英语听力精选进阶版 6116

A Fresh Beginning 重新开始

Do you ever feel sick of your life?

Then why not sell it?

This is exactly what one man is attempting to do following the breakdown¹ of his marriage.

Ian Usher², a 44-year-old British man living in Australia, is using the online auction³ site eBay to sell not only his belongings⁴, but his entire life.

Up for grabs are his house and everything that's in it: his car, his jetski, his parachuting gear, even his pots and pans.

But what makes the auction unique is that the package also includes a two-week trial run at his job as an assistant in a rug store, and even an introduction to his friends in the local area.

The lovelorn Mr Usher said he no longer wanted to be reminded of the life he shared with his ex-wife, and hopes the sale will raise funds for a life-changing adventure.

He said that once the sale has gone through, he plans to "walk out of his front door with his wallet in one pocket and his passport in the other," and see where the next plane takes him.

Bidding opened on Sunday, and by Monday morning had already reached the staggering figure of 13m yuan (2 million Australian dollars).

Unfortunately for Mr Usher most of the high bids turned out to be fake, as he had not activated⁵ a registration⁶ system that would have only let genuine bids through.

After removing the bogus bids the value of his 'life' stood at 2m yuan, though he hopes the final figure will be over 3m yuan.

Whatever the final price he receives, he is by no means the first person to try to sell something unusual online. A fighter jet, a piece of Britney Spears' chewing gum, and even some toenail clippings have all been sold on eBay.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

feel sick of 厌倦

breakdown 破裂 

online auction site 拍卖网站

belongings 拥有物品 

up for grabs 供选购的

jetski 喷气滑水艇      

parachuting gear 跳伞装备

trial run 试验     

rug 地毯

lovelorn 失恋的       

raise funds 集资     

gone through 通过   

bidding （拍卖时的）出价

staggering figure 高额数字    

turned out to be （出乎意料）的

registration system 登记系统       

genuine 真实的  

fighter jet 战斗机

1 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

2 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

3 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

4 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

5 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

6 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？