英语课程计划-Housework Day

No Housework Day is one of those days you see on calendars on the Internet but don’t know where it came from. It is always on April 7th. It is one day of the year when it is OK to do nothing in the house. Everybody has the day off from doing the household chores. It’s OK to let the dishes and washing pile up; it’s no problem to let another layer of dust settle¹ on top of the TV; and it’s absolutely fine to leave the vacuum² cleaner in its corner for the day. And as for cooking, make sure you have a home-delivery phone number handy³. Or even better, get yourself off to a restaurant. This is also a good day for those who never do anything around the house, who never lift a finger, to appreciate those who do the housework.

What is housework, exactly? If you never do it, you probably never think about this. It is a lot of hard work and someone does it every single day. It starts while the rest of the house is still asleep. Next time you wake up, listen to see if you can hear the washing machine working or smell the coffee machine. It happens while you are still trying to open your eyes at the breakfast table. Then while you are at school or work, the breakfast dishes are magically⁴ cleaned, the tables wiped and the dishes all put in their place. You come home from school or work and the bath is clean, again. Your shirts are washed, ironed⁵, and hanging in your closet⁶, again. The toothpaste tube⁷ in the bathroom is never empty. Who does all this invisible⁸ housework?

1 settle   

vi.安家；定居；停留；vt.使定居；安排；解决

参考例句：

• I have to settle my affairs before leaving here.离开这儿以前，我得把一些私人的事情安排妥当。
• She has decided how she should settle the matter.她已做出决定如何来了解这件事。

2 vacuum   

n.真空，空间，真空吸尘器；adj.真空的，产生(利用)真空的；v.用吸尘器打扫

参考例句：

• Sound waves will not travel through a vacuum.声波在真空里不能传播。
• He sells vacuum cleaners.他经销真空吸尘器。

3 handy   

adj.方便的；手边的，近便的；手巧的

参考例句：

• A few more traveler's checks may come in handy on holiday.多带几张旅行支票，度假时会有用的。
• She is a handy girl who can turn her hand to anything.她是个心灵手巧的姑娘。

4 magically   

adv.如魔法般地，用魔法地

参考例句：

• Behind the bar, Bruno Tattaglia made a lighter appear magically and held it to Luca's cigarette. 布鲁诺 - 塔塔格里亚从柜台后魔术般地递过来一个打火机给路加点香烟。 来自教父部分
• In most cases, if a user could achieve his goals magically, without your product, he would. 在多数情况下，如果用户能够神奇地实现其目标，即使不通过你的产品，他会这么做的。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 ironed   

v.熨平( iron的过去式和过去分词 )；用鱼叉叉（鱼）；用铁铸成；给…加铁具（以使牢固）

参考例句：

• The bank manager has ironed out all my worries about money. 银行经理消除了我对钱款的忧虑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ironed out all the creases in the shirt. 她熨平了衬衣上的所有皱褶。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 closet   

n.壁橱；储藏室

参考例句：

• I'll clear out that closet for you.我要替你把那个小衣橱清理出来。
• Hang your overcoat in the closet.把你的大衣挂在衣橱里。

7 tube   

n.（英）地铁；管，软管，隧道；vt.把…装管，使通过管子

参考例句：

• You may get to the railway station by tube.你可以乘地铁到火车站。
• Take care not to break the test tube!当心别把试管打碎了！

8 invisible   

adj.看不见的，无形的

参考例句：

• The air is full of millions of invisible germs.空气中充满了许多看不见的细菌。
• Many stars are invisible without a telescope.许多星辰不用望远镜便看不见。