Some Sleep Drugs Do More Than Make You Sleep

　　The United States Food and Drug Administration1 has ordered companies to place strong new warnings on thirteen drugs that treat sleep disorders. It also ordered the makers of the sleeping pills to provide information for patients explaining how to safely use the drugs.

　　Last Wednesday, the FDA announced that some of these drugs can have unexpected and dangerous effects. These include the risk of life-threatening allergic reactions. They also include rare incidents of strange behavior. These include people cooking food, eating and even driving while asleep. The patients later had no memory of doing these activities while asleep.

　　Last year, a member of the United States Congress2 said he had a sleep-driving incident. Patrick Kennedy, a representative from Rhode Island3，crashed his car into a security barrier near the building where lawmakers meet. The accident happened in the middle of the night and no one was hurt. Mr. Kennedy said he had earlier taken a sleep medicine. He said he was also being treated with a stomach sickness drug that could cause sleepiness.

　　The Food and Drug Administration did not say in its announcement how many cases of sleep-driving it had documented. However, the New York Times4 reported last year about people who said they had strange sleep events after taking the drug Ambien. Some reported sleep-driving and sleep-walking. Others said they found evidence after waking in the morning that they had cooked food or eaten in their sleep. But they had no memory of carrying out the activities.

　　A. Food and Drug Administration official says that these serious side effects of sleep disorder drugs appear to be rare. But, he also says there are probably more cases than are reported.5 He says the agency believes the risk of such behaviors could be reduced if people take the drugs as directed and do not drink alcohol while taking the drugs. The Food and Drug Administration has advised drug companies to carry out studies to investigate the problem.

　　练习：

　　1.There are altogether 13 drugs treating sleep disorders in the United States.

　　A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

　　2.FDA considers it the producers’ duty to warn the users of sleeping pills about the serious side effects and to tell them how to use safely.

　　A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

　　3.An allergic reaction to sleeping pills may sometimes cause a user to die.

　　A. Right 　　B. Wrong　　 C. Not mentioned

　　4.A stomach sickness drug alone caused Patrick Kennedy to crash his car into a security barrier.

　　A. Right 　　B. Wrong　　 C. Not mentioned

　　5.FDA based its order upon a wide investigation of sleep-driving.

　　A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

　　6.Sleep-walking is also one of the serious side effects induced by taking sleeping pills.

　　A. Right 　　B. Wrong 　　C. Not mentioned

　　7.The appearance of one or another side effect after taking some sleeping pill is unavoidable.

　　A. Right 　　B. Wrong　　 C. Not mentioned

　　答案与题解：

　　1.C　第一段第一句只说FDA命令制药公司在13种安眠药上贴上语气坚定的新的警告语,但是没有提到这13种是不是包括了美国所有的安眠药。

　　2.A　第一段中FDA命令制药商贴新警告语并指导病人如何安全用药,自然就认为这是制药商不可推卸的责任。

　　3.A　第二段第一、二句说到,其中有些药物具有意外的危险作用,包括威胁生命的过敏反应。既然威胁到生命,那有时就可能引起死亡。

　　4.B　请注意第三段最后一句的was also being treated,尤其是also,说明他服用安眠药的同时也服用治呕吐的药,故不是单纯后一种药引起他的车祸。

　　5.C　第四段第一句说，FDA没有说它调查了多少昏昏迷迷开车的事例,因此我们并不知道它是否做过大量调查。

　　6.A　第四段尤其是其中的第三句说到,服用安眠药以后有人昏昏迷迷开车,有人梦游,因此梦游属于副作用之一。

　　7.B　最后一段说到,只要服安眠药时按说明书服用而且不喝酒,危险行为就会减少,因此副作用并不是不可避免。

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（责任编辑：何莹莹）