难度：CSE5
课程导读
你是否曾为失眠、习惯性熬夜感到焦虑？随着社会健康意识的增强，追求高质量睡眠逐渐成为人们的共识，褪黑素、睡眠监控手环、白噪音等一系列解决睡眠问题的产品和服务也顺势而起，愈发受人追捧。追求“更完美的睡眠”会让我们睡得更好吗？做不到早睡早起，总是睡不够8小时，真的要“治”吗？一起进入今天的讲解。
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本篇课程首发于2021年11月24日
英文原文
We must stop trying to excel at sleep
By Henry Mance
Daily life has its satisfactions. But do any really compare to the joy of going to sleep? That moment when the clutter of 21st-century existence disappears into the non-judgmental embrace of a mattress?
Somehow we have pushed this pleasure to the back of the queue. A third of American adults report sleeping less than the recommended seven hours. Many of us feel under-rested. Then there are those who can't sleep when they try.
Stressing ourselves out about a lack of sleep can aggravate the problem. In his book Overcoming Insomnia and Sleep Problems, Oxford professor Colin Espie writes about "orthosomnia", where people are so focused with sleeping well that they become too anxious to do so. The marketing of sleeping aids adds to this.
Espie says we each have a sleep pattern that we figure out through trial and error. Genetically, some humans are larks and some are owls; the larks may just have better cardiovascular health. For an owl to try to fight their natural schedule, and sleep earlier, wouldn't necessarily help.
Once the macho urged us to sleep when we were dead. Now the enlightened tell us to sleep or we'll be dead. Nowadays sleep is becoming something that people try to excel at. About that I'm unconvinced. A good night's sleep is a profound pleasure. As far as possible, it should also remain a simple one.
生词好句
1.excel
英 [ɪkˈsel, ɛkˈsel] 美 [ɪkˈsel, ɛkˈsel]
v. 精通，擅长（to be very good at doing something）
拓展:
As a child, he excelled at classical Chinese.
这孩子小时候就擅长文言文。
The team excels at turning defense into attack.
这支球队擅于打防守反击。
2.satisfactions
英 [sætɪsˈfækʃnz] 美 [sætɪsˈfækʃnz]
n.（复数形式）让人快乐、满意的事情
3.compare to something
跟......做比较
拓展:
Do not compare yourself to others.
不要跟别人攀比。
4.clutter
英 [ˈklʌtə] 美 [ˈklʌtər]
n. 杂乱无章（mess）
拓展:
the clutter on the desk 办公桌上的杂物
She prefers her countertops to be clear of clutter.
她喜欢厨房台面井然有序。
5.push...to the back of the queue
把......排到最末
拓展:
They are so into work that their families have been pushed to the back of the queue.
他们太投入工作，反而忽略了家庭。
6.recommended
英 [rekəˈmendɪd] 美 [rekəˈmendɪd]
adj. 被推荐的，被推崇的
拓展:
Though twenty years old, the Harry Porter movies are highly recommended.
虽然已经上映了20年，哈利波特电影仍然备受推崇。
7.under-rested
英 [ʌndə ˈrestɪd] 美 [ʌndər ˈrestɪd]
adj. 休息不足的
拓展:
under+过去分词，表示......不足（not enough）
例如：
understated adj. 低调朴素的
undercooked adj. 没煮熟的
8.stress oneself out
使某人过度劳累，过度紧张
9.aggravate
英 [ˈæɡrəveɪt] 美 [ˈæɡrəveɪt]
v. 变严重，恶化（to make an illness or a bad or unpleasant situation worse）
拓展:
aggravate vs. worsen
都是"变严重"的意思，但aggravate比worsen多了一层"使得本来就有问题的事情变得更糟糕"的意思。
10.orthosomnia
英 [ɔːθəˈsɒmniə] 美 [ɔːrθoʊˈsɑːmniə]
n. 完美睡眠主义症
拓展:
构词法：
-somnia有"睡眠"的意思；
当加上否定前缀 in-构成insomnia，表示"不眠、失眠"；
加上来自古希腊语表示"正统的、正确的"ortho-前缀，就构成了orthosomnia，表示"正统的睡眠"，也就是"完美睡眠主义"。
11.be focused with
纠结于某事
12.trial and error
试错
13.not necessarily
未必
拓展:
That’s not necessarily bad.
那未必是一件坏事。
Social media isn’t necessarily the cause.
社交媒体未必是原因。
14.the macho
充满斗志的人
拓展:
macho
UK /ˈmætʃəʊ/ US /ˈmɑːtʃoʊ/
adj.（本义）阳刚的，男子气概的，大男子主义的（be masculine in an overly assertive or aggressive way）
macho比masculine更坚定自负、冒进
15.the enlightened
开明人士
拓展:
enlightened
UK /ɪnˈlaɪtnd/ US /ɪnˈlaɪtnd/
adj. 开明的，开悟的
