新视野大学英语视听说教程 4 Unit 9-5

IV. Speaking Out
MODEL 1   Shop till you drop.
Susan:  Still reading about how the bubble’s going to burst in the U.S. economy?
John:   Yeah, and this is an interesting article called, “Shop Till You Drop.”
Susan:  The rhyme between “shop” and “drop” is cathy, but what does it mean?
John:   “Shop” and “drop”? You know: buy, buy, and buy, until you fall down from exhaustion¹.
Susan:  Is that what the author is telling people to do—go out and spend money.
John:   No, he’s afraid that consumer consumption is too high at 70 percent of the GDP.
Susan:  You mean 70 percent of the gross domestic product in the United States?
John:   That’s right. France and Japan are worried with 55 percent of the GDP.
Susan:  What’s behind this big rush to buy things in America?
John: I  Apparently² the search for status symbols: luxury cars, holiday homes.
Susan:  Amazing. So many people earn enough to buy a Mercedes and two houses.
John:   They don’t; they buy on credit. And too much debt may burst the bubble.

1 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。