常春藤生活英語：The Early-Bird Trend 晨起的趨勢(shì)

It is likely that you have heard the saying, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." This saying seems to be true, and there are many people who are eager to try out this lifestyle1 for themselves. Here in Taiwan, it is not uncommon to see people gathering to exercise or hanging out early in the morning. Not all of these people are elderly2, though. Across Asia, more and more young people are waking up early in order to get a head start3 on the day.

To be considered an "early riser," you have to be up by 6 or 7 AM. To be a "dawn riser," you have to get up before 5 AM. What has caused people to crawl out of bed so early? One reason is that more and more people are working overtime4. This means only their morning hours are free for activities like exercising, studying, and reading. Many people also think getting up early helps create discipline5 in their lives. Self-discipline is essential to leading a successful life.

Businesses have also picked up on the early-bird trend6. Breakfast shops are opening earlier and offering higher quality meals. More businesses are holding morning exercise classes for their workers. Even places like dentists' offices are welcoming early patients.

您很有可能聽過這句諺語：『早睡早起能使人健康、富有、明智。』這句諺語看來所言非假，而且有許多人現(xiàn)在也急切著要親自嘗試這種生活方式。在臺(tái)灣常常會(huì)看到人們一大早就聚在一起運(yùn)動(dòng)和閑聊。然而這些人并非全然是年長(zhǎng)者。在亞洲各地，愈來愈多的年輕人開始早起，要贏在一天的起跑點(diǎn)。

要成為『早起者』，您必須在早上六、七點(diǎn)起床。而要成為『晨型人』，您在五點(diǎn)前就得起來了。是什么造成大家這么早就得爬出被窩呢?原因之一是愈來愈多人要加班工作。這意味著他們只有在清晨的時(shí)間才有空做其它活動(dòng)，像是運(yùn)動(dòng)、學(xué)習(xí)和閱讀。許多人也認(rèn)為早起能夠在他們的生活中形成一種紀(jì)律。而自律正是成功人生之必需。

商家也開始注意到這個(gè)晨起的趨勢(shì)。早餐店?duì)I業(yè)時(shí)間提早，并且提供更高質(zhì)量的餐飲。愈來愈多的企業(yè)公司也為員工開辟晨間的運(yùn)動(dòng)課程。甚至像牙醫(yī)診所也開始?xì)g迎患者早起看病。

Building Your Vocabulary

1. wealthy　a. 富裕的，富有的

Paul got wealthy because he bought stocks.

保羅因買股票而致富。

2. crawl　vi. 爬，爬行

The baby crawled after the rolling ball.

小嬰兒跟在滾動(dòng)的球后面爬。

3. essential　a. 絕對(duì)重要的;必不可少的

Wearing sunblock is essential during summer.

夏天擦防曬乳是必不可少的。

Phrases for Learning

1. be eager to + 原形動(dòng)詞　　熱切∕渴望于……

Dylan has been eager to go to Disneyland.

迪倫一直渴望去迪斯尼樂園。

2. lead a + 形容詞 + life　　過……的生活

Sarah led a busy life after she had twins.

莎拉生了雙胞胎后便過著忙碌的日子。

3. pick up on...　　注意∕發(fā)現(xiàn)到……

No one picked up on Fred's bad habits.

沒人注意到弗萊德的壞習(xí)慣。

Extra Words

1. lifestyle　n. 生活方式

2. elderly　a. 年老的

3. head start　n. 領(lǐng)先優(yōu)勢(shì);有利開端

4. overtime　adv. 加時(shí)地(工作)

5. discipline　n. 紀(jì)律

6. trend　n. 趨勢(shì)

Tips In Use

It is likely that you have heard the saying...

(您很有可能聽過這句諺語……)

saying 在本句中作名詞用，表『諺語;俗語』，常用于以下句型：As an old saying goes, "諺語."(俗話說的好：『……?！?。以下便為各位讀者介紹關(guān)于早起的諺語。

1. The early bird catches the worm.

早起的鳥兒有蟲吃。

2. He that will thrive must rise at five.

若要飛黃騰達(dá)，必須五點(diǎn)起床。

3. The future belongs to the man who rises early.

未來屬于早起之人。