【英语趣味课堂】逛街买衣服-Shopping for Clothes

Spencer: So talking about clothes, Curtis, do you spent a lot of money on clothes?

 

Curtis: I don't really spend a lot of money on clothes. I think the clothes that I buy last for a long time. And I have a lot of them but I only add to them very slowly over the years. Some of my t-shirts I've had since high school. And so even dress shirts for work, every once in a while something will get worn¹ out but not very often. So I have a lot of clothes but I don't have to spend much money on them. I would like to maybe this year or next year buy a nice three piece suit though, that might be a little bit expensive, but I've always wanted one of those.

 

Spencer: Yeah. I'm the same, I don't like to spend a lot of money on clothes, but every now and then it is nice to splurge on something that looks really good, yeah. No, there's some great shops like TJ Maxx and Target and yeah, they're, you know, half price and not as expensive. But you can still find some great looking things.

 

Curtis: Right. Yeah. And I think by adding to the collection that I already have, I can wear different styles on different days. And so I don't feel like I need to spend a lot of money to replace my whole collection because of that, like you said, you can splurge and maybe spend a little bit more on a really nice item² that you want because you're able to keep recycling everything else that you have already.

 

Spencer: That's true.

 

Curtis: Do you think you have too many clothes by chance, do you feel like you need to get rid of any of your clothes?

 

Spencer: Right now I have way too many shoes actually. I kind of feel like I have a pair of sneakers³ that I use for sports and tennis, I have a pair of like nice cute shoes that I wear for when I when go out and dress up and then I have a pair of kind of everyday flipflops that I walk around in all the time. But there's three other only things I need but in my closet⁴ right now I have about like probably 12 pairs of shoes and it's ridiculous⁵ like you know I don't need exactly three pairs of black shoes, one that's heels⁶, one that's not, one that's sandals. So I have way too many shoes for one. Shirts, I have maybe too many t-shirts, they tend to accumulate⁷, if you go to certain events a lot of times you'll get free t-shirts. I run in a lot of marathons and one of the things they give you is a t-shirt. So they've kind of accumulated⁸ and I have a lot, a lot of t-shirts. What about you?

 

Curtis: Yeah, I think I have some shirts that I need to get rid of, a few t-shirts that are from events that don't really look so nice. I never wear them but I have them, I always feel like, oh, just in case, maybe if I haven't done laundry⁹ for a while I'll need a t-shirt some day. But they take up a lot of space in my drawers. So I think I need to get rid of some of those. And as far as shirts for work, I have a few shirts that I first bought just when I started working after college, and they're nice shirts but I tend to select other shirts before them so they never really get worn. So what I've decided¹⁰ to do is turn all of the hangers¹¹ around on my ... where I have my hangers for my dress shirts. And after six months anything that hasn't been turned forward, which means¹² I've worn it at least once, if I haven't worn it in six months I can probably get rid of it.

 

Spencer: That's a great idea.

 

Curtis: That way I can monitor myself and see what I'm wearing or what I'm not, and if I'm not wearing then I can donate¹³ it to a shop or give it a way or send it to a recycle shop or Salvation¹⁴ Army or something like that.

 

Spencer: I have a terrible habit of when I find something that fits me well and I think looks good, I'll buy several of the same thing, just in different colors, so I'm wearing the same thing all the time just with different colors. Yeah, I love hats, I tend to wear a hat whenever I go outside in the summer, when I play tennis, when I go to the beach, all the time. And they get so worn, I need more of them.

 

Curtis: Yeah, I have a few hats. I don't wear them very often, for me a hat is like a last ditch¹⁵ effort to save a bad hair day, like I woke up late, I have to go or I'll miss the bus, okay here's a hat.

 

Spencer: I do that all the time. Oh, I don't have enough time to shower this morning, just throw on a hat.

 

Curtis. Yeah.

 

Spencer: Nobody will ever know, yeah, it's good.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

wear out

 

notesThey get worn out.

 

To wear out is to become damaged over time. Notice the following:

 

I wore out the soles¹⁶ of my shoes. I need new ones.

My jacket is worn out. There are holes in it.

splurge on

 

notesIt is nice to splurge on something that looks really good.

 

To splurge on something is to spend a lot of money to buy it. Notice the following:

 

Every year, I splurge on a nice dinner for my birthday.

