000295

88 II. Tapescripts Tapescript 1 BBC Learning English 6 Minute English Larks and Owls NB: This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript. Dan: Hello and welcome to this week’s 6 Minute English. I’m Dan Walker Smith and today I’m joined by Kate. Now Kate, would you say you’re more of a morning or an evening person? Kate: I’d say I’m definitely a morning person. I love going to bed early and getting up early. Dan: OK, well that makes you a lark. People who are better in the morning are known as “larks”, after the famously early-rising birds. And people who are better at night are sometimes known as “owls” or “night- owls”, after the birds which tend to come out at night. Kate: That’s an interesting theory. How about you? Are you a morning or a night person? Dan: I’m definitely an owl. I go to bed very late and I love staying in late in the morning. I just don’t deal with daytime at all. Kate: Oh, so we’re complete opposites then. Dan: Yup. Kate: Well, apparently around half the world’s population are naturally co-ordinated to wake up early or late. It’s in our genetics or make-up, like our eye-colour or height. Dan: So this week’s question to you Kate is: on average how many hours do adults sleep each night? Is it: a) 6 and a half hours b) 7 and a half hours c) 8 and a half hours Kate: Well I think that the recommended amount of sleep is somewhere between seven and eight hours. But I’m sure that most people don’t get that amount, so I’m going to go for a, six and a half. Dan: OK, we’ll see if you’re right at the end of the programme. Kate: Now, a person’s natural rhythm of sleep is known as their body clock. This is what regulates what time you wake up and when you feel tired. Variations in your body’s temperature affect tiredness, so some people