11 On Getting Off to Sleep - 有声读物

11 On Getting Off to Sleep - 有声读物
Lesson Eleven On Getting off to Sleep
What a bundle of contradictions is a man!
Surety, humour is the saving grace of us,
for without it we should die of vexation.
With me, nothing illustrates the contrariness
of things better than the matter of sleep.
If, for example, my intention is to write an essay,
and 1 have before me ink and pens and several sheets of virgin paper,
you may depend upon it that before I have gone very far
I feel an overpowering desire for sleep,
no matter what time of the day it is.
I stare at the reproachfully blank paper until sights
and sounds become dim and confused,
and it is only by an effort of will that I can continue at all.
Even then, I proceed half-heartedly, in a kind of dream.
But let me be between the sheets at a late hour,
and I can do any-thing but sleep.
Between chime and chime of the clock I can write essays by the score.
Fascinating subjects and noble ideas come pell-mell,
each with its appropriate imagery and expression.
Nothing stands between me and half-a-dozen imperishable masterpieces
but pens, ink, and paper.