He splurged on an expensive pair of earrings¹⁷ for his wife.

get rid of

 

notesI need to get rid of a few t-shirts.

 

To get rid of somethings means to be free of it or have it no longer. Notice the following:

 

I got rid of my old CDs because I never listen to them anymore.

She got rid of all of the old food in her refridgerator.

get worn

 

notesThey never really get worn.

 

To get worn is when clothes are put on. Notice the following:

 

That dress gets worn all the time.

These shoes don't get worn. Maybe I'll throw them away.

last ditch effort

 

notesA hat is like a last ditch effort to save a bad hair day.

 

A last ditch effort is one last try to do something. Notice the following:

 

He threw the ball in a last ditch effort to score.

I dropped my bag and ran in a last ditch effort to catch the bus.

1 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。

2 item   

n.项目；条款；（消息，情报等的）一条

参考例句：

• We should go on to the next item for time is short.时间不多了，我们应该谈下一项内容。
• Put this item on our daily work schedule.把这项工作提到议事日程上来。

3 sneakers   

运动鞋(复数)

参考例句：

• He wore old jeans and a pair of sneakers. 他穿一条旧牛仔裤，脚蹬运动鞋。
• He wore an outlandish outfit of pink pants and green sneakers. 他穿了一套稀奇古怪的衣装，粉红色裤子、绿色旅游鞋。

4 closet   

n.壁橱；储藏室

参考例句：

• I'll clear out that closet for you.我要替你把那个小衣橱清理出来。
• Hang your overcoat in the closet.把你的大衣挂在衣橱里。

5 ridiculous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的；荒唐的

参考例句：

• It is simply ridiculous to attempt such a thing.试图干这种事，简直可笑。
• It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life.这是我有生以来听到的最为荒唐可笑的事。

6 heels   

n.高跟鞋；紧随某人；跟捬；飞奔逃跑；（袜子等的）后跟( heel的名词复数 )；足跟；有…后跟的；女高跟鞋

参考例句：

• Her heels clacked on the marble floor. 她的鞋后跟在大理石地面上发出咔嗒咔嗒的响声。
• The dogs yapped at his heels. 几只狗跟在他后面汪汪乱叫。

7 accumulate   

vt.堆积，积累，积聚；vi.累积，聚积

参考例句：

• We let the mending accumulate until Wednesday.我们让需缝补的衣服一直积存到星期三。
• We should try various channels to raise and accumulate social security funds.多渠道筹集和积累社会保障基金。

8 accumulated   

adj. 累积的 动词accumulate的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• I seem to have accumulated a lot of books. 我好像已经收集了很多书。
• All his accumulated nervous agitation was discharged on Maud like a thunderbolt. 他那蓄积已久的怒气，就像雷电般倾泻在莫德身上。

9 laundry   

n.洗衣店，洗衣房；已洗好的衣物，待洗衣物

参考例句：

• Please send clothes to the laundry.请把这些衣物送往洗衣店。
• There's a lot of laundry in the basket.筐子里有许多要洗的衣物。

10 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。

11 hangers   

n.衣架( hanger的名词复数 )；挂耳

参考例句：

• The singer was surrounded by the usual crowd of lackeys and hangers on. 那个歌手让那帮总是溜须拍马、前呼後拥的人给围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to put some of my good hangers in Grandpa's closet. 我想在爷爷的衣橱放几个好的衣架。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 donate   

v.捐赠，赠予

参考例句：

• They used to donate to the Red Cross every year.他们每年捐钱给红十字会。
• She is willing to donate money to a worthy cause.她愿为高尚的事业捐款。

14 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

15 ditch   

n.沟，沟渠，渠道

参考例句：

• With the blind leading the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.如果瞎子替瞎子带路的话，那么两方肯定会掉到沟里。
• The water in the ditch is not very clean.沟里的水不很清洁。

16 soles   

n.鞋底( sole的名词复数 )；有…底的 -soled；脚掌；鳎（可食用比目鱼）

参考例句：

• The soles are made of leather. 鞋底是皮革做的。
• The grit beneath her soles grated harshly on the wooden deck. 粘在她鞋底的沙砾蹭在木甲板上发出刺耳的声音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 earrings   

n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子

参考例句：

• a pair of earrings 一对耳环
• These earrings snap on with special fastener. 这付耳环是用特制的按扣扣上去的。 来自《简明英汉词典》