able to use new technology to investigate electrical and muscular states of the body during sleep. These investigations have shed new light on the six recurring stages of sleep, which were first described in the early 20th century. It is fair to say that we now have a much better understanding of what actually happens to us when we are sleeping, though it is far from a totally clear picture. The first stage of sleeping is called, somewhat confusingly, ‘waking’. By this, sleep scientists mean a short period of wakefulness, just a matter of minutes, when the body is relaxed and prepares for sleep. Tense muscles relax, eye movement slows down, and the body slips gently towards drowsiness. Once feeling drowsy, the sleeper has moved into a period known to the scientists as ‘stage 1 sleep’, a period which lasts no more than ten minutes. A way of describing this stage is to say that the sleeper is on the very edge of sleep, with their eyes closed and their bodies still. However, it wouldn’t be difficult to rouse a person at this stage. And once awake, a person may feel as if he or she has not slept. By stage 2, the sleeper has entered a period of light sleep, perhaps best explained as a time when the muscles of the body hover between being completely relaxed and being responsive. Then, as the heart rate quickly slows down, and the body temperature drops, the body prepares to enter a much deeper phase of sleep. The third and fourth stage of sleep are when the body is completely asleep, its muscles paralysed, its breathing regular. What happens next is quite unexpected. From the deep sleep of stage 4, the body works backwards through stage 3 sleep to the light sleep of stage 2, but then, instead of waking, it enters the bizarre and magical stage of REM sleep. The body has been asleep for about an hour and a half before reaching this stage. REM stands for ‘rapid eye movement’. The heart rate speeds up, breathing becomes erratic, and the brain becomes very active. The sleeper is dreaming, something that only happens during the REM stage. Fortunately, however, while the brain is in overdrive, the rest of the body’s muscles are paralysed. The initial REM stage is over after ten minutes or so. Then, the body starts its sleep cycle all over again, with the next REM stage taking a bit longer. In a typical night’s sleep, there will be five different sleep cycles with the final REM stage lasting as long as an hour. Naturally, there are many factors which influence our sleep cycle, not least age. Small children get more deep sleep than anybody else, and, as a general rule, the older we get the shorter the time we spend in deep sleep. But, while stage 3 and stage 4 of the sleep cycle shorten with age, the first REM stage lengthens. So, there you have it. Next time you go to bed and lay your head on the pillow, just imagine what adventures your sleeping self is about to set off on.

Describe a song or film that you like and explain why you like it (75-100 words)

My mum ________ wear glasses as a kid, but now she doesn't anymore.

I don't like having dinner at 10.00 - I ________ a meal so late (not have)

Jasmine has been a nurse all her life so she ________ nights (work)

I didn't recognise you! You ________ long hair, didn't you? (have)

I'll never forget ________ the Grand Canyon for the first time.

The boy denied________ (take) my mobile phone.

If I ________(be) you, I wouldn’t drive that old car.

She ________ (not meet) Jim if I hadn’t introduced them.

I’m really sorry – I forgot ________(post) the letter you gave me.

I wish I ________(not put) on these trousers today. They’re really uncomfortable.

Bella convinced me ________ (not go) to the cinema with Harry

I remember ________ (play) on the beach when I was about three years old.

Joe wishes he ________ (speak) better French. His company are going to send him to Paris.

If the exam had been last week, I’m sure I ________ (not pass) it

Liz apologized to me for ________ (be) so moody all week.

We’re ________the roof repaired on our house at the moment. We’d like to sell it next year.

________the terrible weather, we still had a great time camping.

You shouldn’t ________said that to her. You know how sensitive she is.

That’s my colleague ________wife works for Bill Gates.

I’m afraid you can’t come with us. There’s ________room in the car.

You should try to learn all the verbs by h________

It’s a very c________ song – I can’t get it out of my head.

I can’t remember her name, but it’s on the t________of my tongue.

The l________singer of the band writes all their songs.

I was so tired, I slept like a l________

If you suffer from i________, it means you find it very difficult to sleep.

Usually when people meet for the first time they s________hands

Eating late in the evening keeps me a________ at night.

They should build more houses. There are too many h________ people living on the streets.

This town is quite p________. People have a very small-town mentality

For hundreds of years, people had no idea what happened when we slept.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

Scientists first found out about the six stages of sleep in recent years.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

During the ‘waking’ period a person is wide awake.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

‘Waking’ is different from ‘stage 1 sleep’ because at the ‘waking’ stage the sleeper is relaxed.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

Features of ‘stage 2 sleep’ include relaxed muscles and a fast heart rate.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

A typical sleep cycle happens in this order: waking ->stage 1 -> stage 2 -> stage 3 -> stage 4 -> stage 3 ->stage 2 ->REM stage.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

The body behaves differently when it is dreaming than it does when sleeping deeply during stage 4 of the cycle.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

A relaxed brain is a feature of REM sleep.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

In total, during a typical night’s sleep a sleeper is unlikely to spend more than an hour dreaming.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False

Small children often suffer from a lack of deep sleep.

• A.

  True

• B.

  False