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 Island,3 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 can cause sleepiness.
The Food and Drug Administration did not say in its announcement how many cases of sleep-driving it has 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 said there are probably more cases than are reported.5 He said 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.
詞匯：
disorder n. 障礙;紊亂;疾病
allergic adj. 變應(yīng)性的，過敏性的
incident n. 偶發(fā)事件，小事件
representative n. 代表
crash v. (使)碰撞
lawmaker n. 立法者，制定法律者(尤指立法委員或議員)
sickness n. 疾病;惡心，嘔吐
stomach n. 胃
sleepiness n. 昏昏欲睡
document vt. 根據(jù)…事實(shí)材料制作
注釋：
1.United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)：美國食品及藥品管理局
2.United States Congress：美國國會
3.Rhode Island：羅得島(美國州名)
4.New York Times：紐約時報
5.But, he also said there are probably more cases than are reported. 不過，他也說道，可能實(shí)際病例要比報導(dǎo)的多。 請注意本句中than的用法。than后面連接了一個句子，可是卻沒有主語，學(xué)術(shù)界對此有兩種說法：一種認(rèn)為than是關(guān)系代詞，它本身在從句中作一個句子成分;另一種則認(rèn)為than仍為連接詞，后面省略了句子的適當(dāng)成分。請看類似的句子：
You spent more money than was intended to be spent. 你花去的錢比預(yù)計的多。
(請比較：You spent the money that was intended.)
練習(xí)
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
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 Island,3 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 can cause sleepiness.
The Food and Drug Administration did not say in its announcement how many cases of sleep-driving it has 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 said there are probably more cases than are reported.5 He said 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.
詞匯：
disorder n. 障礙;紊亂;疾病
allergic adj. 變應(yīng)性的，過敏性的
incident n. 偶發(fā)事件，小事件
representative n. 代表
crash v. (使)碰撞
lawmaker n. 立法者，制定法律者(尤指立法委員或議員)
sickness n. 疾病;惡心，嘔吐
stomach n. 胃
sleepiness n. 昏昏欲睡
document vt. 根據(jù)…事實(shí)材料制作
注釋：
1.United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)：美國食品及藥品管理局
2.United States Congress：美國國會
3.Rhode Island：羅得島(美國州名)
4.New York Times：紐約時報
5.But, he also said there are probably more cases than are reported. 不過，他也說道，可能實(shí)際病例要比報導(dǎo)的多。 請注意本句中than的用法。than后面連接了一個句子，可是卻沒有主語，學(xué)術(shù)界對此有兩種說法：一種認(rèn)為than是關(guān)系代詞，它本身在從句中作一個句子成分;另一種則認(rèn)為than仍為連接詞，后面省略了句子的適當(dāng)成分。請看類似的句子：
You spent more money than was intended to be spent. 你花去的錢比預(yù)計的多。
(請比較：You spent the money that was intended.)
練習(xí)
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