Most people think of sleep as a time when the mind and body can rest after a day of activity. However, doctors know it's much mo
re than that. Sleep is an active critical function. While sleeping, our mind processes and records information, while our body rejuvenates by growing muscle and repairing tissue. Sleep is necessary for a person's health and well being. What text structure is being used, description, compare and contrast, order and sequence, problem and solution and cause and effect.
The passage starts with a statement backed by popular opinion, "Most people think of sleep as a time when the mind and body can rest after a day of activity." After this it throws a curve ball giving a statement backed by fact, saying, "doctors know much more than that." The passage proceeds to explain what doctors know, which is comparing and contrasting, popular belief and fact.
This is pretty much the whole structure of this informational passage.
Forking rivers or paths are commonly used to express a character's opposing features in literature. In this case, it represents Nikolai's two sides - stern and caring. The river merges into one at the end - implying that his two sides can coexist.
