VOA慢速英语2018 华盛顿的“小憩咖啡馆”让忙碌的人们放缓脚步

Washington 'Nap Cafe' Helps Busy Workers Slow Down

Daniel Turissini used to work long hours as a consultant¹ in the Washington, D.C., area. He always felt tired by the middle of the work day. He asked business professionals if he knew what they did to feel more energetic during the day. Some told him they rested mid-day in their cars. Others said they took short naps at their desks.

丹尼尔·杜瑞丝尼过去在华盛顿特区作为一名顾问要工作很长时间。工作日中间他总是感觉很累。他问商务专业人士他们白天做什么会更有精力。一些人告诉他他们中午会在车里休息一下。其他人说会在桌子上小睡一会。

For Turissini, their answers revealed a need for Washington professionals -- a place to go during the day to take a proper nap.

对于杜瑞丝尼来说，他们的回答透露了华盛顿专业人士的一种需要，即一个白天能够好好小憩的地方。

So, a few months ago, he opened a nap cafe in the center of America’s capital city. It is called recharj.

所以，几个月前，他在美国首都的中心区开了一家小憩咖啡馆。店名是recharj。 

After turning off all of their electronic devices, recharj customers lie down in so-called "power nap cocoons²."The cocoons are meant to help people fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed. They have a bed, a blanket and a special scented⁴ eye mask to help customers relax. Soft music plays in the cocoons.

关掉所有的电子设备后，顾客们可以躺在所谓的“小憩蚕茧”中。蚕茧可以帮助人们入睡、沉睡然后醒来后精神焕发。店里配有床、毛毯和特殊香味的眼罩帮助顾客放松。蚕茧中还放有轻柔的音乐。

The customers sleep for about 20 minutes before returning to work.

顾客们通常睡20分钟左右然后就去上班了。 

Turissini says recharj offers a solution to the city’s fast-paced lifestyle – a chance to slow down. He says that today’s professionals face issues that "we never really had a generation ago." For example, smartphones make it easy for a boss or coworker to contact workers, in Turissini’s words "at all hours at night or when you’re on vacation."

杜瑞丝尼说recharj为城市快节奏的生活方式找到一种出路，提供一个放慢脚步的机会。他说今天的专业人士面临“一代人之前从未面临过的”问题。例如，智能手机让老板或同事更容易联系到员工，用杜瑞丝尼的话说“晚上任何时间或度假时都是如此”。

He says "there’s a load of other challenges we’re facing today that wellness and lifestyle changes – habit changes – are critical to a sustainable life, to a long, happy life."

他说：“如今我们还面临很多其他挑战，健康和生活方式的改变、习惯的改变对持续长久幸福的生活至关重要。”

Recharj experts also offer group sessions on meditation⁵ and mindfulness, as well as wellness events.

recharj专家们还提供冥想、正念以及健康课程等小组活动。 

Connor Garitty is an IT consultant. He says he visits recharj almost every day.

康纳·格瑞提是一名IT顾问。他说他几乎每天都来recharj。 

He says, "I feel, I guess, like the day is just beginning instead of (thinking) ‘Oh my God how am I going to get through the rest of the day?’I come here a lot at the middle of the day and after work. And even that is just as helpful because you’re energized⁶."

他说：“我感觉，我猜，就像一天才刚刚开始，而不是想‘天啊，我该怎么过完这一天’我通常中午或者工作后来这里。这很有帮助，因为你又精神焕发了。”

Mari Aponte is a lawyer in Washington. She says she often feels tired and stressed after hours of sitting down at work.

玛丽·阿朋特是华盛顿的一名律师。她说坐着工作几小时后她经常感到很累，压力很大。 

She says what I like most about coming here is that I can breathe, whereas my morning is very crazy. I drink a lot of coffee and I’m like moving too much, too fast. So, I come here; it helps stop time and just balance my day.

“我最喜欢来这里是因为我可以呼吸，我的早晨太疯狂了。我喝无数杯咖啡，一直在快速地走，做大量事。所以我来到这里，这里会让时间停下来，让我的一天平衡一下。”

Words in This Story

consultant - n. a person who gives professional advice or services to companies for a fee

nap - n. a short period of sleep especially during the day?

proper – adj. right, suitable correct

customers – n. one the purchases a commodity or service.

cocoon³ – n. something that wraps around you completely, especially to protect you

relax - v. to become or to cause (something) to become less tense, tight, or stiff

refresh – v. to restore strength and animation⁷ to

scented – adj. having a pleasing smell

challenge – n. something that tests strength, skill, or ability, especially in a way that is interesting

sustainable – adj. able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed

meditation - n. the act or process of spending time in quiet thought

1 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

2 cocoons   

n.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的名词复数 )v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The silkworms have gone into the bushes to spin their cocoons. 蚕上山了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In two more days the " little darlings" would spin their cocoons. 再得两天，“宝宝”可以上山。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

3 cocoon   

n.茧

参考例句：

• A cocoon is a kind of silk covering made by an insect.蚕茧是由昆虫制造的一种由丝组成的外包层。
• The beautiful butterfly emerged from the cocoon.美丽的蝴蝶自茧中出现。

4 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

6 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

7 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。