Are you a NIGHT OWL or an EARLY BIRD?

This temporary owl sculpture stood along Broadway in Midtown not too far from NYLC this past winter. Many owls are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and hunt at night. This is most likely the reason why we call people who are wide awake at night NIGHT OWLS!  :-)  Read about this & learn more vocabulary in the lesson below.   

People usually either love staying up late at night or prefer going to bed early. Those who enjoy staying up late and hitting the sack way past midnight don't enjoy getting up early. On the other hand, those who turn in early also enjoy waking up early.

• HITTING THE SACK - going to bed
• WAY past midnight - so much past midnight (as in 2 or 3 a.m.)
• TURN IN - go to bed

Which one are you?  If you love staying up late and hitting the sack in the wee hours of the morning, you can call yourself a night owl! :-) You probably snooze the alarm several times in the morning before you drag yourself out of bed. Then you move very slowly as you struggle to wake up.

• THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING - very early morning, around 3 or 4 a.m.
• A NIGHT OWL - someone who goes to bed very late
• DRAG yourself or someone - force yourself or someone
• STRUGGLE - try hard

However, if you prefer to get up very early and you have tons of energy in the morning, you can call yourself an early bird or a morning person! :-) You enjoy waking up with the sun and you probably have a few things done by 10a.m.

• AN EARLY BIRD or MORNING PERSON - someone who enjoys waking up early

While most people think that being a morning person is better for productivity, a night owl can be productive, too, if he or she uses his time wisely.

So are you a night owl or a morning person? What kind of things do you do to stay productive? Let us know!


-- Joe Yu, ESL instructor