英语博客:A growing obsession

If you're looking for a bargain in this town, there is a store that offers some very good deals. It is called the Grocery Outlet¹. I was in there the other day, searching for the latest 'best buys' when I saw a large shelf of flowers on display. In amongst the different kinds of flowers were orchids³. I was pleased and surprised at the same time. You can never really be sure what you will find in this shop; their specials change from one day to the next. To find orchids was a very pleasant surprise. It just so happens that my mother has started collecting orchids. She is very quickly becoming an encyclopedia⁴ about them. I called her on the cell phone to let her know about my find. "Get me two of the best, will you? I'll pay you back later," she said. There were several colors to choose from, and the plants ranged from small to about two and a half feet tall. When I got home, I thought I would find out about these exotic flowers that so many people have as a hobby.

Orchids can be found in almost every habitat on the planet, apart from deserts and glaciers⁵. Most are found in the tropics. And when I say most, I'm talking in terms of thousands. Orchids are the largest family of all flowering plants. There are over 22,000 species of orchids; about 800 new kinds are found or cultivated each year. One orchid² is responsible for vanilla⁶ which we use in cooking. It comes from Mexico, and, not surprisingly, is called Vanilla. With so many orchids around, you can imagine the variety of shape, color (colour), and pollinating practices. Some are self pollinating, and there is even one in Australia which lives underground, and relies on ants and other underground insects to pollinate it. Orchids have been around for a very long time, as well. A fossilized bee that was trapped in amber⁷ about 15 million years ago was found to have orchid pollen⁸ on its wings. There are annual shows around the world dedicated⁹ to orchids, and hundreds or thousands of people visit these shows to feed their obsession¹⁰.

Grammar notes.

 Common expressions: from one day to the next, it just so happens, you can never really + inf.

1. You never know what the weather will be like from one day to the next here; one minute it's snowing, the next it's raining.

2. Did you say that you need a calculator? It just so happens that I have one here.

3. You can never really judge a person by his appearance. That scruffy¹¹ man over their is a generous millionaire.

OR You should never really expect to succeed if you don't work hard.

 

 

1 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

2 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

3 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

5 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

6 vanilla   

n.香子兰，香草

参考例句：

• He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
• I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。

7 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

8 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

11 scruffy   

adj.肮脏的，不洁的

参考例句：

• Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛，但神态老练世故。
• His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。