2014年ESL之日常生活 17 Living With a Hoarder

 

Living With a Hoarder 

Julio: Mom, don’t you think it’s time to get rid of some of the stuff in this house? 

Mom: Why? This house is fine the way it is. 

Julio: There are parts of this house that are nearly inaccessible¹. There are stacks of magazines and bags and boxes everywhere. 

Mom: I need all that stuff. You know I’ve always been a pack rat. 

Julio: I know, but I think things are getting out of hand. You have stuff on every surface and you can’t find anything in here. 

Mom: You can’t find anything, but I can put my hands on anything I want at any time. I collect and keep useful things, unlike you young people these days who throw away perfectly² good things just because you don’t need them this minute. 

Julio: I think your hoarding³ is becoming compulsive. 

Mom: That’s nonsense. Just because you prefer living in a sterile⁴ environment doesn’t mean I have to. I don’t mind a little clutter⁵. 

Julio: A little clutter?! You have junk mail from 15 years ago! 

Mom: You never know when something will come in handy. Now, don’t you have some room in your garage where I can store a few extra boxes? 

Julio: No, I don’t! 

 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse 

1 inaccessible   

adj.达不到的，难接近的

参考例句：

• This novel seems to me among the most inaccessible.这本书对我来说是最难懂的小说之一。
• The top of Mount Everest is the most inaccessible place in the world.珠穆朗玛峰是世界上最难到达的地方。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

4 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

5 clutter   

n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱

参考例句：

• The garage is in such a clutter that we can't find anything.车库如此凌乱，我们什么也找不到。
• We'll have to clear up all this clutter.我们得把这一切凌乱的东西整理清楚。