英语博客：A shell from Hawaii.

　　I have something pretty that sits on my windowsill in my kitchen. It's a shell from Hawaii. I'm not sure what kind of shell it is, or what it is called, but it certainly is something that I love to look at. My mother brought it back from her recent trip there. She went during the Winter, which apparently¹ is one of the best times to go, with it not being too hot. I would like to say that she went scuba² diving and found the shell, but then again, you would never find a shell that looks like this underwater. It has been processed, in a way. The outer most layer of the shell has been ground off. Underneath³, a pearly white layer is revealed. It's stunning⁴. There must have been a creature like a crab⁵ that lived inside it, because there is plenty of room for a little animal in its cavity. I'm not really into jewels, ornaments⁶, and decorations around my house, but I do love shells. I think it's because there is usually a story that comes with them about when they were found, or how a person found them. I still have a tiny shell in my handbag that I found on one of the beaches in Mallorca, Spain, last summer when I went with the kids. When I'm rummaging⁷ around, looking for my cell phone or my check book, I will stumble across it. It gives me an unexpected reminder⁸ of our vacation. My sister also brought me a beautiful shell from New Zealand. It's called a Paua shell, and has the coloration of a bluish, greenish rainbow. Again, the outside has been ground off, revealing the unexpectedly beautiful layer underneath. When I started to write this podcast, I remembered that up in our storage area, we have a collection of large, conch-type shells from Mexico. My husband and I found them years ago while we were snorkelling⁹. We used to have them placed around our bath in our previous house, but when we moved, we boxed them up and forgot about them. I'll have to fish them out today, to add to our growing collection of shells around the house.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: recent, to grind, cavity, to rummage¹⁰.
1. His recent illness has left him tired and thin.
2. He uses a metal file to grind down the piece of stone. He ground off enough stone yesterday to make the basic shape of the statue.
3. When they knocked down the old, rock house, they found a large cavity in one of the walls where the owners stored stolen paintings.
4. The table in the shop was covered in clothes. You had to rummage around to find what you wanted.
Direct download: shell.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00 AM

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

5 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

6 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》

7 rummaging   

翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查

参考例句：

• She was rummaging around in her bag for her keys. 她在自己的包里翻来翻去找钥匙。
• Who's been rummaging through my papers? 谁乱翻我的文件来着？

8 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

9 snorkelling   

v.使用水下呼吸管潜游( snorkel的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The planned snorkelling was cancelled due to rough waves. 原计划进行的潜泳因巨浪而被迫取消了。 来自互联网
• Snorkelling was amazing, daily seeing reef sharks, parrot fish and sting rays. 浮潜是惊人，每天看礁鲨，鹦鹉鱼和魟鱼。 来自互联网

10 rummage   

v./n.翻寻，仔细检查

参考例句：

• He had a good rummage inside the sofa.他把沙发内部彻底搜寻了一翻。
• The old lady began to rummage in her pocket for her spectacles.老太太开始在口袋里摸索，找她的眼镜。