英语博客：Look at the details!

　　About nine years ago, I had some incredible luck in a local charity shop. It was coming up to Christmas, and I had gone to Goodwill¹ to look around at all the second hand decorations, ornaments², and housewares. As I wandered up and down the aisle³, taking my time to look at the hundreds of items that were for sale, I came across a house. It was a ceramic⁴, Christmas-style house. I picked it up and examined it. It looked like an old English pub with several people here and there playing outside in the snow. There is a frozen pond next to it, trees, and a water wheel. I had seen this sort of decoration before, but brand new in the local stores. They are normally very expensive, as they light up. They often have moving parts, and play music. In a little plastic bag, attached to the item by some sticky tape, was a wire with a plug. I decided⁵ to take a chance. Normally, electronic items that are sold in charity stores are not to be trusted. They are often donated specifically because they don't work anymore. I bought it. After cleaning it up at home, I plugged it in. I reasoned that even if it didn't work, it looked festive⁶ and pretty. So, with fingers crossed I turned it on. It worked. If I push the button in one direction, lots of twinkiling lights come on that change color. If it is pushed in the opposite direction, lights and music come on, and the frozen pond turns around. The frozen pond is probably the reason that this house was donated. It had two skating figures, but one had his head missing, and the other lacked an arm and a leg. Thankfully, you can buy extra little figures in different stores, so I bought an extra snowman and boy. I very carefully twisted off the broken figures, and replaced them with the new ones. With a little help from superglue, the pond scene looked as good as new. My children would spend ages staring at it as its colors changed. They loved talking about all the details, like a story being told. It's a Christmas scene that I look forward to pulling out of the storage box, and putting on display each year.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: superglue, to stare, to cross your fingers.
1. My sister-in-law uses superglue to glue the cracked skin on her heels back together!
2. It makes me uncomfortable when people stare at me.
3. We've set up all of the fireworks. Fingers crossed that they all work when we light them.

1 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

2 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

4 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。