讀報刊，學英語（2）
5-hour bus tour caters to sleep-deprived
A 76-kilometer， five-hour ride on a regular double-decker bus around Hong Kong
is meant
to
appeal to people who are easily lulled asleep by long rides。 It was inspired by the
tendency of tired commuters to fall asleep on public transit。
“When we were brainstorming new tours， I saw a social media post from my friend saying
that he was
stressed out
by his work， he couldn’t sleep at night，” said Kenneth Kong， the
marketing and business development manager of ulu travel， the organizer of the bus tours。
“But when he was traveling on the bus， he was able to sleep well。 His post
inspired us to
create this tour that lets passengers just sleep on the bus。”
Tickets cost between US$13 to US$51 per person，
depending on
whether they choose
seats on the upper or lower deck。 A goodie bag for passengers includes an eye-mask and
ear plugs for better sleep。
The first “Sleeping Bus Tour” on Oct。 16
sold out
entirely。 Some passengers came
prepared， bringing their own blankets and changing their shoes to slippers， while others
brought travel pillows。
“I have been
suffering from
insomnia so I am here to try and get some sleep，” said 25-year-
old Anson Kong， one of the passengers on the first bus tour。 He said that the tour was a
good idea and “more interesting” than he expected。
On Saturday’s tour， the bus stopped so passengers could take photos at scenic spots on
the city’s Lantau Island。
Another passenger， Marco Yung， said that he joined the tour because he usually
falls
asleep
on long-distance bus journeys， saying it was a “great opportunity” to get some
sleep。
Why do some people find it easy to fall asleep on buses？ Here are some explanations。
Cars and other vehicles are a perfect environment that produces
white noise
。 It’s a
consistent noise， like the hum of tires or the purring of the car。 White noise masks
distracting sounds， and is helpful for people who
have trouble getting
sleep。
Another popular view as to why it’s easy to fall asleep in buses or trains is because of the
rocking motion that’s
similar to
what lulled us to sleep when we were babies。 If you were
rocked to sleep as a baby， you’d have that association that when you experience a rocking
motion， you go to sleep。
Carbon dioxide increases when there are lots of people in a small space。 This reduces
oxygen to the brain and slows it down。
（引用宣告：英文素材引用自深圳日報 Shenzhen Daily）
老孫詳解：
一、Words to learn
White noise：白噪音，是物理學的一個概念，可以通俗的理解為一種頻率幾乎沒有變化始終如一的聲音，比如汽車胎噪或者發動機的聲音。白噪音在心理學上有治療作用。
二、Useful expressions to learn（文中劃線部分）
1 be meant to do sth。 有意要做某事，打算做某事
2 appeal to 。。。 對。。。有吸引力，能打動。。。
3 fall asleep 睡著，入睡
4 stressed out 焦慮的，極度不安的
5 inspire sb。 to do sth。 激勵某人做某事，啟發某人做某事
6 depending on 。。。 依據。。。， 根據。。。
7 sold out 賣完，售光，賣斷貨的
8 suffer from 。。。 忍受。。。，遭受。。。，受。。。之苦
9 have trouble doing 。。。在。。。有困難，做某事有困難
還可以表達為：have trouble with sth。
10 as to 。。。 至於，關於
11 similar to 。。。 與。。。類似，如同。。。
三、Long sentences
1 A 76-kilometer， five-hour ride on a regular double-decker bus around Hong Kong is meant to appeal to people who are easily lulled asleep by long rides。
句子的主要成分為：A ride is meant to appeal to people。
76-kilometer， five-hour是主語ride的前置定語，on a regular double-decker bus around Hong Kong是介詞短語用作ride的後置定語；
Who are easily lulled asleep by long rides。是一個定語從句修飾people。
2 When we were brainstorming new tours， I saw a social media post from my friend saying that he was stressed out by his work， he couldn’t sleep at night，
but
when he was traveling on the bus， he was able to sleep well。
這個句子看上去很長，但主幹部分很簡單：
I saw a social media post。 我看到了一個社交媒體的帖子。
前面When we were brainstorming new tours，是整個句子的時間狀語，saying 。。。一直到句末是動詞的-ing形式用作post的後置定語，在這個定語當中又包含一個賓語從句，that he was stressed out by his work，後面he couldn’t sleep at night， but he was able to sleep well。是賓語從句的狀語，由but連線的表示轉折關係的並列句，when he was traveling on the bus，又是並列句後半句的時間狀語。
3 Another popular view as to why it’s easy to fall asleep in buses or trains is because of the rocking motion that’s similar to what lulled us to sleep when we were babies。
這個句子把主幹提煉出來就很容易理解了：
Another popular view is because of the rocking motion。
4 If you were rocked to sleep as a baby， you’d have that association that when you experience a rocking motion， you go to sleep。
這個句子看上去不復雜，但理解起來有一定難度，其實主幹仍然簡單：
You’d have that association。
If you were rocked to sleep as a baby，是主句的條件狀語。
That when you experience a rocking motion， you go to sleep。這是修飾association的定語從句，只不過定語從句內又包含一個時間狀語從句，也正是這個時間狀語從句，增加了整個句子的理解難度。
