【英语趣味课堂】收藏品-Collectibles

Diego: Hello, Silvia. I want to ask you a question. Whether you collect or hold onto things too much?

 

Silvia: I think too much is an understatement, actually. I do have a lot of stuff¹ in my room. A lot.

 

Diego: And you live in another country right now. Right?

 

Silvia: Yeah, and I'm actually worrying a lit bit about how I'm going to take everything back home.

 

Diego: OK, so what sort of things do you hold onto?

 

Silvia: Well, now I have from every country I've visited I always get a magnet² of the country. Well, that doesn't have, you know, it's small.

 

Diego: Yeah, it doesn't take up that much space.

 

Silvia: But then, I love to buy handbags. And I have tons of handbags that I have no idea what I'm going to do with actually.

 

Diego: How many handbags do you own?

 

Silvia: Thirty, plus home another thirty, so ...

 

Diego: Wow!

 

Silvia: Yeah, I think maybe I have to get rid of a few.

 

Diego: I think so too. And do you collect anything?

 

Silvia: Ah, actually no. How about you?

 

Diego: Well, I don't live at home anymore. I live overseas³, so I think the first time that I moved from one city to another, I used to have a lot of stuff, but then I realized how difficult it was to move everything, so I think I just got to the point where I didn't want to be packing stuff all the time, so I tried to throw everything away. I mean everything that I don't really, really need, I tried to not buy it, or just let it go.

 

Silvia: I think with guys it's easier right?

 

Diego: Maybe it's a bit easier.

 

Silvia: With girls, I don't want to get rid of clothes that I haven't worn⁴ in a year or I have a lot of shoes as well and they take a lot of space. I was trying to get rid of a few things the other day and I counted thirty-five pairs of shoes.

 

Diego: Wow!

 

Silvia: Yeah, I know. So, yeah, I think I should have a yardsale or something.

 

Diego: I think so too. And I think the more you move around, the less things you want to have because you know you have to pay more when you move to another place, and it's very annoying to put everything in two boxes and suitcases and everything.

 

Silvia: Yeah, I'm learning⁵ that now actually.

 

Diego: Yes, I think you should stop buying purses.

 

Silvia: I know. Wish me luck with the packing.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

an understatement

 

 

I think too much is an understatement

 

When we make an understatement we use words that are not strong enough to talk about how bad or serious something is. Notice the sample.

 

With Thai food, I think too spicy⁶ is an understatement - it’s super hot!

hold onto

 

What things do you hold onto?

 

When we hold on to something, it means⁷ we keep it, usually for a long time. Notice the following.

 

I don’t like working in customer service, but I’m going to hold on to my job until the economy⁸ improves.

When François went to America he gave away almost everything, but he held on to his DVD collection.

tons

 

I have tons of handbags.

 

Here ‘tons’ means ‘a lot of’. It can be countable⁹ or uncountable. Here are two examples using ‘tons’.

 

Since she quit her job, Elena has tons of free time.

I download all my music so I have tons of CD’s that I never listen to.

let it go

 

I tried to not buy it or let it go.

 

To ‘let it go’ means to forget about something we are or have been thinking seriously about. Notice the sample sentences.

 

I love the new Apple iPad but it’s so expensive! I need to let it go for now.

Jack’s girlfriend broke up with him. He had a hard time letting go of the relationship.

yard sale

 

I think we should have a yard sale.

 

In America for example, we have an outdoor sale of used personal or household items¹⁰ we no longer need or use. The sale is usually held in front of our home.

 

The Smith family had a big yard sale before they moved to the new house.

The garage is really cluttered¹¹. I think we should have a yard sale and get rid of some stuff.

1 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

2 magnet   

n.有强大吸引力的人或物；磁铁，磁体

参考例句：

• He picked all the pins up with a magnet.他用磁铁捡起了所有的大头针。
• Dalian is a magnet for tourists.大连是吸引游客的地方。

3 overseas   

adj.海外的；adv.在海外

参考例句：

• Her man has been sent overseas by his employers.她的丈夫已被雇主派往海外。
• Many firms are focusing on increasing their markets overseas.许多商行都专注于扩大国外市场。

4 worn   

adj.用旧的，疲倦的；vbl.wear的过去分词

参考例句：

• The child's trousers have worn through at the knees.孩子裤子的膝盖处磨破了。
• My shoes are worn out.我的鞋子穿坏了。

5 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

6 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

7 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

8 economy   

n.经济；节俭；秩序；机体

参考例句：

• We must do our best to develop the national economy.我们必须努力发展国民经济。
• The country's economy is not very healthy.国家的经济不很景气。

9 countable   

adj.可数的，可以计算的

参考例句：

• The word "person" is a countable noun.person这个词是个可数名词。
• Countable nouns have singular and plural forms.可数名词有单数和复数之分。

10 items   

n.物料项目 （任何一种自制或采购的零部件或组装件，如最终产品、部件、子部件、零件或原材料）；条( item的名词复数 )；一项；一则；一件商品（或物品）

参考例句：

• Bulky items will be collected separately. 大件物品将分开收集。
• Customers with ten items or less can use the express lane. 购买十件商品以内的顾客可使用快速购物通道。

11 cluttered   

v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的过去式和过去分词 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…

参考例句：

• The room is cluttered up with all kinds of things. 零七八碎的东西放满了一屋子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The desk is cluttered with books and papers. 桌上乱糟糟地堆满了书报。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》