Why Jet Lag Happens
Written by Studio AM.
Your result
- Words per minute
- Score
- Pace
Words per minute mean something only with the score beside them. They describe this passage on this read. With fewer than 3 right, try the next slower pace.
Choose a pace and select Start. The passage is paced and timed, then the questions check what you understood. How pace mode works
Reading time 0:00
Fly across many time zones, and your body arrives before your inner clock does. This tired, foggy feeling is called jet lag. Inside every person is a kind of clock that tells the body when to sleep and when to wake. It is set mostly by light.
For a long time this clock matched the sky where you lived. Then a fast plane drops you in a place where noon feels like midnight to your body. Your inner clock still runs on the old time and takes several days to catch up. That is why, in a new time zone, you may feel wide awake at three in the morning and sleepy at noon.
Light helps the body clock reset, but its timing matters. Useful timing depends on the direction of travel and how many time zones you cross. A gradual change in local time may give the body more time to adjust than a rapid one.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
-
Question 1 of 4
What is the main idea of the passage?
The answer is A: Jet lag happens because the body's inner clock lags behind a fast time-zone change
The passage explains jet lag as the gap between the body clock and a new time zone.
-
Question 2 of 4
According to the text, what mostly sets the body's inner clock?
The answer is B: Light
The text says the inner clock "is set mostly by light."
-
Question 3 of 4
Why might a gradual time-zone change be easier to adjust to?
The answer is B: It gives the body clock more time to adapt.
The passage contrasts a gradual change with a rapid one, rather than promising that a particular type of transport prevents jet lag.
-
Question 4 of 4
In this passage, "reset" most nearly means
The answer is B: adjust to new time
Reset means adjust the body clock to a different schedule.
Score: none answered yet.