【英语趣味课堂】处理闲置物品-Dealing with the Free Stuff

Silvia: Diego, I hear your graduation soon. Congratulations¹.

 

Diego: Thank you. Yes, I'm graduation this month.

 

Silvia: Really, and what about all the stuff² you have in your apartment? What are you going to do with it?

 

Diego: Well, because I am moving to another city, I'm trying to get rid of everything, so I'm trying to sell most of the stuff to get a little bit of money.

 

Silvia: Well, what kind of stuff do you have? Maybe I can buy some from you?

 

Diego: I have this blender. It's in really good shape. And it makes really good smoothies, and I also wanna get rid of my fridge. It's a big, nice fridge, so I think it fits everywhere nicely, so if you know anyone who wants these things, you can let me know.

 

Silvia: OK, maybe I can have the blender, but the fridge, maybe not. I already have a big fridge as well, but I can ask a friend if they need a fridge.

 

Diego: I have a lot of silverware so if you know anyone who is interested in a fridge, I can thrown in the silverware just as a bonus³.

 

Silvia: OK, I'll let them know.

 

Diego: And then in the living room, well, I have a TV and a couch⁴ that I have no idea what to do with, so because you're helping⁵ me you can take the TV.

 

Silvia: Oh, really.

 

Diego: Yes.

 

Silvia: Well, that will be great. I don't have a TV.

 

Diego: But you have to get rid of the couch.

 

Silvia: Oh, OK, so I have a big couch in my living room, and my living room is quite small, so ...

 

Diego: Maybe you can just give it away to one of your friends.

 

Silvia: Buy you'll need to help me get that sofa out of my apartment. It's quite big.

 

Diego: That's OK, I can help. I can help.

 

Silvia: OK.

 

Diego: As for the bedroom, I have a big bed, so I need to get rid of that, and it's a really nice bed. It's really, really big so I think it's quite comfortable, so it shouldn't be too hard sell.

 

Silvia: Yeah, it's a nice bed, but maybe it's a little bit big for my room.

 

Diego: OK, what about your roommates? Do you know if anyone would want it?

 

Silvia: I'll ask. I'll ask and let you know.

 

Diego: I also have some stuff in the bathroom I want to get rid of.

 

Silvia: Do you have a mirror because mine just broke.

 

Diego: Yes, I have a large mirror in the bathroom, so that wouldn't be that expensive, so if you want it I can sell it to you for like 30 dollars.

 

Silvia: OK, that would be great.

 

Diego: OK, so we have a deal.

 

 重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

get rid of

 

I wanna get rid of my fridge.

 

We get rid of something we don’t want or don’t need. Notice the following.

 

I need to get rid of my old laptop⁶ and buy a new one.

She finally got rid of her boyfriend. He wasn’t very nice.

let me know

 

If you know anyone who wants it, please let me know.

 

The phrase⁷ ‘let me know’ means⁸ ‘tell me’. Notice the samples.

 

If you’re going to be late, call and let me know.

Let me know if you need help with your homework.

throw in

 

I can throw in the fridge as a bonus.

 

Here, the phrase ‘thrown in’ means to give something extra, usually during a business deal. Note the sample sentences.

 

If you buy now, I’ll throw in a free carrying case.

The copier salesman threw in two free print cartridges⁹.

give it away

 

 

You can just give it away to one of your friends.

 

When we give something away, we give it for free. Here are two examples of things we give away.

 

When Nguyen moved abroad to study, he gave away most of his clothes and bought new stuff.

The new ice cream shop is giving away free samples. Let’s try some.

we have a deal

 

So we have a deal then.

 

The phrase we have a deal is used formally in business and informally¹⁰ in conversation when to people agree on something.

 

If you can lower¹¹ the price by 20%, we have a deal.

I’ll cook dinner and you clean the dishes. Do we have a deal?

1 congratulations   

n.祝贺；贺词；祝词

参考例句：

• I send you my warmest congratulations on your success. 我对你的成功致以最热烈的祝贺。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Please give her my congratulations when you see her. 见到她时请转达我的祝贺。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

3 bonus   

n.奖金，红利

参考例句：

• The workers expected to share out a year-end bonus.工人们期望年终分红。
• The staff got a a special bonus payment.员工得到一笔特别发放的奖金。

4 couch   

n.睡椅，长沙发椅；vt.表达，隐含

参考例句：

• Lie down on the couch if you're feeling ill.如果你感觉不舒服就躺到沙发上去。
• The rabbIt'sprang from its grassy couch.兔子从草丛中跳出。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 laptop   

n.笔记本电脑

参考例句：

• Laptop is suitable for use on planes.笔记本电脑适合飞机上使用。
• A laptop would be really useful for when I'm working on the train.我在火车上工作时，便携式电脑真的很有用。

7 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

8 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

9 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

10 informally   

adv.非正式地；不拘礼节地；通俗地

参考例句：

• You will have a chance to circulate and chat informally. 你们会有机会四处走动一下，互相聊聊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The senator addressed the gathering informally. 那位参议员非正式地向与会者发表演说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。