英语博客(A cup of English):Hello Kitty invasion

Beginners.

There is an invasion¹ going on in our house. It started out as an unnoticed thing, but it has grown to huge proportions³. Every room of my house is affected⁴. Every corner shows a sign of this invasion. Even my friends and neighbors have mentioned it. And the scary thing is, is that it is unstoppable. It is Hello Kitty. Every time I open a cupboard, some Hello Kitty thing falls out. When I go to the shoe closet to get my sneakers, I have to shake them upside down, not because there might be a spider inside one of the shoes. Oh, no. But, because there might be a small, hard, Hello Kitty figure hiding inside. Even when I eat, I have no rest. The Hello Kitty cups, plates, and cutlery stare at me while my little girl eats away happily. The other day, when I was in the supermarket, I found myself humming a familiar tune⁵. Can you guess what it is? It goes something like, "Hello Kitty, it's a lovely day. We'll laugh and sing in a very happy way...." and it never ends! Sometimes, when I'm in bed, trying to go to sleep, I see faces, of big, white, cute cats dancing about the room; it's terrifying! Will it ever stop? I don't think so. My daughter has a birthday coming up, and all of her friends have the same obsession⁶. The day will be filled with Kitty!

Grammar notes.

 Related vocabulary: obsession, to hum, sneakers, proportion², invasion.

Exs:

Egypt is her obsession. Her whole house is filled with egyptian replicas⁷.

He is such a happy little boy. He hums happy tunes⁸ all day long.

I want to go for a run, but I can't find my sneakers.

That home looks out of proportion; the garage is huge, but the house is small.

After the invasion of Spain by the Moors⁹ in 711, they stayed for 800 years!

Advanced.

Okay, it's not that scary, I just wanted to get your attention. Hello Kitty is, however, a part of the U.S culture now. Originally created by Ikuko Shimizu, this Japanese character has taken the world by storm, won the hearts of little girls everywhere, and created a profit of one billion dollars a year. Not bad for a little kitty! Her appeal is on many levels. First, she is just absolutely cute. Her pretty face, the bow in her hair, and her girly clothes, all go straight to the heart. Also, the stories of Hello Kitty take place in the context¹⁰ of friends and family, adventures and fun. So children feel happy and comfortable watching the movies or reading the books. She first came to the U.S in the form of a vinyl purse in 1976, two years after her creation¹¹ in Japan. Now, there seems to be no end to the products that depict¹² her character. Even expensive jewelery and clothes for women are quite common here in the United States. In Tokyo Japan, there is a place called Sanrio Puroland, where you can find Hello Kitty in all her glory. It is like a theme park that includes other japanese anime characters such as Pokemon. It's a big business. There are theme park rides, restaurants, musicals, and big gift shops. It's amazing how a well designed and appealing character can create such a globally successful business.

Grammar notes.

Vocabulary: character, design, to depict, profit.

Common expressions: to take the world by storm, to win the hearts, to be common, not bad for....

Exs:

Mickey mouse is one of the most famous characters of children's entertainment.

The architect designed the biggest hotel in the world.

That picture depicts¹³ the rebuilding of London after the war.

The business will have to close. It doesn't make a profit.

The new french singer has taken the world by storm.

The politician has won the hearts of his people by his well written speeches.

It's very common to see deer walking around the town in Winter.

She won the gold medal. Not bad a disadvantaged girl who never had formal training!

 

1 invasion   

n.入侵，侵略，侵犯

参考例句：

• They are ready against the possible invasion.他们防备可能的入侵。
• It is our duty to shield our country from invasion.保卫祖国不受侵犯是我们的责任。

2 proportion   

n.比率，比例；大小

参考例句：

• His head is out of proportion to the size of his body.他的头部与身体大小不成比例。
• The proportion of imports to exports is worrying the government.进口与出口的比例令政府担忧。

3 proportions   

n.部分( proportion的名词复数 )；[数学]比例（法）；面积；等比关系

参考例句：

• a financial crisis of mammoth proportions 极其严重的金融危机
• Scott of the Antarctic was a national hero of mythic proportions. 南极探险家斯科特是位赫赫有名的民族英雄。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 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。

7 replicas   

n.复制品( replica的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His hobby is building replicas of cars. 他的爱好是制作汽车的复制品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The replicas are made by using a thin film of fusible alloy on a stiffening platen. 复制是用附着在加强托板上的可熔合金薄膜实现的。 来自辞典例句

8 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

11 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

12 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

13 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。