Episode 98 B

EPISODE 98
LEVEL B2

 

READING COMPREHENSION 

SLEEPING

Sleep position gives personality clue…                                               

You may already know if you function better in the morning or evening, but do you know what your sleep position can reveal?

There are six common sleeping positions and each one I slinked to a particular personality type. This is the first time we have been able to see what our subconscious posture (=the way in which someone usually holds their shoulders, neck, and back, or a particular position in which someone stands, sits) says about us. What’s interesting is that the profile behind the posture is often very different from what we would expect. There are the following positions:

1. STARFISH: lying on your back with both arms up around the pillow. These sleeper make good friends because they are always ready to listen to others, and offer help when needed. They generally don’t like being in the limelight (= centre) of attention.
2. LOG: lying on your side with both arms down by your side. These sleepers are easy-going, social people who like being part of the in-crowd (= a group of people). They are trusting of strangers, in fact sometimes too trusting, to the point of being gullible (= naïve).
3. FREEFALLER: lying on your front with your hands around the pillow, and your head turned to the side. Often gregarious (= sociable) people who love to socialize, but can be nervy (= worried) and become tense easily. They can also be thin-skinned underneath and don’t like criticism.
4. FOETUS: those who curl up in the foetus (=a young human being or animal before birth, after the organs have started to develop) position are described as tough on the outside but sensitive at heart. They may be shy when they first meet somebody, but soon relax. 
5. SOLDIER: lying on your back with both arms pinned (=to force someone or something to stay in a particular place by putting weight on them) to your sides. People who sleep in this position are generally quiet and they don’t like the fuss, but set themselves and others high standards.
6. YEARNER: people who sleep on their side with both arms out in front are said to have an open nature, but can be suspicious (= making you feel that something illegal is happening or that something is wrong) , cynical and not believe anything they hear. They are slow to make up their minds, but once they have taken a decision, they are unlikely ever to change it.

 

More contexts for the new words: 

• There are any number of miracle cures on the market for people gullible enough to buy them.
• He moves into the same posture for the cameras.
• There’s a suspicious– looking van parked at the end of the road.

 

EXERCISE 1 

Find the word in the text which means:

1. physical position
2. a small group of people seen by others
3. ready to believe in anything
4. someone who likes being with other people
5. too sensitive
6. anxious or excited behavior often about unimportant things

 

ENGLISH IN USE  

 

EXERCISE 2

Scientists are learning more and more about sleeping and waking states. Did you know that daydreaming can help you to solve complex tasks? This is because it activates the part of the brain associated with tackling difficult problems. Also taking a nap in the middle of the day refreshes your brain. It’s like clearing your e-mail inbox so that there is room for new information. Interestingly, staying up all night increases the ability to hold new facts by 40%. Some people seem to need much sleep more than others.

 

Remember that in English after certain verbs you have to use certain verb patterns: infinitive, gerund or bare infinitive forms:

 

VERB + INFINITIVE	VERB + GERUND	VERB + INF without TO
ADJ + INFINITIVE WOULD like /prefer + INFINITIVE teach, learn allow decide hope promise afford offer expect refuse manage forbid	Br Eng: VERBS OF PREFERENCE + GERUND: enjoy, like, love, hate enjoy avoid can’t stand look forward to admit consider keep (don’t) mind PREPOSITION  + GERUND	let make help

 

1. I’m looking forward to (see) you.
2. He dreads (have) to retire.
3. I arranged (meet) them here.
4. He urged us (work) faster.
5. I wish (see) the manager.
6. It’s no use (wait).
7. He warned her (not touch) the wire.
8. Don’t forget (lock) the door before (go) to bed.
9. My mother told me (not speak) to anyone about it.
10. I can’t understand her (behave). He tried (explain) but she refused (listen).
11. At dinner she annoyed me by (smoke) between the courses.
12. You are expected (know) the safety regulations of the college.
13. He decided (disguise) himself by (dress) as a woman.
14. I am prepared (wait) here all night if necessary.

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

TIME AFTER TIME = again and again

SLEEP LIKE A LOG = sleep very well without hearing any noises

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

MUCK ABOUT = to waste time doing silly things

WHILE AWAY = to spend time in a relaxed way

 

EXERCISE 3 

Fill in the gaps with idioms or phrasal verbs:

1. Sometimes they go away for the weekend and …………………..at their aunt’s house in the countryside.
2. I always ……………………. Luckily, I can’t hear any snoring of my roommate.
3. They spend a lot of time together and love …………….……… their days off going round the shops.
4. I’ve told you …………………….. not to take a nap during the day. Later, you wake up at nights.

 

NEWS

The Best: Back position

“Good for: Preventing neck and back pain, reducing acid reflux, minimizing wrinkles, maintaining perky breasts.

Bad for: Snoring

The scoop: Sleeping on your back makes it easy for your head, neck, and spine to maintain a neutral position. You’re not forcing any extra curves into your back, says Steven Diamant, a chiropractor in New York City. It’s also ideal for fighting acid reflux, says Eric Olson, M.D., co-director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota: „If the head is elevated, your stomach will be below your esophagus so acid or food can’t come back up.”

Back-sleeping also helps prevent wrinkles, because nothing is pushing against your face, notes Dee Anna Glaser, M.D., a professor of dermatology at Saint Louis University. And the weight of your breasts is fully supported, reducing sagginess.

Consider this: „Snoring is usually most frequent and severe when sleeping on the back,” Olson says.

Perfect pillow: One puffy one. The goal is to keep your head and neck supported without propping your head up too much.”

 

GLOSSARY 

Perky = happy and full of energy
Spine = the line of bones down the centre of the back that provides support for the body and protects the spinal cord
Esophagus = the tube in the body that takes food from the mouth to the stomach
Sagginess = the state of dropping down
Propping = supporting something

 

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