Eight hours a night is the recommended amount of sleep for the average person. That's a third of your life spent sleeping. Maybe you have nice dreams, so you're happy with the situation. But imagine all the things you could do, and how time-rich you would be if that didn't happen. In other words, wouldn't it be great if you could take a magic medicine which allows you to skip sleep and have more time for other things you want to do? However, this wouldn't happen.
一晚睡八小時是一般人的建議睡眠量。也就是你三分之一的人生是花在睡覺上。或許你會做美好的夢，所以你對這狀況感到滿意。但想像一下如果不用睡那麼久，所有你本來可以做的事，還有你會擁有多麼充裕的時間。換句話說，要是你可以服用一種神奇的藥讓你能跳過睡眠並擁有更多時間做其他你想做的事，那豈不是太棒了？然而，這不會發生。
Just take a look at what happens to people who go without sleep for a long time. One 16-year-old American boy spent eleven days sleepless as part of a high-school experiment. By the third day he was mistaking objects for people on the streets. In the following days, he began to lose short-term memory and muscle control. He even became convinced he was a professional athlete and lost his temper when people disbelieved him. The boy was an extreme example, and not everyone reacts the same way to sleep deprivation. But it is clear that, like most other animals, humans have a biological need for sleep.
就去看看長時間不睡覺的人會發生什麼事。一名 16 歲的美國男孩在一項高中實驗中度過 11 天不睡覺的日子。到第三天時他把街上的物體誤認為人。在接下來的幾天裡，他開始喪失短期記憶和肌肉控制。他甚至相信自己是職業運動員，並在人們不相信他時發脾氣。這個男孩是個極端的例子，而且不是每個人對睡眠不足都會有同樣的反應。但很清楚的是，就像大多數的其他動物一樣，人類也有睡眠的生理需求。
In the early years of human history, when we were on the menu for larger and more dangerous animals, falling asleep at the wrong time could be a fatal mistake. It still is, because many road accidents are caused by drivers losing consciousness for a short while. In April 2018, for instance, a crash in Taiwan that killed two police officers and a truck driver resulted from driver fatigue. According to Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications, 2675 people were killed or hurt in accidents caused by tired drivers in 2016. Often, due to tiredness from a lack of proper sleep, the brain shuts down for a few seconds. This phenomenon, known as "microsleep," can obviously be disastrous when someone is driving or operating dangerous machinery.
在早年的人類歷史中，當時我們是較大型、危險動物的食物，在錯誤的時間睡著會是致命的錯誤。現在仍是如此，因為許多道路交通事故就是因為駕駛一個閃神而造成的。例如，2018 年的春天，台灣有一場因疲勞駕駛所導致的車禍奪走了兩名警察和一名卡車司機的性命。根據台灣交通部的數據，2016 年就有 2675 人因疲勞駕駛所造成的事故而喪生或受傷。大腦常常會因為缺乏適當睡眠所造成的疲累，而停機幾秒鐘。這種現象被稱為「微睡眠」，顯然會在某人正在駕車或操作危險機器時釀成大災難。
Preventing fatigue is not the only function of sleep. It also works as a kind of washing machine for the brain. During our waking hours, our brains produce toxic proteins that can harm the brain if they stay there too long. Fortunately, we have something called cerebrospinal fluid that flushes out these toxins from our brain cells. However, this fluid only flows during sleep. That's why our brains are refreshed after a good night's sleep. It's also why people with long-term insomnia develop mental problems as well as all the physical difficulties associated with sleep deprivation.
預防疲倦並不是睡眠的唯一功能。它還具有一種大腦洗衣機的作用。在我們醒著的時間中，我們的大腦會產生有毒的蛋白質，要是留在大腦時間太長，會對大腦造成傷害。幸好，我們有一種叫腦脊液的物質，可以把這些毒素從大腦細胞中沖刷掉。然而，這種液體只在睡眠期間流出。那就是為什麼我們的大腦在一夜好眠後能恢復精神。這也是為什麼長期失眠的人會罹患心理疾病以及與睡眠不足有關的身體問題。
So, if you think that sleeping away a third of your life is a huge waste of time, think again. It is a human need even stronger than those for food and water. After all, our ancestors carried on doing it even with all those horrible predators sniffing around. Unless you actually want to mistake traffic lights for your friends or believe you are Stephen Curry, don't neglect your sleep. You really do need it!
