Larry昨晚因为赶工作而一夜没睡。他正在跟李华讨论睡眠问题。李华今天要学会两个常用语night owl和catch some zzzs。
LL: Oh, Li Hua, I stayed up all night last night working on this project for work, and now I feel terrible. I guess I’m not a night owl after all.
LH: 什么？你一夜没睡？难怪你显得很累。 不过你说你不是夜间的猫头鹰，熬夜跟猫头鹰有什么关系呢？
LL: Owl is a bird, but a night owl is someone who likes to stay up all night.
LH: 我知道了。 猫头鹰是夜间活动的动物，所以美国人把很晚才睡的人称为night owl。我们中国人把这种人称为夜猫子。
LL: Right, real owls are like that. But last night I discovered I am not a night owl.
LH: 你昨晚发现你不是夜猫子。你怎么发现的呢？
LL: Well, I didn’t go to bed until three in the morning, and now I am so tired I can hardly move.
LH: 你早上三点睡觉，现在已经累得不行了。是呀，真正的夜猫子好像不在乎开夜车似的。看来你真不是一个夜猫子。 我算是会熬夜的了，但是也很少到三点才睡觉。
LL: Really? When do you go to bed, Li Hua?
LH: 我喜欢在夜深人静的时候写作，所以经常半夜以后才睡觉。 Larry， 你可以说我是个”夜猫子，”a night owl.
LL: I’d say you are a night owl. Normally, I go to bed around ten o’clock, because I have to get up early in the morning for work.
LH: 你早起要上班，那当然不能当夜猫子了。 十点睡觉已经不算早了。
LL: Yeah, when I was a student, I used to be a night owl, too. I remember back in college being a night owl was a lot of fun. Especially in the city, where there is a lot going on at night.
LH: 当学生的时候熬夜是常事。不是念书，就是出去玩，晚上有很多地方可玩的。
LL: I sometimes wish I could be a night owl again.
LH: 你还想当夜猫子？那等你下班后我们去城里玩，怎么样？
LL: Oh, No, Li Hua. All I need right now is a cup of coffee to get me through the day and a good night sleep!
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LL: Well, Li Hua, I’ve got to get back to work, and then go home and catch some zzzzs.
LH: 你要回去工作，然后回家，还要抓什么？Catch some zzzs是什么意思呀？Catch是抓住， zzzs是什么啊？
LL: Catching some zzzs means to get some sleep.
LH: 嗯，catching some zzzs就是睡觉！可为什么说catching some zzzs呢？Z不是英语的最后一个字母吗？
LL: You’re right. “Z” is the last letter of the alphabet. But many people associate the sound of the letter “Z” ( makes sound zzzzzzzzz) with the sound of snoring.
LH: 噢， z跟打鼾的声音有点像，所以把睡觉说成是： to catch some zzzs。
LL: And to catch some zzzs is to fall asleep, which is really what I need to do now.
LH: 我知道，你已经说了好几遍了， 你现在最需要的就是回去睡一大觉。那你就赶快走呀！
LL: But I still have some things I need to do at work.
LH: 办公室里还有事要做。那你睁不开眼睛怎么办？
LL: There is no need to worry! My desk isn’t very comfortable, and the office is pretty loud. I don’t think I could catch some zzzs at work, even if I wanted to.
LH: 你怎么那么可怜呢！ 办公室里坐着不舒服，又吵吵闹闹的，想睡觉都睡不着。那你乘车回家的时候在车上睡一回儿吧。
LL: No, I better not do that. If I catch some zzzs on the bus, I might miss my stop.
LH: 那就没办法了。我看你今天只有喝咖啡了。 Larry， 跟你说了半天睡觉的问题，把我都说困了。 Maybe I need to go home at catch some zzzs, too!
今天李华学到了两个常用语。一个是night owl, 意思就是习惯很晚睡觉的人，也就是夜猫子。还有一个是 to catch some zzzs， 意思是睡觉。