英语博客：Figpickels Toy Emporium.

  It was during this Summer vacation that my family and I came across the best toy shop that I have ever been to. It was in the town of Coeur d'Alene, in Idaho, the state that is to the east of Washington State, and next to Montana. As we were only on vacation for a few days, we had a very short time in this particular town, a few hours in fact. The town itself is very clean and organized, with lots of greenery, and right on a lake. It's a tourist attraction, and has a seaside feel to it. It's main street is called Sherman Avenue and is a quaint¹ mix of cafes, restaurants, and specialty² shops. It was a hot day, so we stayed on the shady side of the street. You could tell that it was Summer; there were people everywhere, especially in the outside seating areas of the cafes and restaurants. As we walked down towards the lake, I noticed several children a little further down, getting excited, pointing at one of the shops, and going in. My kids soon picked up on this*, and before I knew it, we were inside 'Figpickles Toy Emporium'.It wasn't my intention to buy anything, “We're only going to look,” I said. Well, you know how that goes*, don't you? It was an impressive place, not because of its size (it was a fairly small shop, but long, and divided into different sections). There were ornate, wooden decorations attached to various parts of the ceiling, creating the theme of a magical ship. The shelves that were on every wall, reached to the ceiling, and were completely full of modern, classic, and old fashioned toys. I assumed that they would have the typical toys that you find in big department stores, but they didn't. This was definitely a specialty shop. There were books, puzzles, and building kits³ about ancient civilizations, pirates, and major battles. I think that my children became so engrossed⁴*, that they forgot about their parents completely. I stood back and watched. The 'girls' toys were tasteful: detailed⁵ wooden houses, paper doll kits, dressing⁶ up clothes. And actually, most of the toys were unisex*. We must have spent about an hour there. We couldn't leave because the young man who was working there that day was playing with the toys himself. He was using a rubber bow and arrow, firing it from one end of the room to the other, over the heads of the customers! He was having a whale of a time*! So, how could you not get involved when the employee was having so much fun. Thankfully, my kids got hungry after a while, so they were willing to leave. We did buy a couple of things, not because we needed any toys, but more to commemorate⁷ our visit.

 

Grammar notes.

Related vocabulary and expressions: unisex, engrossed, you know how that goes, to pick up on something.

That jacket is unisex; both males and females can wear it.

The boys were so engrossed in their soccer match, that they didn't notice a storm moving in.

We told the kids not to get up too early on Christmas day to open the presents, but you know how that goes (i.e. they did get up early).

The two men argued in a civilized⁸ manner, but I picked up on their mutual⁹ loathing¹⁰.

 

1 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

2 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

3 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

4 engrossed   

adj.全神贯注的

参考例句：

• The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
• No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

7 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

8 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

9 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

10 loathing   

n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• She looked at her attacker with fear and loathing . 她盯着襲擊她的歹徒，既害怕又憎恨。
• They looked upon the creature with a loathing undisguised. 他们流露出明显的厌恶看那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》