为学习而睡觉 Sleeping for learning

Hello, I’m Rob and this is 6 Minute English and I’m joined this week by Finn. Hello Finn.
大家好，我是Rob。欢迎收听本期BBC六分钟英语。本周我的搭档是Finn。你好，Finn。
Hello Rob.
你好，Rob。
This week, we’re discussing sleep. New research has shown that not getting enough sleep – or sleep deprivation – can have a negative effect on our ability to learn.We’re going to talk about that today and explore some sleep-related language.
本周我们将讨论睡眠这一话题。新研究表明，睡眠不足（或睡眠剥夺）可对我们的学习能力产生负面影响。今天我们就来具体谈一谈，并学习些与睡眠有关的语言。
So Rob, are you saying the more sleep I get, the cleverer I will be?
Rob，按你刚刚所说，我睡的越多，就会越聪明，是吗？
Not exactly - but we could put that to the test now by seeing if you know the answer to this week’s question.This is about Randy Gardner, who holds the world record for the longest period of time without sleep. Do you know how long he stayed awake for? Was it: a) 5 days b) 8 days c) 11 days
也不完全是。但我可以给你做个测试，看看你是否知道本期问题的答案。问题与Randy Gardner有关，他曾创下最长时间不睡觉的世界纪录。那么你知道他有多久没睡觉吗？A.5天 B.8天 C.11天
Rob, I’m going to go for the ambitious c) 11 days without sleep.
那我选C，11天。
Well, I’ll let you know the answer at the end of the programme, if you can stay awake that long! Now, let’s talk more about this link between sleep and the ability to learn.Researchers from Boston College in the USA have found the lack of sleep is a significant – so important – factor in lowering the achievement of school pupils. The findings could be relevant to any of us who are trying to learn something.
恩，节目最后我会告诉你答案，但你得一直保持清醒哦~好了，现在我们来讨论下睡眠与学习能力之间的联系。美国波士顿大学的研究者发现睡眠不足是降低学习成绩的重要因素。其实此结果可与每个想学习的人息息相关。
That’s true. The most interesting fact is that it is more of a problem in affluent countries – so wealthier countries such as the United States, England, France and Saudi Arabia.
没错。更有趣的是越在较富裕国家，这个问题越明显。如美国、英国、法国和沙特阿拉伯。
Students here are more affected by influences from their home life.
那里的学生更易受到家庭生活的影响。
You’re talking about computers and TVs in their bedrooms and using smartphones?Yes, that’s right. They’re tempted by all this technology instead of just getting their heads down and having a good night’s sleep.The survey found 80% of 13 and 14-year-olds in the US were identified by their teachers as being affected by lack of sleep. The international average was 57%.
你是指卧室中的电脑、电视和他们使用的智能手机吗？没错。他们会受到这些技术产品的诱惑而无法乖乖上床、好好睡觉。调查发现，80%的美国13-14岁少年受到睡眠不足的影响。而国际平均比例为57%。
Let’s hear from William Myers who is the Principal at South River High School in the United States.He says this is a challenge for teachers. What other word does he use to mean ‘lacking in energy’?
接下来让我们听一段美国南河高中校长William Myers的讲话。他提到教师们面临着很大挑战。请仔细听他用哪个词表示缺乏精力。
If we didn’t make our classes more engaging, we would see a decline in our performance.We would see that school-wide, and in many of our classes, we would see students who were lethargic, sleepy, maybe heads down at the end of the day.So we have to put a lot of work into keeping them alert and keeping them excited about school.
如果不把课堂变得生动有趣，那么我们将看到学生表现下降。而且这不局限于某个课程、某个班级，而是很多课程，整个学校。学生们最终会无精打采、甚至昏昏欲睡。所以我们采取了很多举措，以让学生保持清醒，对学校兴奋。
That’s quite a challenge then! He says classes have to be engaging, so interesting and exciting, to stop students getting sleepy and lacking in energy – the word he used was lethargic.
那是一项挑战。他说课堂必须得生动有趣、积极参与，以避免学生迷糊犯困、缺乏精力。在这里，他用到了lethargic（昏睡的，无生气的）一词。
Yes, this research looked at the link between the amount students sleep and their test results.Not surprisingly it found children with more sleep achieve higher test results in maths, science and reading.Now maybe there is a lesson there for all of us – I think I’ll just shut my eyes, Rob, and have 40 winks.
