Joy English · Level C1 · Healthjoy-english.com
Understanding sleep debt
Name:Date:
Follow a health talk with numbers, causes, effects and advice.
Listen to each sentence and write what you hear.
Audio and answer checking: https://joy-english.com/listening-lessons/understanding-sleep-debt
Words to know
- shortfall
- An amount that is less than needed.
- accumulate
- To collect gradually in greater amounts.
- immune system
- The body's defence against disease.
- exhausted
- Extremely tired.
Answer key
- Most adults need around seven to nine hours of sleep, yet a large number regularly get far less.'Seven to nine' is a range. 'Yet' here means but. 'Regularly get' links as 'regularly-get'.
- The shortfall accumulates as what researchers call a sleep debt, which affects concentration, mood and even the immune system.'Accumulates' is stressed on the second syllable: a-CCU-mu-lates. 'Which' refers back to the sleep debt.
- Sleeping late at the weekend may ease the tiredness, but it rarely repays the debt completely.'Tiredness' has a clear 'ness' ending. 'Repays' is stressed on the second syllable.
- A more effective approach is to keep regular hours, dim the lights in the evening and avoid screens before bed.'Dim the lights' means lower the brightness. The sentence lists three actions: keep, dim, avoid.
- If you still feel exhausted after several weeks of good habits, it is worth consulting a doctor.'Exhausted' has a silent h: eg-ZAW-sted. 'Worth consulting' is followed by the -ing form.