46_Do_It_Yourself

46 Do It Yourself¶

So great is our passion for doing things for ourselves, that we are becoming increasingly less dependent on specialized labour. No one can plead ignorance of a subject any longer, for there are countless do-it-yourself publications. Armed with the right tools and materials, newlyweds gaily embark on the task of decorating their own homes. Men, particularly, spend hours of their leisure time installing their own fireplaces, laying out their own gardens; building garages and making furniture. Some really keen enthusiasts go so far as to build their own computers. Shops cater for the do-it-yourself craze not only by running special advisory services for novices, but by offering consumers bits and pieces which they can assemble at home. Such things provide an excellent outlet for pent up creative energy, but unfortunately not all of us are born handymen.

Some wives tend to believe that their husbands are infinitely resourceful and can fix anything. Even men who can hardly drive a nail in straight are supposed to be born electricians, carpenters, plumbers and mechanics. When lights fuse, furniture gets rickety, pipes get clogged, or vacuum cleaners fail to operate, some women assume that their husbands will somehow put things right. The worst thing about the do-it-yourself game is that sometimes even men live under the delusion that they can do anything, even when they have repeatedly been proved wrong. It is a question of pride as much as anything else.

Last spring my wife suggested that I call in a man to look at our lawn mower. It had broken down the previous summer, and though I promised to repair it, I had never got round to it. I would not hear of the suggestion and said that I would fix it myself. One Saturday afternoon, I hauled the machine into the garden and had a close look at it. As far as I could see, it needed only a minor adjustment: a turn of a screw here, a little tightening up there, a drop of oil and it would be as good as new. Inevitably the repair job was not quite so simple. The mower firmly refused to mow, so I decided to dismantle it. The garden was soon littered with chunks of metal which had once made up a lawn mower. But I was extremely pleased with myself. I had traced the cause of the trouble. One of the links in the chain that drives the wheels had snapped. After buying a new chain I was faced with the insurmountable task of putting the confusing jigsaw puzzle together again. I was not surprised to find that the machine still refused to work after I had reassembled it, for the simple reason that I was left with several curiously shaped bits of metal which did not seem to fit anywhere. I gave up in despair. The weeks passed and the grass grew. When my wife nagged me to do something about it, I told her that either I would have to buy a new mower or let the grass grow. Needless to say our house is now surrounded by a jungle. Buried somewhere in deep grass there is a rusting lawn mower which I have promised to repair one day.

Words¶

plead /plid/ 辩解
ignorance /ˈɪɡnɚəns/ 无知
publications /ˌpəblɪˈkeʃənz/ 出版物
newlyweds /ˈnuliˌwɛdz/ 新欢夫妇
gaily /ˈɡeli/ 愉快地
leisure /ˈlɛʒɚ/ 空闲的
keen /kin/ 热心的
advisory /ædˈvaɪzɚi/ 咨询的
assemble /əˈsɛmbəl/ 装配
outlet /ˈaʊtˌlɛt/ 出路
handymen /ˈhændiˈmɛn/ 能工巧匠
resourceful /riˈsɔrsfəl/ 足智多谋的
fuse /fjuz/ 短路
rickety /ˈrɪkəti/ 散架
clogged /klɔɡd/ 堵塞
delusion /dɪˈluʒən/ 错觉
mower /ˈmoɚ/ 割草机
adjustment /əˈdʒʌstmənt/ 调整
screw /skru/ 螺丝
dismantle /dɪˈsmæntəl/ 拆卸
snapped /snæpt/ 绷断
insurmountable /ˌɪnsɚˈmaʊntəbəl/ 难以对付的
jigsaw /ˈdʒɪɡˌsɔ/ 线锯
nagged /næɡd/ 唠叨
rusting /ˈrʌstɪŋ/ 生锈

Expressions¶

plead ignorance of sth 声称对某事不知情
leisure time/activity 闲暇时间/活动
be keen to do sth. 渴望做某事
be keen on doing sth. 热衷于做某事
advisory service 咨询服务
provide a/an adj. outlet for sth. 为……提供宣泄的出口
get clogged 堵塞
sb. be under the delusion that+句子某人妄想……
need a few minor adjustments 需要一些小调整
a chunk of /chunks of 一大块/一大块地
nag sb. to do sth 唠叨某人做某事
be a question of 是……的问题
as…as anything else 像其他任何东西一样……
won’t/wouldn’t hear of it 不同意
As far as I could see 就我所见
as good as 和……一样好；几乎
become dependent on 依赖
embark on 着手；开始
lay out 布置；摆放
go so far as to do sth. 竟然做某事
cater for 迎合；满足
pent up 被压抑的
tend to do 倾向于做
put … right 把……修好/纠正
call in sb. 请某人来
promise to do sth. 承诺做某事
get round to 抽出时间做
a drop of 一滴
trace the cause of 追查……的原因
be left with 剩下；留给