没错，此项研究还探索了学生睡眠时间与测试结果间的关系。不足为奇的是，睡眠更多的儿童在数学、科学和阅读中得分更高。这么说咱俩得吸取教训了，Rob，让我闭会眼睛，小憩一下吧。
You mean a short, light sleep? Can you wait until the end of the programme please?Scientists believe the lack of sleep causes your brain to run on empty. It struggles to absorb and retain ideas.
你想睡一小会？别这样啊，等到节目结束行吗？科学家认为缺乏睡眠会逼迫大脑在无活力时继续吸收、保留想法。
Actually, scientists say that there are more serious problems with students staying up late before they hit the sack - or got to bed – as we can hear from the BBC’s Jane O’Brien. Can you identify what they are?
事实上，科学家称学生在睡前熬夜会引起更严重的问题。那么是什么问题呢？请听BBC记者Jane O’Brien的报道。
Here at the Children’s National Medical Centre, doctors are seeing more and more sleep-deprived kids, and it’s not just affecting their school work.It’s linked to obesity, mood swings and behaviour problems. In fact it’s putting their long-term health at risk.
我们现在位于国家儿童医疗中心，医生表示睡眠不足的孩子越来越多，这不仅影响了他们的学校生活，还可引起肥胖，导致情绪波动、行为异常。事实上，他们的长期健康正受到影响。
So, the lack of sleep can also lead to health problems such as obesity – that’s when someone is dangerously overweight – and to mood swings – that’s changes in how someone feels or behaves. So, what is the solution to all of this?
报道称，缺乏睡眠可导致健康问题，如肥胖症（某人危险超重）、情绪波动（某人的情感或行为发生变化）。那么有什么解决方案呢？
Well the school day in some countries start later, allowing teenagers a bit of a lie in.And others have a break in the afternoon – like a siesta. But the real solution is for students to turn in – or go to bed – earlier.
某些国家的学校开课较早，因此可给学生点休息时间。还有其他学校提供午觉。但真正解决办法是让学生早点上床睡觉。
This research has also highlighted another problem. Because teachers are simplifying their lessons to take account of the tetchy – or grumpy – students, there’s concern that pupils who are getting enough sleep are losing out in these adjusted lessons.So everyone suffers. OK, well before I go for a lie down please could you let me know the answer to today’s question, Rob?
研究同时强调了另一个问题。教师考虑到易怒学生的存在会简化课程，这便让那些睡眠充足的学生在已调课程中遭受损失。所以说大家都是受害者。好了，Rob，在我去小睡前，你能把今天问题的答案告诉我吗？
Of course. Earlier I asked you about Randy Gardner, who holds the world record for the longest period of time without sleep. I asked you if you knew how long he stayed awake for?
当然可以。我刚刚问你，最长时间没睡觉的世界纪录保持者Randy Gardner到底多久没睡觉？
And I said c) 11 days, 11 long days
我选的是C，11天。
And you were right. He stayed awake for that incredible 11 days back in 1965.Randy was actually functioning quite well at the end of his research and he could still beat the scientist at pinball.Well, it’s almost time to go but before we do, Finn could you remind us of some of the words we’ve heard today.
回答正确。1965年，他曾连续11天未合眼，简直难以置信。事实上，Randy在研究结束时状态依旧不错，还能和科学家玩弹球游戏呢。好了，节目已接近尾声了。Finn，你带我们回顾下今天听到的单词吧。
Yes. We heard: sleep deprivation, getting their heads down, lethargic, forty winks, to run on empty, hit the sack, mood swings, a siesta, to turn in, tetchy.
好的。它们是：sleep deprivation（睡眠不足）、getting their heads down（上床睡觉）、 lethargic（无精打采）、 forty winks（小憩）、to run on empty（无精力时继续工作）、hit the sack（上床）、 mood swings（情绪波动）、 a siesta（午睡）、 to turn in（上床）、tetchy（暴躁易怒的）.
Well, that’s all we have time for today. Time for a doze Finn!
谢谢，今天的节目就到这里了。Finn，走，休息一会去。
I think so. Bye.
我也这样觉得。拜拜~~