20100430 Teens and Texting (2)

Teens and Texting

The cost of staying connected
Teens send and receive thousands of messages to stay in constant contact with their friends. Texting makes them feel like they're in the loop. That need to stay connected often prevents teens from getting adequate sleep. Mikaela Espinoza, 17, used to sleep with her cell phone beside her bed. Eventually, her sleep became affected, especially on nights when she received texts at 3 a.m. Soon she was having painful headaches during the day. Espinoza is not the only teen with sleep-related problems.

Besides headaches, these teens also experience difficulty concentrating, bad moods and weak immune systems. Many teens fall asleep in class, and some even confess to falling asleep while driving.

Turning off the phone
After seeing their phone bill, Reina Hardesty's parents restricted Reina's use of her cell phone. Parents also set "texting curfews," a time after which no more texting is
allowed. Many teens are discovering for themselves the benefits of turning off their phone at night. It's a good first step toward a good night's sleep.




in the loop 參與其內/知情
eg: Even though Janet is currently out on a business trip, she is in the loop on all our big decisions.
=> 雖然Janet現在出差了，但是她都有參與我們的每一個重大決策。

out of the loop 不知情的/局外人的
eg: I've been out of the loop on what has been happening in town since I moved.
=> 自從我搬家之後，就不曉得鎮上的動態了.

adequate adj. 足夠的/適合的
eg: We have to make sure we have adequate food for our camping trip.
=> 我們必須確定我們露營食物的量是足夠的。
eg: Adequate lighting is crucial for students' learning.
=> 足夠的光線對學生的學習是很重要的。

confess v. 承認/坦承
confess to something 坦承某件事情
confess to someone 對某人坦承
eg: George confessed to sneaking out during work.
=> George 承認上班的時候有偷溜出去。
eg: Nick confessed to his parents that he stole money from them.
=> Nick向父母坦承了自己偷了他們的錢。



//== Chat room ==//

texting curfews 禁止傳簡訊

curfew n.
=> 原先指戒嚴時期的宵禁令，有curfew的時候，夜間是禁止外出的
=> 現在curfew是指青少年晚間要回到家的門禁時間
eg: I have an eleven o'clock curfew.
=> 我十一點鐘前要回到家

grounded
eg: get grounded 被禁足
eg: You are grounded. 你被禁足