英语博客：A Manicure Fanatic.

　　My daughter is obsessed¹ with fashion. She is only six, and it comes as a surprize to me that she is so fashion conscious. She is not so concerned with the seasons' colors or styles, but she does like to know the 'pop' fashion. I think it comes from her being very musical. When she hears a pop song, or sees artists sing on television, she really takes notice of what they are wearing, and their general style. Also, she is influenced by her girl friends at school. If so'n'so has a pretty, new jacket, she will want one that is similar. She won't necessarily get the jacket, but she will certainly talk about it a lot, and try her hardest to get what she wants. So, she started to become interested in makeup². You know, you can find little girls makeup sets that they play with at home, and with their friends. I went along with this, thinking that, as long as she keeps it at home, but washes it off before going out, then it was okay. However, sometimes we would be going out, and without me realizing, she would have eye shadow on, or blusher. Once, she even got into my makeup and put on mascara which looked ghastly. So, I decided³ that I had to do something about the situation. My thinking was, if I could transfer her attention away from her face, and onto something else, it should help. So, I came up with nails. I bought her a collection of cute nail polishes, and she immediately took the bate⁴! This now has developed into a habit. She'll paint her tiny nails, and go to school and show her friends. We're both happy. So, the other day, I took her to V-tech nail salon⁵ for a special, professional manicure. They didn't actually do much. Her nails were short anyway, and clean, so they only had to paint them. Plus, her nails are so small, that they hardly had to use any nail polish. She sat down at the table with the lady and picked out some nail stickers that would go on each nail. Then the lady set to work. She applied⁶ one coat of pink, carefully placed the stickers, and then applied a clear coat to keep the stickers on, and to add shine. Domini felt very special and grown up. She had to hold her nails over a dryer⁷, and then place her hands in a UV machine that quickly sets the polish. The salon was packed, with nail technicians working away, beautifying ladies' nails and toe nails. It was warm and colorful, and there was a buzz⁸ of conversation from these happy females.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to take notice, so'n'so, to go along with something, eye shadow and blusher.
1. He was very angry, but I didn't take any notice.
2. So'n'so is an example of someone who you don't know, a nameless example.
3. The group played a joke on my friend; I went along with it to really trick her.
4. That eye shadow really brings out the color of your eyes, and the blusher makes your cheeks look healthy.

1 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

2 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 bate   

v.压制；减弱；n.（制革用的）软化剂

参考例句：

• The cruel landlord would bate him no rent.那个狠心的地主不肯给他减租。
• I was unable to bate my enthusiasm.我无法抑制自己的热切的心情。

5 salon   

n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室

参考例句：

• Do you go to the hairdresser or beauty salon more than twice a week?你每周去美容院或美容沙龙多过两次吗？
• You can hear a lot of dirt at a salon.你在沙龙上会听到很多流言蜚语。

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

8 buzz   

v.充满了激动或活动的声音，发出低沉的声音

参考例句：

• My brain was in buzz.我的脑袋嗡嗡响。
• A buzz went through the crowded courtroom.拥挤的法庭里响起了一片乱哄哄的说话声。