英语博客(A cup of English):029 Let's sell some junk.

　　Beginners.
This is a busy time in the US for many people, especially for those who celebrate Christmas. It is a time for buying, buying, and buying. After we have bought or received presents, we realize that our homes will have more stuff in them. Do we need all of this stuff? Will the children play with their new toys for more than a week? How about selling somethings? There is a buy and sell website called Craig's list where you can sell all kinds of things. A friend of mine told me about it. She sold many things. She even sold a broken sofa! " You can sell anything on Craig's list," she said to me. So, I tried it. I took a photo of a tv, a microwave, and a pair of roller blades. A few days later I had sold the first two things. I couldn't believe it. That was fast. I am still waiting to sell the roller blades, though. You are not interested, are you?
Grammar notes.
Verbs: to buy - we buy, we bought, we have bought, we had bought.
To receive - we receive, we received, we have received, we had received.
To need - do we need this stuff? Do you need all of this?
To sell - she sells, she sold, she had sold, she was selling.
Advanced.
What do you do with your spare things? After you have outgrown² certain objects, after they have served their purpose, where do they go? In this country, if you don't want to throw the object away, you have a few other options. You can give the item to one of many charitable shops, such as Goodwill³, or the Salvation⁴ Army, where they will be sold inexpensively to whoever is not too fussy⁵ about buying second-hand⁶ goods. Another thing that a lot of people do here is to have a yard sale. Yard, here, means garden in England. And so a yard sale is an informal sale of household, garden, sporting, and craft goods. Usually they are laid out on tables, the clothes hang from racks, and miscelaneous objects are here and there in boxes or propped⁷ up against the walls. Treasures can be found, actually, but you must be willing to search and be patient. Hosting a yard sale requires some work and forethought. Sometimes it is worth it, if you advertise sufficiently⁸. I have been to some yard sales where I have been able to load the car up with wonderful finds. At other times, I have walked away empty handed and disappointed. Craig's list is now very popular, and in many ways, easier than having a yard sale. I have already managed to sell a few unwanted things from my home, and so, I've caught the bug⁹. The roller blades that some friends gave me are still hanging around; nobody seems to want them. Perhaps if I take a super attractive photo and ask for just a few bucks¹⁰, I will some day be able to sell them. There must be somebody out there somewhere who desperately¹¹ wants them......insn't there?
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to outgrow¹, charitable, second-hand, yard sale, forethought, treasure, unwanted, to catch the bug, to hang around, a few bucks.

1 outgrow   

vt.长大得使…不再适用；成长得不再要

参考例句：

• The little girl will outgrow her fear of pet animals.小女孩慢慢长大后就不会在怕宠物了。
• Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit.梦游的孩子通常在长大后这个习惯自然消失。

2 outgrown   

长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过

参考例句：

• She's already outgrown her school uniform. 她已经长得连校服都不能穿了。
• The boy has outgrown his clothes. 这男孩已长得穿不下他的衣服了。

3 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

4 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。

5 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

6 second-hand   

adj.用过的，旧的，二手的

参考例句：

• I got this book by chance at a second-hand bookshop.我赶巧在一家旧书店里买到这本书。
• They will put all these second-hand goods up for sale.他们将把这些旧货全部公开出售。

7 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

8 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

9 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

10 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。