因此，要是你認為睡掉三分之一的人生是大大浪費時間，再思考一下吧。睡眠是甚至比食物和水還重要的人類需求。畢竟，我們的祖先即使在各種恐怖掠食者的環伺下仍不改此習。除非你真的想把紅綠燈誤認成你的朋友，或自以為是史蒂芬．柯瑞，否則不要忽略睡眠。你真的很需要它!
- recommend [rɛkəˋmɛnd] v.
推薦，建議
At the restaurant the waiter recommended a fish dish to us, and it was delicious.
在餐廳時，服務生推薦一道魚料理給我們，味道很好。 - recommendation [͵rɛkəmɛnˋdeʃən] n.
推薦，介紹
Maria was given the job on the recommendation of a friend who works for the company.
Maria 透過一位在這間公司上班的朋友介紹拿到了這份工作。 - average [ˋævərɪdʒ] adj.
一般的；平均的
Nowadays the average teenager is very familiar with social media.
今日，一般年輕人對社群媒體都相當熟悉。
The average daily number of visitors to the museum is about 2,000.
博物館每天的平均訪客量大約是 2000 人。 - average [ˋævərɪdʒ] n.
平均數，平均
Flights from Los Angeles to Hawaii take an average of five hours and fifty minutes.
從洛杉磯飛往夏威夷的航班平均需要 5 小時又 50 分鐘。 - situation [͵sɪtʃʊˋeʃən] n.
情況，處境
The current situation is that the police have closed the road because of an accident.
目前情況是警方因車禍封鎖了這條馬路。 - short-term [ˋʃɔrtˋtɝm] adj.
短期的
Your suggestion is only a short-term solution that will not solve the problem completely.
你的建議只是短期的解決辦法，無法完全解決這個問題。 - long-term [ˋlɔŋ͵tɝm] adj.
長期的
Dan works in a music store, but his long-term plan is to be a writer.
Dan 在音樂商店工作，但他的長期計畫是當一名作家。 - convinced [kənˋvɪnst] adj.
確信的，確定的
Convinced of the young man's ability, Mr. Collins offered him the job.
確信那名年輕人有能力，Collins 先生給了他這份工作。 - convince [kənˋvɪns] v.
說服，使相信
The feeling of relaxation convinced me that massage is very good for health.
放鬆的感覺讓我相信按摩對健康很好。 - professional [prəˋfɛʃən!] adj.
職業的，專業的
You need to ask a lawyer for professional advice about this matter.
你需要向律師尋求關於這件事的專業建議。 - professional [prəˋfɛʃən!] n.
專業人員，專家
Most of the people living in the building are young professionals, such as nurses, engineers, and lawyers.
多數住在這棟建築物的人都是年輕的專業人士，像是護理師、工程師、律師。 - profession [prəˋfɛʃən] n.
職業
My mother is a doctor by profession and mainly treats elderly patients.
我媽的職業是一名醫生，主要為老年病人看診。 - temper [ˋtɛmpɚ] n.
脾氣，性情
Mr. Douglas has a good temper and seldom gets angry.
Douglas 先生脾氣很好，很少生氣。 - disbelieve [͵dɪsbəˋliv] v.
不相信
At first I disbelieved Aaron's excuse, but then I found out he was telling the truth.
一開始我不相信 Aaron 的理由，但後來我發現他說的是真話。 - disbelief [͵dɪsbəˋlif] n.
不相信
When Johnny gave her a silly excuse for coming late, the teacher looked at him in disbelief.
當 Johnny 給出了一個愚蠢的遲到理由，老師不可置信地看著他。 - react [rɪˋækt] v.
反應，回應
Angela reacted to her boyfriend's silly mistake by laughing at him.
Angela 以嘲笑的方式回應她男友的愚蠢錯誤。 - reaction [rɪˋækʃən] n.
反應，回應
Many people have expressed anger in reaction to the government's decision.
許多人表達出他們的憤怒來對政府的這項決定做出回應。 - biological [͵baɪəˋlɑdʒɪk!] adj.
生物的，與生命過程有關的
Food and water are among the basic biological needs of most living creatures.
食物和水是多數生物的基本生理需求。 - biology [baɪˋɑlədʒɪ] n.
生物學
Jane studies biology at university, where she recently wrote a paper about human cell development.
Jane 在大學讀生物學，最近她寫了篇關於人類細胞發展的論文。 - fatal [ˋfet!] adj.
致命的，毀滅性的
A bus driver has been blamed for a fatal accident which killed two people.
一名公車司機被認為要對這起造成兩人死亡的致命事故負起責任。 - consciousness [ˋkɑnʃəsnɪs] n.
知覺，意識
When the patient regained consciousness after the operation, he was told it had been successful.
