英语访谈对话 537 Sleeping

 　　Ruth: Now Akane!

　　Akane: Yeah.

　　Ruth: I've noticed that you fall asleep everywhere.

　　Akane: Oh, you've noticed. Oh, no, it's actually a problem that I have.

　　Ruth: Really?

　　Akane: Yeah, I do get sleepy.

　　Ruth: Well, it's just that whenever we come back from work, or we go to work, you always fall asleep on the bus.

　　Akane: I do. I'm so tired in the mornings.

　　Ruth: So, you're tired in the mornings (Mm-hm) so don't you sleep at night?

　　Akane: I do. I actually do go to bed quite early but I hate waking up really early

　　so I think it's the early mornings that really get to me.

　　Ruth: So do you think lots of people in your family do this, because you know,

　　you really do seem to sleep far more than anybody I've ever met.

　　Akane: Actually, yeah, my father does say that he falls asleep at work.

　　Ruth: No!

　　Akane: Yeah.And my mom falls asleep at work as well when there's not costumers.

　　Ruth: Oh, you're joking.

　　Akane: Yeah. Yeah. So it runs in the family.

　　Ruth: So have you ever done that? Have you ever fallen asleep at work?

　　Akane: Actually, well, I don't fall asleep when I'm teaching¹, cause its such a busy job (Yeah) but when I was working in an office, when I was doing medical research², it was such a boring job that I did used³ to fall asleep in front of the computer sometimes. It's really embarrassing⁴.

　　Ruth: So have you ever had an embarrassing moment when you've fallen asleep?

　　Akane: Actually, yes. One time we went to watch the symphony⁵ orchestra⁶

　　and it was beautiful music and I was enjoying myself but I just fell asleep in between.

　　Ruth: Oh, no, Akane.

　　Akane: Yeah.

　　Ruth: So how many hours sleep do you normally⁷ get Akane?

　　Akane: Well, I try to get at least nine. Of course that's not always possible,

　　so I'd say on average⁸ about eight and a half hours.

　　Ruth: Eight and a half.

　　Akane: Yeah.

　　Ruth: Well, I suppose if you add that to the five hours a day that you sleep that's quite a lot.

　　Akane: If you put it that way.

1 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

2 research   

n.探索；调查；研究 vt./vi.调查；研究

参考例句：

• Research has shown that women live longer than men.调查表明女性比男性寿命长。
• The research group is ready to start its work.这个研究小组已准备好随时开始工作。

3 used   

adj.用旧了的，旧的；习惯于…；过去惯/经常

参考例句：

• I used to work until nearly 6:00 o'clock each day.我过去常常工作到6:00左右。
• He used to walk anywhere from two to five miles an hour.他过去经常一小时走二至五英里。

4 embarrassing   

adj.使人尴尬的，令人为难的v.（使）窘迫，（使）局促不安( embarrass的现在分词)

参考例句：

• His jokes didn't even raise a smile, which was embarrassing. 听了他讲的笑话，都没人笑一下，真是太尴尬了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was in the embarrassing position of having completely forgotten her name. 当时我完全忘记了她的名字，很是尴尬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 symphony   

n.交响乐（曲），（色彩等的）和谐

参考例句：

• The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is a famous one.贝多芬的第九交响乐非常有名。
• They play over the whole symphony.他们把整个交响乐重新演奏了一遍。

6 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

7 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

8 average   

n.平均数，平均水平；adj.一般的，通常的，平均的；v.取平均值，达到平均水平

参考例句：

• He spends on the average two hours a day on reading.他平均每天用两小时读书。
• The average flow of the river is 200 cubic metres per second.这条河平均流量为每秒二百立方米。