英语博客(A cup of English):023 The Nutcracker.

　　Beginners.
One of my boys collects nutcrackers. Do you know what they are? They are very colorful, soldier dolls. They have become popular in the United States around Christmas time. You can find them in all sizes. Cass, my son, has a few small ones, and one big one. In the stores I have seen a variety of huge ones also, in different colors, and different uniforms. Sometimes they have a theme, like music, or nationality. One store has a packet of several nutcrackers, each one dressed in a national costume from a different country. I suppose they are called collectibles, just like snow globes, stamps, or keys. I have already finished my Christmas shopping, but I know that my son will be happy if he finds a new, shiny nutcracker in his stocking on the 25th of December.
Grammar notes.
Verbs:To collect (collect, collected, collected); to become (become, became, become); to find (find, found, found); to have (have, had, have)
Related vocabulary:soldier, doll, costume, uniform, nationality, country, tradition.
Advanced.
The other day I was browsing¹ through the newspaper when I came across an announcement that the Nutcracker ballet was coming to town. It was going to be in town for only a few days, but what an exciting event! My husband and I had been to a spectacular performance of the Nutcracker in Seattle a couple of years ago. It was quite a modern rendition of the ballet, but just as jaw-dropping as the traditional performance. I think that my children are ready for exposure to such an artistic² event. Perhaps we could make a real evening of it, dress formerly³, go to a nice restaurant, and end up at the ballet. And, even though our town is small, we are beginning to get very good performers and artists visit and show their tremendous talent. My kids have all heard Tchaikovsky's music, but to see the ballet, if they can sit still that long, would give them some great insight into the volume of creative work from around the world that we can enjoy. Perhaps it could become a family tradition.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: Performance, rendition, theater, art, ballet, opera, family tradition, exposure, creativity, composer, conductor, spectacle, jaw-dropping/ awesome⁴, talent, event.
Verbs: to browse⁵ (browse, browsed⁶, browsed); to hear (hear, heard, heard); to come across = to find/ to stumble across.

1 browsing   

v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• He sits browsing over[through] a book. 他坐着翻阅书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cattle is browsing in the field. 牛正在田里吃草。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

3 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

4 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

5 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

6 browsed   

v.吃草( browse的过去式和过去分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• I browsed through some magazines while I waited. 我边等边浏览几本杂志。 来自辞典例句
• I browsed through the book, looking at page after page. 我翻开了一下全书，一页又一页。 来自互联网