VOA标准英语2011--Collectors' Passions Vary from Buttons to Beerbottles

Collectors' Passions Vary from Buttons to Beerbottles

 

For the longest time, people have collected things, just for fun. Butterflies. Buttons. Beer bottles. String wrapped into balls.

Umbrellas, matchbooks, model airplanes. You name it, somebody probably collects it. It’s not just an American thing, but we go a little nuts with it.

Surely the first prize for fanatical collecting goes to a fellow in New York City who calls himself “Inspector Collector.” On an Internet website by that name, he shows photos and tells little stories about the many, many things he hangs onto.

Menus from Chinese restaurants, for instance. Rubber bands, pencils, scissors and bottle caps. And there’s more! He also collects spoons, paper clips, maps, drinking straws, shopping bags, postcards, hockey sticks, transit¹ tokens, marbles, dice², security badges, airline tags, citrus peelers, and toothpicks.

Watches, especially old-time pocket watches, are an enjoyable collectible - both functional3 and beautiful.

Speaking of toothpicks, there are entire organizations of collectors, including the Toothpick Holder⁴ Collectors Society, 700 members strong.

These groups exist, in part, because collectors have a problem: their love of toothpaste tubes or bubble-gum machines is quite often not shared by their spouses⁵ or children. So when they pass on to that great knickknack cabinet in the sky, their precious assortment⁶ of teacups could end up in the garbage, a street sale, or at an auction⁷ site on the Internet.

Collectors’ club members keep in touch, even checking on each other’s health. If the unfortunate happens, a member passes away, and the family has no interest in his or her ivory needles or miniature buses or vacuum cleaners, the clubs ensure that someone will eagerly step forward to save the collection from the trash heap.

1 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

2 dice   

n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险

参考例句：

• They were playing dice.他们在玩掷骰子游戏。
• A dice is a cube.骰子是立方体。

3 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

4 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

5 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

6 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

7 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。