英语博客：ESL Podcast 702 – Finding Other Singles

　　I was tired of being single. All of my friends had paired up and I was left hanging. Like everybody else these days, I tried using the Internet to find other singles, but I never had any luck. Cruising for my ideal woman among a bunch of lonely hearts is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I needed another strategy.
I finally hit on a brilliant idea. I would find places where single women naturally congregate¹ and simply show up. It may turn out to be a wild goose chase, but I was willing to give it a shot.
That’s how I decided² to take a jewelry³-making class at the community center. I may not know much, but I do know that two things that naturally go together are women and jewelry.
I got to the class a few minutes late so I could make a grand entrance. But when I walked in, I got the shock of my life. The room was full of single women all right, but not one of them was under the age of 70!
They were definitely glad to see me. I even received a couple of invitations to dinner that day. But to be honest, that wasn’t the kind of dinner date I had been looking for!
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 congregate   

v.(使)集合，聚集

参考例句：

• Now they can offer a digital place for their readers to congregate and talk.现在他们可以为读者提供一个数字化空间，让读者可以聚集和交谈。
• This is a place where swans congregate.这是个天鹅聚集地。

2 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。

3 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。