當病人手術後恢復意識，他被告知手術很成功。 - conscious [ˋkɑnʃəs] adj.
有意識的，神智清醒的
The wounded soldier is still conscious and in great pain, but help is on the way.
受傷的士兵仍意識清醒、痛苦不堪，但救援還在路上。 - crash [kræʃ] n.
（汽車）相撞，（飛機）墜毀
Sadly, my friend's father lost his life in a terrible car crash on the highway.
令人難過地，我朋友的爸爸在一場高速公路的可怕車禍中喪生。 - crash [kræʃ] v.
撞擊，碰撞
The rider lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a tree.
機車騎士失控撞上了一棵樹。 - fatigue [fəˋtig] n.
疲勞，勞累
Three hours of sleep was not enough to take away my fatigue.
三小時的睡眠不足以消除我的疲勞。 - phenomenon [fəˋnɑmə͵nɑn] n.
現象
There is a lot of evidence for the phenomenon known as global warming.
有許多證據能證明所謂的全球暖化現象。 - disastrous [dɪzˋæstrəs] adj.
災難性的，損失慘重的
The disastrous earthquake caused a building to fall down, crushing ten people to death.
災難性的地震造成一座建築物倒塌，壓死了十個人。 - disaster [dɪˋzæstɚ] n.
災難，災害
A natural disaster like a typhoon can cause a lot of damage in Taiwan.
像颱風這樣的天災會給台灣造成很多災害。 - machinery [məˋʃinərɪ] n.
機器，機械
The factory produces farm machinery of excellent quality.
這間工廠生產許多品質優良的農業機械。 - toxic [ˋtɑksɪk] adj.
有毒的，中毒的
The air pollution in the city sometimes reaches toxic levels.
這個城市的空氣污染有時候會達到有毒的程度。 - toxin [ˋtɑksɪn] n.
毒素
Scientists have found that the river water is polluted by dangerous toxins.
科學家發現河水被危險的毒素污染。 - flush [flʌʃ] v.
（用水流）清除，沖洗
The dirt on the paths in the garden was all flushed away by the rain.
花園步道上的泥土都被雨給沖掉了。 - refresh [rɪˋfrɛʃ] v.
使振作精神
A walk in the park always refreshes me after a difficult day at school.
在學校辛苦一天後，到公園散散步總能讓我提振精神。 - physical [ˋfɪzɪk!] adj.
身體的；物質的，實物的
Maggie's physical disability does not stop her from enjoying an active life.
Maggie 的肢體障礙不影響她享受充滿活力的生活。
Because ghosts are not part of the physical world, many people do not believe in them.
許多人不信鬼，因為鬼不屬於物理世界。 - ancestor [ˋænsɛstɚ] n.
祖先，祖宗
Most experts think that dinosaurs were the direct ancestors of birds.
大部分專家都認為恐龍是鳥類的直系祖先。 - sniff [snɪf] v.
嗅，聞
Jack sniffed once and suddenly shouted out that something was burning.
Jack 聞了一下，馬上大叫說有東西燒起來了。 - neglect [nɪgˋlɛkt] v.
忽視，疏忽
Because Tom has neglected his schoolwork, his grades have gone down this year.
因為 Tom 沒在管課業，今年他的分數直直落。 - in other words
換句話說，換言之
The other team is strong. In other words, we'll have to play well to win this game.
另一隊實力堅強。換句話說，我們需要發揮出色才能贏得這場比賽。 - a short while
一會兒
Al has only lived in Taiwan for a short while, so he hasn't gotten used to his new life yet.
Al 在台灣只住了一小段時間，所以還沒習慣他的新生活。 - result from
起因於
Terry's headache probably resulted from all the beer he drank last night.
Terry 的頭痛可能源於他昨晚喝下的所有啤酒。 - due to
因為，由於
Due to an accident, this road was closed for three hours in the morning.
因為一個車禍，這條路早上封閉了三個小時。 - as well as
以及，和
My mother says that eating fish is good for the brain as well as the body.
我媽說吃魚對腦袋和身體都很好。 - sleep away
在睡眠中度過
I slept away the whole afternoon today because I went to bed so late last night.
我今天睡掉整個下午，因為我昨晚太晚睡了。 - after all
畢竟
Don't feel so upset about losing the game. After all, it was just for fun.
輸了比賽也別太難過。畢竟這只是為了好玩嘛。 - carry on
繼續
If you carry on making the same mistakes, it means you are not paying attention.
如果你繼續犯同樣的錯誤，這代表你沒有在專心。
