(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, it's time for Words and Their Stories, a program from VOA Learning English that explores common expressions we use every day.
Sleep. It's important to our mental and physical health. From a quick cat nap to long, deep beauty sleep, we have many expressions to describe sleep.
Of course, cats sleep for many hours during the day. That's why we call a short period of sleep – preferably in a warm spot of the room – a cat nap.
The purpose of a cat nap is different from that of a power nap. We take power naps during the middle of a workday to help us get more work done. But we take a cat nap because the sun feels so good and our pillow feels so soft that we simply must close our eyes for a few minutes – like a cat.
If you had a really tough week at work, you might want to sleep in on the weekend. This means you sleep later than usual. Teenagers are especially known for sleeping in when they don't have school.
It's not hard to understand where we get some of our sleep expressions. For example, when we're tired, we may say we need to get some shut-eye. You can only sleep when you shut your eyes. Although, I have heard stories about people who sleep with their eyes open – which can look kind of creepy.
When we use this expression, please note that it is singular. We just say "shut-eye" and not "shut-eyes."
If you are feeling tired, you might need to catch some z's. "Z" is the sound we use to represent sleeping. So, to catch some z's simply means to sleep.
Now, sometimes we fall asleep when we don't mean to. We might nod off while sitting somewhere and waiting, like in a doctor's office or on the train after a long day of work. A "nod" is the up and down movement of the head. That head movement is what happens when you nod off while sitting. Your head drops down and ... you fall ... asleep.
Now, we might take a short snooze during the day to get a little rest. And if we had a late night, we might need to hit the snooze alarm or snooze button a couple of times before actually getting up. This lets us get a little more shut-eye.
Most of these expressions are for the short rests we take during the day -- but not when we actually go to bed at night. We have a whole different set of other expressions just for that!
You can simply turn in. This just means to go to bed for the night. When you fold down the blankets to get into bed, you are "turning down the bed."
Some people are just too tired to fuss with turning down blankets. They might say, "It's late. I'm going to crash." This means they are so tired that they feel like they need to fall -- or crash -- onto the bed. Young people are fond of this expression.
If you hit the sack or hit the hay you are officially going to bed for the night. A sack is a big bag, like the bag that rice comes in. Word historians say that in earlier days, people would fill empty rice sacks with something soft, like feathers, and make it a pillow.
And hay is the kind of dried grass that farmers put down for some farm animals to sleep on. It's actually quite comfortable. In fact, a long time ago, some beds were filled with hay.
Maybe you are one of those lucky people who drift off to sleep quickly. As soon as your head hits the pillow, you are out like a light. This means you fell asleep in the time it takes to turn off the light.
For some other people, sleep might not come so fast.
Some people might need to listen to peaceful music or read a book to help them fall asleep. Others might need to count sheep. When you count sheep, you imagine cute little sheep jumping over a fence. The scene is so relaxing -- and counting sheep is so boring -- that will you soon be sawing logs. That is to say, you are so deeply asleep that you will start snoring loudly.
Some people may fall asleep quickly, but then they have a restless night's sleep. They toss and turn all night. And what about those times when you can't seem to fall sleep at all? For those nights you can say, "I didn't sleep a wink!"
Now, a couple of expressions with the word "sleep" aren't actually about sleep at all.
Sometimes when we have something on our mind that is important to us, we might think about it as we're falling asleep. It might keep us awake. On the other hand, if there is an issue that you simply don't care about at all, you can say that you are not going to lose any sleep over it.
We often use this to answer something said to us.
Here's an example:
A: Wow. Curtis is really mad at you. He said he's not going to forget what you did at the party last night.
B: I didn't do anything. And anyway, Curtis is all talk. Trust me. I'm not going to lose any sleep over his empty threats.
Now, if you want someone to spend more time thinking about something, you can tell them to sleep on it. We usually say this when someone has to make a decision.
Let's hear how to use this expression. In this short conversation, one person wants to get away for some R&R, also known as "rest and relaxation." The other doesn't feel so free.
A: Okay, so here's the plan. If we leave straight from work on Friday and drive to the cabin, we should get there by 11. That gives us all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday to ski or hike in the mountains. We can head home Monday night.
B: I'm not sure if I can miss work on Monday.
A: But it's a holiday. Don't you need some R&R?
B: I do. But I also need to work on a big project. I think I'll actually feel more rested and relaxed if I work on it.
A: Look, you don't have to make up your mind right now. Sleep on it and let me know by Thursday if you can go.
And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories. This is Anna Matteo hoping that tonight you sleep like a log! And as we like to say to our children: "Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite!"
In the Comments Section, please share some of your sleep expressions.
重点解析
1.be fond of 喜欢，爱好
She used to be fond of him very much.
她过去很喜欢他。
2.sleep tight 睡得香;睡个好觉;好睡
Good night, sleep tight!
我昨晚很晚才上床睡觉。晚安，睡个好觉！
3.hit the sack/hay 就寝；睡觉
Well, its really getting late and its time to take a quick shower and hit the hay.
