VOA慢速：小居室如何工作休息两不误？

Work, Sleep Well in a Small Place

慢速 | CET-4偏易 | 846词 | 8min32s

刘立军供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. What can make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep in a studio apartment?

A. Lack of furniture.

B. High cost of living.

C. External noise from the street.

D. The combined use of the room for living, cooking, and sleeping.

Q2. What is the main purpose of the text?

A. To describe the history of studio apartments.

B. To advise on how to work and sleep well in a small apartment.

C. To compare different types of bedding materials.

D. To explain the cost of living in large cities.

Q3. What are Murphy beds used for in studio apartments according to Andrea Morris?

A. To provide additional storage.

B. To improve room ventilation.

C. To make more room during the day

D. To create a separate kitchen area.

Q4. What does Jeff Kahn suggest to help the brain associate your bed with sleep?

A. Avoid doing work or anything stressful from your bed.

B. Use special pillows during sleep.

C. Avoid eating in bed.

D. Keep the room's temperature cool.

Q5. What can be inferred about the importance of air quality in a small apartment?

A. It can be ignored in favor of light control.

B. It is less important than room décor.

C. Good air flow and possible use of an air purifier are essential.

D. It is only important if you do not cook in the same space.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

Work, Sleep Well in a Small Place

Working from home in a small apartment is fine during the day. But when nighttime comes, it may be more difficult to turn off work and get a good night’s sleep.

(Q1) This can be especially difficult in a studio apartment. In a studio apartment, the living room, kitchen and sleeping area are all in one room. These kinds of apartments are common in large cities with a high cost of living.

With electronics, kitchen items, clothes and books all in one space, it can be hard to create a restful place for sleep.

(Q2) Kim Cook, a reporter for the Associated Press, asked sleep experts and interior design experts for advice on how to work productively and sleep well in a small one-room area.

Be honest about how you live

Everyone needs good sleep to stay healthy.

“The primary rule, maybe the only rule of small space design, is people have to be honest about how they really live,” says Olivia Hosken. She is deputy managing editor of House Beautiful.

She adds that when you have limited space, you need furniture that works well in the room.

A good bed is important for good sleep

She suggests spending money on a high-quality bed. Even better is a high-quality sleep sofa that can double as a bed and couch. She does not suggest big tables or chairs that you may not use.

Andrea Morris is an interior designer with Lancaster Place Interiors in Wilmington, North Carolina. (Q3) For studio apartments, she likes wall beds. These can be folded up next to a wall when not in use. They are better known as Murphy beds, named after William Murphy. He came up with this idea in 1900 while living in his own studio apartment in San Francisco, California.

Create a sleep area

To separate your sleep area from the rest of the apartment, you can purchase a freestanding screen or room divider. And as much as you can, keep your sleep area strictly for sleeping, experts say.

Jeff Kahn is co-founder of the Chicago-based sleep-research company Rise Science. His company developed a sleep-tracking app called Rise. (Q4) His suggestion is to “avoid doing work or anything stressful from your bed.” He said that this helps the brain connect your bed with only sleep rather than wakefulness and work.

However, that is not always possible. If you use your bed during the daytime, you can do small things to keep your daytime tasks and sleep separate. Lisa Strauss is a psychologist and expert in sleep disorders. She suggests using one side of the bed for reading and the other for sleeping. You can also bring out special blankets and pillows used only for sleeping.

Freshen the air. Lower the lights. Cut the noise.

Kahn also suggests keeping a clean, peaceful environment. For starters, he says to make sure the air flow is good.

(Q5) “Make sure your space is well ventilated, and consider an air purifier,” says Kahn. He adds that this is especially important if you cook and sleep in the same place.

ventilated adj. 通风的

Another interior expert is Mia Ingui. She is editor at Spruce, a home design website. She suggests using calming smells like lavender or chamomile at bedtime, to “set the tone for restful sleep.”

lavender n. 薰衣草

chamomile n. 洋甘菊

Also, be sure that computer, TV, and other electronic screens are turned off. In a small room, these devices are probably a short distance from the bed. Their light at night can affect our internal clocks, or circadian rhythm.

circadian adj. 生理节奏的，昼夜节律的

Do not forget about the sounds these devices make. If the buzz of nearby devices, appliances, or street sounds keep you awake, consider a noise machine. Ingui likes the Hatch Restore, a “sunrise lamp” that provides soothing sounds and lights up slowly in the morning. You can also buy noise cancelling curtains. These cut down on outside noises.

buzz n. 嗡嗡声

soothing adj. 抚慰的，使人宽心的

Keep things clean and organized

Andrea Morris, the home designer, says one thing to avoid when it comes to studio living is leaving beds unmade.

“It’s amazing how much better you feel after a hard day entering a space with a made bed,” she said.

At night, she suggests putting away electronics. Side tables with plugs and ports for electronics help you store devices and keep things tidy ― or organized and clean. This is another example of choosing furniture that has multiple uses.

Choose multi-use, storable bedding

If it difficult to control your studio apartment’s heating and cooling, Ingui recommends choosing materials for bedding that let the skin breathe. Such materials can keep you cool in warm weather and warm in cooler temperatures.

She also suggests buying several pieces of bedding that are easy to store rather than big, bulky blankets. Studio apartments often do not have a lot of storage.

With some thoughtful choices, your small space can have the feeling we all want from home life: calm, clean and good for both working and sleeping.

Part III. KEY

Q1. D. 细节题。题目出处为“This can be especially difficult in a studio apartment. In a studio apartment, the living room, kitchen and sleeping area are all in one room.” 意为：“这（即睡个好觉）在一居室公寓内会变得尤其困难，因为一居室公寓的客厅、厨房和睡眠区都在一个房间内。” 因此答案为D。

Q2. B. 主旨题。题目出处为：“… asked sleep experts and interior design experts for advice on how to work productively and sleep well in a small one-room area.” 意为：“咨询睡眠专家和室内设计专家如何在一个小房间内有效工作和获得良好睡眠。”因此答案为B。

Q3. C. 细节题。题目出处为“For studio apartments, she likes wall beds. These can be folded up next to a wall when not in use. They are better known as Murphy beds.” 意为：“对于单间公寓，她喜欢壁床。这些床不用时可以折叠靠墙。它们更为人熟知的名字是墨菲床。” 因此答案为C。

Q4. A. 细节题。题目出处为“His suggestion is to ‘avoid doing work or anything stressful from your bed.’ He said that this helps the brain connect your bed with only sleep rather than wakefulness and work.” 意为：“他的建议是‘避免在床上工作或做任何会产生压力的事情。’他说，这样有助于大脑将床与睡眠而非与清醒和工作联系起来。”因此答案为A。

Q5. C. 推理题。题目出处为“Make sure your space is well ventilated, and consider an air purifier,” 意为：“确保你的房间通风良好，并考虑使用空气净化器。” 因此可以推断出良好的空气流通和使用空气净化器是很重要的。因此答案为C。

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