你的床是安全的吗？当你躺下来的时候，你会出现眼睛流泪，打喷嚏或者咳嗽的状况吗？如果有，那么你可能对空气中的灰尘有过敏性反应。这些灰尘包含着各种微小的细菌、真菌及尘螨，许多都生活在我们的床上。当我们在睡眠中翻身时，它们就会被惊动，然后可能被吸入人体。定期给床垫吸尘是一种减少床上微生物的办法，还有其它什么建议呢？请看本期《随身英语》。

课文内容

词汇:  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…?

词汇表

haven 安全的地方，安乐窝
weary 疲倦的、疲惫不堪的
microscopic 微小的、细微的
pests 害虫
to lurk 潜藏，悄悄移动
well-being 幸福健康的状态
mites 螨虫、小虫
bedding 床上用品（包括床单、被罩、枕头罩等）
propelled 被弹出，被弹起
allergenic 引起过敏的
asthma 哮喘
to trigger 引发、引起
exposure 接触
-proof 抗…的，能防护…的

测验与练习

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

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.  请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。

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.  阅读课文并回答问题。

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.  请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处 。

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.