好了，时间真得不早了，该洗洗睡了。
参考译文
现在是《词汇掌故》节目时间，一档VOA学英语出品、探索我们每天会用到的常见表达的节目。
睡眠对于我们的身心健康很重要。从小憩（cat nap）到长时间的深度美容觉（beauty sleep），我们有很多描述睡眠的表达。
当然，猫白天会睡很长时间。所以我们将短时间的睡眠（最好是在一间温暖的房间里）称之为“a cat nap（小憩）”。
“a cat nap（小憩）”的目的不同于“a power nap（午休）”。我们在工作日午睡为的是完成更多的工作。但是我们小睡是因为感觉太阳太好、枕头软和，我们不得不闭会眼，像猫那样。
如果你度过了一个十分艰难的工作周，你也许想在周末晚点睡觉（sleep in）。这意味着你会比平时睡得晚。青少年不上学的时候尤其爱晚睡。
我们拥有的一些和睡眠相关的表达的来源不难被人们理解。例如，当我们疲倦的时候，我们也许会说我们需要补会觉（get some shut-eye）。只有当你闭上眼睛的时候，你才能睡觉。不过，我听过有人睁眼睡觉的故事，那可能看起来有点诡异。
当我们使用这个表达的时候，请注意它是单数。我们只说“shut-eye”，不说“shut-eyes”。
如果你感觉很累，你也许想要小睡一会儿（catch some z's）。“Z”是我们用来表示睡觉的声音。所以，“catch some z's”只是表达睡觉。
有时候，我们无意睡着了。当我们在某个地方坐着等的时候，我们也许会犯困（nod off），比如在医生办公室或者在工作了一天之后坐火车的时候。“nod（点头）”是仰头和低头的动作。当你坐着犯困的时候，这种头部动作就会发生。你的头低下和……你睡着了。
我们也许会在一天之中打会盹儿（take a short snooze）休息下。如果熬夜了，我们也许会按掉催醒闹钟或者止闹按钮好几次之后才会真正起床。这会让我们多补会觉。
大部分这些表达都是适用于我们白天短时间休息的，而不是我们晚上真正的睡觉。我们有一套完全不同的其他表达专门表示这部分。
你可以就简单地上床睡觉（turn in）。这仅仅表示晚上睡觉。当你折叠毯子以上床睡觉时，你是在“整理床铺”。
有些人太累不想过分讲究去整理毯子。他们也许会说：“太晚了。我要睡了（I'm going to crash）。”这意思是他们太累了，他们感觉自己要倒或者摔在床上。年轻人很喜欢这个表达。
如果你“hit the sack/hay（睡觉）”代表你是正式要上床睡觉了。“sack”是一个大袋子，像装米的那种袋子。文字历史学家说，在早期，人们会用像羽毛之类柔软的东西来填进空米袋里，做成枕头。
“hay（草料）”是一种干草，农场主们拿来铺着给一些农场动物睡在上面用的。这些草料其实很舒服。实际上，很久以前，一些床就铺满了草料。
也许你是可以迅速入睡（drift off to sleep quickly）的那些幸运儿之一。你的头一挨枕头，你就立马睡着了（out like a light）。这是说你能在关灯所花费的时间内睡着。
对于一些别的人来说，睡眠也许没有来得那么快。
一些人也许需要听平静的音乐或是读一本书来助眠。其他的人也许需要数羊。当你数羊的时候，你想象可爱的小羊跳出围栏。这个画面是那么地令人放松，而且数羊是那么的无聊，这样你很快就会打呼噜（sawing logs）。那是说，你睡得太沉，你会开始打响鼾。
一些人也许入睡很快，但是之后他们一夜无眠。他们整晚翻来覆去（toss and turn）。那么我们该怎么表达那些似乎毫无睡意的夜晚呢？对于这些夜晚，你可以说：“我整夜都没合眼（I didn't sleep a wink）！”
还有几个带有单词“sleep（睡眠）”、但实际上和睡眠毫无关联的表达。
有时，当我们脑海里有对我们很重要的事情时，我们也许会在睡觉的时候还想着它。这也许会让我们睡不着。另一方面，如果你有个你毫不在意的问题，你可以说你不会为此担忧（be not going to lose any sleep over sth）。
我们经常用这个表达来回答那些对我们说过事情。
下面是个例子：
A：哇。科蒂斯真得很生你的气。他说他不会忘记你昨晚在派对上做的事情。
B：我什么也没做。总之，科蒂斯总是说空话。相信我。我不会为他的空头威胁而担忧的。
如果你想让某人花多点时间思考某事，你可以告诉他们好好考虑一下（sleep on it）。我们往往会在某人不得不做出决定的时候使用这个表达。
让我们来听下这个表达的使用方法。在这个短对话中，有一个人想要离开去休闲一下，也被称为“休息和娱乐。”另一个人感觉没啥空。
A：好的，那么计划是这样的。如果我们周五直接下班就走，开出去小屋，我们要坐11路车。这样我们周六就有一整天的时间，星期天和星期一去山里滑雪或者远足。周一晚上直接回家。
B：我不太确定我周一不上班行不行。
A：但是这个个假期。你难道不需要一些休闲娱乐吗？
B：我需要。但是我也要需要做一个大项目。我想我做项目的时候我其实会感觉更轻松自在。
A：看，你没必要现在就做决定。好好考虑一下，如果你能去星期四前告诉我。
这就到了本期《词汇掌故》的节目尾声了。我是安娜·马特奥，在此祝你们今晚都睡得香甜（sleep like a log）！正如我，我们爱对孩子说的那样：“睡个好觉，别让臭虫咬！”
请在评论区给我们分享一些你的和睡眠（sleep）相关的表达。
