Larry昨晚因為趕工作而一夜沒睡。他正在跟李華討論睡眠問題。李華今天要學會兩個常用語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？你一夜沒睡？難怪你顯得很累。 不過你說你不是夜間的貓頭鷹，熬夜跟貓頭鷹有什么關系呢？

LL: Owl is a bird, but a night owl is someone who likes to stay up all night.

LH: 我知道了。 貓頭鷹是夜間活動的動物，所以美國人把很晚才睡的人稱為night owl。我們中國人把這種人稱為夜貓子。

LL: Right, real owls are like that. But last night I discovered I am not a night owl.

LH: 你昨晚發現你不是夜貓子。你怎么發現的呢？

LL: Well, I didn't go to bed until three in the morning, and now I am so tired I can hardly move.

LH: 你早上三點睡覺，現在已經累得不行了。是呀，真正的夜貓子好像不在乎開夜車似的。看來你真不是一個夜貓子。 我算是會熬夜的了，但是也很少到三點才睡覺。

LL: Really? When do you go to bed, Li Hua?

LH: 我喜歡在夜深人靜的時候寫作，所以經常半夜以后才睡覺。 Larry， 你可以說我是個“夜貓子，”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，那當然不能當夜貓子了。 十點睡覺已經不算早了。

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: 當學生的時候熬夜是常事。不是念書，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: 你還想當夜貓子？那等你下班后我們去城里玩，怎么樣？

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，還要抓什么？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就是睡覺！可為什么說catching some zzzs呢？Z不是英語的最后一個字母嗎？

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跟打鼾的聲音有點像，所以把睡覺說成是： 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，你已經說了好幾遍了， 你現在最需要的就是回去睡一大覺。那你就趕快走呀！

LL: But I still have some things I need to do at work.

LH: 辦公室里還有事要做。那你睜不開眼睛怎么辦？

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: 你怎么那么可憐呢！ 辦公室里坐著不舒服，又吵吵鬧鬧的，想睡覺都睡不著。那你乘車回家的時候在車上睡一回兒吧。

LL: No, I better not do that. If I catch some zzzs on the bus, I might miss my stop.

LH: 那就沒辦法了。我看你今天只有喝咖啡了。 Larry， 跟你說了半天睡覺的問題，把我都說困了。 Maybe I need to go home at catch some zzzs, too!

今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是night owl, 意思就是習慣很晚睡覺的人，也就是夜貓子。還有一個是 to catch some zzzs， 意思是睡覺。