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今天是小芳老师陪你精读外刊的第160天

泛读原文（盲听1遍，泛读1遍，对照文本听1遍）

When it comes to first impressions, we all want to make a good one. And that’s why we tend to focus on our best traits and qualities. However, we often fall into the trap of thinking that everything about us needs to be perfect. But that’s just unrealistic. We all have imperfections. It’s part of being human. And while it’s easy to believe that our ‘supposed flaws and imperfections’ make us less attractive, here are some that can actually make us seem more appealing to others:

Sometimes we are just thirsty or too hot, but most often our insomnia is psychological. It is the mind’s revenge for all the efforts that we have, largely unbeknownst to us, been making not to have certain thoughts in the day. We are being woken up by a need to think about something that we have carefully been ignoring, probably thanks to our work, or our social and family commitments. Having attempted to get our attention by more normal means in the clamour and business of the day, our deep minds are now trying to get us to have an appointment with certain insights and ideas in the quieter hours of the night.

Our 3am awakenings are signs that we have repeatedly not been doing the sort of self-reflection we need to do in order to be at peace. We are not being lazy; we are not shunning our responsibilities out of wilfulness. We are simply escaping, for very understandable reasons, from what are liable to be a range of difficult thoughts, perhaps about work, a relationship, or our childhoods.

If we are to regain sleep, we should begin to visit – with greater tenderness and imagination than we allow ourselves in the day – some of the bolted and locked rooms of our minds. In a spirit of gentle curiosity, we might dare to raise certain sorts of enquiry:

– What am I truly, truly sad about at the moment?

– Who has hurt me?

– What needs to change?

– What is the real grief beneath the surface anxiety?

– What is my gut telling me I need to know now and to do next?

These can be uncomfortable questions no doubt, but we can use the night to help us to face them. Everyone else is asleep. It matters a little less now that we think in conventional ways. We can be a bit odd, fanciful, imaginative and kind. We can go a little mad between 3 and 4am and no one needs to know. We can write things down in a notebook and destroy the pages in the morning. What counts is that we give ourselves the chance to understand our shy and pained deep psyches a little better. They have been crying out for our attention and we have – till now – run away from our duty of care.

Our minds’ ultimate responsibility is always to our growth and our self-understanding. They want us to sleep of course; they understand as well as any expert that rest is important, but they have as a priority something even more important than energetic limbs, and that is psychological insight. They need us to have felt what needs to be felt, to have been angry where we are in a rage, to be sad where we are grief-stricken. They are irrepressibly driven to try to align our surfaces with our depths. They are trying to send us, as it were, to the School of Night, not to be unkind, but so that we can catch up on some very key lessons about who we really are that we have until now been too distracted or squeamish to attend.

We will sleep better once we begin to ask ourselves these questions on a regular basis.

单词

Insomnia（失眠）- The inability to sleep, a sleep disorder. Example sentence: She has been suffering from insomnia for weeks, unable to get a good night's sleep.

Psychological（心理的）- Related to the mind or mental processes. Example sentence: The trauma had a profound psychological impact on the survivors.

Reflection（反思）- Serious thought or consideration. Example sentence: Taking time for self-reflection can lead to personal growth and understanding.

Grief（悲伤）- Deep sorrow or sadness, especially due to a loss. Example sentence: She couldn't overcome her grief after the death of her beloved pet.

Anxiety（焦虑）- A feeling of unease, often accompanied by worry or fear. Example sentence: He experienced intense anxiety before giving a presentation.

Shy（害羞）- Timid or reserved, avoiding attention or social interaction. Example sentence: The shy girl hesitated to speak in front of a large audience.

Pained（痛苦的）- Affected with physical or emotional pain. Example sentence: His pained expression revealed the depth of his suffering.

Psyches（心灵）- The human mind, soul, or spirit. Example sentence: Our psyches are complex and influenced by various factors.

Insight（洞察力）- Deep understanding or perception. Example sentence: The therapist provided valuable insights into her patient's behavior.

Regular（定期的）- Occurring or done repeatedly at consistent intervals. Example sentence: It's important to exercise regularly for good health.

阅读理解

What is the main cause of insomnia mentioned in the passage?

a) Thirst b) Physical discomfort c) Psychological factors d) Sleep disorder

Why do our minds wake us up at 3am according to the passage?

a) To escape responsibilities b) To engage in self-reflection c) To avoid difficult thoughts d) To disturb our sleep intentionally

What is the author's suggestion to improve sleep?

a) Avoid asking uncomfortable questions b) Write down thoughts and destroy them in the morning c) Ignore the deeper thoughts and focus on surface-level issues d) Seek professional help immediately

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答案

CBB

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