你的床是安全的嗎？當你躺下來的時候，你會出現眼睛流淚，打噴嚏或者咳嗽的狀況嗎？如果有，那么你可能對空氣中的灰塵有過敏性反應。這些灰塵包含著各種微小的細菌、真菌及塵螨，許多都生活在我們的床上。當我們在睡眠中翻身時，它們就會被驚動，然后可能被吸入人體。定期給床墊吸塵是一種減少床上微生物的辦法，還有其它什么建議呢？請看本期《隨身英語》。

課文內容

詞匯:  Sleep 睡眠

Do you consider your bed a safe haven of rest and calm? Do you sink into a mattress after a hard day's work and feel tension and stress drain away as you rest your weary head on a soft pillow? Well, you might not feel so relaxed if you knew that microscopic pests were lurking there! It seems that beds may not be such a good place for our well-being – they could actually be making us ill!

Recent studies have shown that bacteria, fungi and dust mites, some smaller than the diameter of a hair, live in our bedding. When we move around in our sleep, we disturb them and they are propelled into the air – which we then breathe in as we sleep. According to the American Lung Association, four out of five households in the United States now have high levels of dust mites, although it's not the mites themselves that cause the problems, but their droppings. These are "highly allergenic" according to Dr William Berger, a fellow with the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "Even if you aren't allergic… they can still irritate you, the way pepper would if it blew into your nose and eyes."

Brendan Boor, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, who carries out bed research, also found that bed dust in the air triggers allergies – causing watery eyes, sneezing, coughs and asthma. He has recommended ways to limit our exposure to these unsavoury allergens:

Firstly, he suggests vacuuming your mattress regularly – weekly, or even daily. He also recommends doing away with carpets and washing floors. Using allergen-proof bed covers, he says, can reduce the risk of getting allergies. In addition, washing bedding and pillows frequently can help, as can a portable air cleaner placed near the bed.

If you do as Brendan Boor suggests, you will breathe in cleaner air as you sleep… or will you? Is it really safe for you to go back in your bed…?

詞匯表

haven 安全的地方，安樂窩
weary 疲倦的、疲憊不堪的
microscopic 微小的、細微的
pests 害蟲
to lurk 潛藏，悄悄移動
well-being 幸福健康的狀態
mites 螨蟲、小蟲
bedding 床上用品（包括床單、被罩、枕頭罩等）
propelled 被彈出，被彈起
allergenic 引起過敏的
asthma 哮喘
to trigger 引發、引起
exposure 接觸
-proof 抗…的，能防護…的

測驗與練習

1.  閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. True or false? According to the article, beds are not the secure places we thought they were.

2. What is causing a lot of allergies in US households?  

3. Name two symptoms that might indicate you are allergic to something.

4. How often should you vacuum your mattress, according to Brendan Boor?

5. What phrase means 'to get rid of something'? 

2.  請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處 。

1. We were drifting in the lifeboat and our boat had already __________ by the time the rescue boats arrived.

sank        sunk        sinked        sinking

2. Try not to __________ me for the next half an hour. I'm going to lie down and have a sleep.

disappoint        distinguish        distract        disturb

3. The average __________ income of a British family has risen slightly.

household        houseful        householder        house

4. I came up in a nasty red rash after eating those strawberries. I must be __________ to them.

allergenic        allergic        irritated        immune

5. Dust around the home can often __________ reactions such as sneezing and a runny nose.

begin        trigger        set up        target

答案

1.  閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. True or false? According to the article, beds are not the secure places we thought they were.
True. There are microscopic pests in them and these are making us ill.

2. What is causing a lot of allergies in US households?
Dust mite droppings.

3. Name two symptoms that might indicate you are allergic to something.
Two of the following: watery eyes, sneezing, coughs, asthma.

4. How often should you vacuum your mattress, according to Brendan Boor?
Every day or once a week.

5. What phrase means 'to get rid of something'?
Do away with.

2.  請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處 。

1. We were drifting in the lifeboat and our boat had already sunk by the time the rescue boats arrived.

2. Try not to disturb me for the next half an hour. I'm going to lie down and have a sleep.

3. The average household income of a British family has risen slightly.

4. I came up in a nasty red rash after eating those strawberries. I must be allergic to them.

5. Dust around the home can often trigger reactions such as sneezing and a runny nose.