（一）深夜：

1. late:

例：

I don't like coming home late at night to an empty house. （我不喜欢半夜回家面对空无一人的房子。）

stay up late (=not go to bed until late)

They stayed up late to watch the end of the match. （他们熬夜看完球赛。）

have a late night (=when you go to bed very late)

You look as if you've been having too many late nights recently. （你看起来好像最近经常熬夜。）

2. the middle of the night: late at night when most people are asleep

例：

In the middle of the night, I was woken by a loud noise downstairs. （半夜，我被楼下的一声巨响吵醒了。）

Helen opened the door. "Dave? What's wrong? It's the middle of the night!"（海伦开了门，看见是戴夫，说：“怎么啦？大半夜的。”）

3. late-night: happening or shown late at night （用作定语）

例：

late-night television（深夜的电视节目）

They stopped off for a late-night drink. （他们深夜到访，喝了一杯。）

4. last thing at night: just before you go to bed; at the very end of the day

备注："last thing at night"是非正式的用法。

例：

The soldiers are supposed to polish their shoes last thing at night. （士兵睡觉前要擦鞋。）

Take a couple of these pills last thing at night to help you sleep. （睡前吃两颗这种药片，有利睡眠。）

5. the early hours: a time which is very late at night, between about 1 o'clock and 4 o'clock in the morning

例：

The club didn't close till the early hours. （俱乐部直到后半夜才关门。）

They reached San Francisco in the early hours of the morning. （他们凌晨时分到的旧金山。）

6. till all hours: until very late at night - use this when you are annoyed by someone doing something too late at night

备注："till all hours"是非正式的用法。

例：

She and her friends used to stay out till all hours, going from club to club. （过去，她们一群人常常酒吧换了一家又一家，一直玩到半夜。）

Better not wake her—she was up till all hours last night, working. （别吵醒她，她昨天半夜工作到很迟。）

（二）清早：

1. early:

例：

Early the next day, Jamie received a call from his mother. （第二天一早，杰米接到了妈妈打来的电话。）

make an early start (=start an activity or journey early in the morning)

If we make an early start we should avoid the worst of the traffic. （一大早出发可以避开交通拥堵。）

补充：

早起的人：

① early bird:

Jack was always an early bird; he did a lot of his work before dawn. （杰克向来起得很早，天亮前就能干很多活。）

② early riser:

He'd been an early riser ever since he was a child. （他从小就起得早。）

A few early risers were already sipping their cappuccinos in the bars facing the square. （有些早起的人已经在广场对面的咖啡店喝咖啡了。）

2. first thing: if you do something first thing , you do it immediately after you get up or as soon as you start work

备注："first thing"常用于口语中。

例：

I'll telephone her first thing, I promise. （我肯定明天一早就给她打电话。）

first thing tomorrow/Wednesday/in the morning etc.

Leave it on my desk and I'll deal with it first thing tomorrow. （放我桌上，我明天一早就处理。）

3. at the crack of dawn: use this to emphasize that something happens very early in the morning, when most people are still in bed

备注："at the crack of dawn"是非正式的用法。

例：

My Dad used to get up at the crack of dawn every Sunday to go fishing. （以前，爸爸周日常常起个大早去钓鱼。）

4. bright and early: if you get up bright and early, you get up very early in the morning, especially because there is something that you want to do

例：

Geoffrey was up bright and early on Saturday morning, and had everything packed before breakfast. （杰弗瑞周六起了个大早，早饭前就把东西都打包好了。）

Waking bright and early, I went for a swim and took the dog for a walk. （我起了个大早去游泳加遛狗。）