ESL杰夫的一天 第118期:睡前准备和睡觉讲解(10)

 I don't need to count sheep because I'm very tired. 因为我太累了，所以我不需要数羊。

If you are not tired or you have difficulty¹ falling asleep, you might want to try counting sheep. 但如果你不累或者难以入睡，你可能就会试着数羊了。

One, two, three, four, and by the time you reach five million you should be asleep! 1、2、3、4等你数到五百万的时候你应该就睡着了！

"I nod off right away." “我立刻就打起了盹。”

To nod, "nod," off (two words) means² the same as to fall asleep. “To nod off”就是“入睡”的意思。

It's just another way of saying fall asleep, "I nod off." “I nod off”是“入睡”的另一种说法。

Sometimes people will use that expression when they're at a meeting and it is very boring at work, and you may say to someone, "I almost nodded off" — I almost fell asleep. 人们在开会的时候有时会使用这个表达，工作非常无聊的时候，你可能会对某人说，“I almost nodded off”——我差点睡着了。

That usually happens to my students when I am teaching³. 我教书的时候，我学生经常会这样。

"Before long," meaning in a very short time, "before long, I'm fast asleep." “Before long”意思是“在很短的时间内”，“没过多久我就熟睡了。”

To be fast, "fast," asleep means to be completely⁴ asleep. “To be fast asleep”就是“完全睡着了”的意思。

There's a similar expression that means the same, to be sound asleep, "sound." 还有一个意思相同的相似表达，“to be sound asleep”。

To be sound asleep means that you are sleeping completely, it will not be easy to wake you up. “To be sound asleep”的意思是你完全睡着了，要把你叫醒就很难了。

1 difficulty   

n.困难，费劲；难事，难题；麻烦，困境

参考例句：

• If there is any difficulty,please let us know promptly.倘有困难，请迅速通知我们。
• A little difficulty like this is nothing to us.这点困难算不了什么。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 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。

4 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。