【一起听英语】重新投入使用

手机坏了，你是选择扔掉重新换个还是拿去修理一下呢？修理一些重新投入使用会给你省下不少钱.....

Rob: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Rob and with me is Jen.

Jen: Hello Rob. Rob I'm having a problem with my mobile¹ phone today.

Rob: Oh yes?

Jen: Yes – it's stopped working – it's so old so I was thinking of throwing it away and

buying a new one.

Rob: No! Don't do that. That makes me angry – just throwing gadgets³ -or electronic

items – away and not repairing them.

Jen: Repairing? You mean, fixing them?

Rob: Yes. Fixing things can save you money and is less wasteful⁴. That's why today we are

going to talk about 'restart⁵ parties' and looking at some of the words to do with

fixing and repairing.

Jen: 'Restart parties' – that sounds interesting – I like parties!

Rob: Yes, but it might not be what you expect. But first, let's see if you know the answer

to today's question.

Jen: Hmm, if it's about how to fix a gadget², I might not do very well.

Rob: Don't worry, it's not, but it is about mobile phones. Do you know approximately – so

roughly⁶ – how many phones are thrown away in Europe every year? Is it:

a) 1 million

b) 10 million

c) 100 million

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2013

Page 2 of 5

Jen: I'll take a guess and say b) 10 million.

Rob: I'll give you the answer at the end of the programme. Now let me tell you more

about 'restart parties'. These are being held around the world because of concerns

or worries about the disposable society we're living in.

Jen: A disposable society – you mean we just throw things away when they break and

then buy another one?

Rob: Exactly. We could fix them instead or at least recycle them and make new things out

of them. I remember there used to be repair shops where people fixed⁸ broken

things but it's not something you see much of in the UK now. So, that's why some

people are learning⁷ the forgotten art – or the skill – of repairing things.

Jen: And is that what happens at a restart party?

Rob: It is. The word restart means to start something again or to make it work again.

The party is where you go to share your knowledge and skills or just to get

something repaired whilst⁹ learning about how to do it. So Jen, would you go to one?

Jen: Yes I would. It sounds like a great way to get something fixed.

Rob: I think it would be quite useful. Let's hear from Ugo Vallouri who organised one of

these parties in London. Why does he think people don't try to repair their gadgets

anymore?

Ugo Vallouri, Restart project:

Less and less repair manuals¹¹ that people can use, spare parts are not available to consumers or

when they are they are priced in ridiculous ways that push people not to repair what they have and

instead to upgrade¹² and keep buying new stuff¹³.

Jen: OK, there aren't as many repair manuals now – a manual¹⁰ is a book of instructions

on how to fix things. He also says the small bits, or the spare parts, needed to fix

something are not available now – or cost a lot of money.

Rob: Yes, he said the price of spare parts were ridiculous – so silly prices! All this makes

people buy new stuff – or they upgrade – so get a newer or more modern design of

gadget. Let's hear Ugo give his reasons one more time:

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2013

Page 3 of 5

Ugo Vallouri, Restart project: (repeat)

Less and less repair manuals that people can use, spare parts are not available to consumers or

when they are they are priced in ridiculous ways that push people not to repair what they have and

instead to upgrade and keep buying new stuff.

Rob: So Jen, is Ugo describing someone like you?

Jen: Well, personally, I don't have the skills to fix something – and anyway, it's often

cheaper just to buy a new one.

Rob: But buying new gadgets creates waste which is what these restart parties are hoping

to avoid. They don't want old gadgets to end up in the rubbish.

Jen: OK, it's a good point Rob but my worry is that if I went to one of these parties,

they'd be full of geeks – you know boring people who are just interested in

technology – and they usually wear glasses.

Rob: Well, I wear glasses and I like technology but I'm not a geek. And anyway, if

someone can fix your broken phone then I wouldn't call them a geek – more of a

hero!

Jen: If you say so. Shall we find out if I am a 'mobile phone geek' and see if I got today's

question right?

Rob: A good idea. Earlier I asked you if you knew approximately, how many phones are

thrown away in Europe every year?

Jen: I said 10 million.

Rob: And you were wrong. The answer, incredibly, is 100 million mobile phones – that's a

lot of phones that could be repaired or just recycled – so the spare parts could be

made into something else. OK Jen, could you now please remind us of some of

today's vocabulary?

Jen: We heard: gadgets

repairing

disposable society 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2013

Page 4 of 5

the forgotten art

restart

manuals

spare parts

upgrade

geeks

Rob: Ok that's it for this programme. Do join us again soon for more 6 Minute English

from BBC Learning English.

Both: Bye.

1 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

2 gadget   

n.小巧的机械，精巧的装置，小玩意儿

参考例句：

• This gadget isn't much good.这小机械没什么用处。
• She has invented a nifty little gadget for undoing stubborn nuts and bolts.她发明了一种灵巧的小工具用来松开紧固的螺母和螺栓。

3 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

4 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

5 restart   

vt.重新开始，重新启动；vi.重新开始，重新启动

参考例句：

• Restart the computer in Safe mode or VGA mode.重新启动计算机在安全模式或VGA模式。
• After the restart the program continues to run automatically.重启后，程序仍然自动运行。

6 roughly   

adv.概略地，粗糙地，粗鲁地

参考例句：

• If you treat your coat so roughly,it will be worn out soon.你如果这么糟蹋你的外套，它很快就不能穿了。
• The island is roughly circular in shape.这个岛屿大致是圆形的。

7 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。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 whilst   

conj.一边...一边，当...的时候，同时，时时

参考例句：

• She sang whilst she worked.她边干活边唱歌。
• There was dead silence in the court,whilst the white rabbit read out these verses.当白兔子念诗的时候，法庭上鸦雀无声。

10 manual   

adj.手工的，体力的；n.手册，指南，键盘

参考例句：

• The majority of men there earn their living by manual labour.那里绝大多数人靠体力劳动谋生。
• The school offers manual training to the pupils.该校为学生开设手工课。

11 manuals   

n.说明书( manual的名词复数 )；（风琴等的）键盘；[宗教] （旧时牧师用的）礼仪书

参考例句：

• The process of making corrections or improvements to software or manuals. 修正（或改进）软件（或手册）的过程。 来自辞典例句
• The captain harried the quarter master for recognition manuals. 艇长催促航信士官给他识别手册。 来自辞典例句

12 upgrade   

vt.提高，加强，改善；n.提高，改善

参考例句：

• We need to upgrade the status of teachers.我们需要提升老师的地位。
• To upgrade a clerk to manager.将办事员提升为经理。

13 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。