Easy English - Family Life

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Youtube origin URL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1f47XwvQYA&list=PLhPfBpTj6VpTuTSndeBBzTMxvzpYDa8UE&index=3

1. Family Morning Routine

  • good morning, Nicholas. it’s time for school.come on get out of bed.Jessica’s already up and dressed.
  • good morning, mom.
  • let’s check the weather out today.it’s looking a bit cloudy.looks like it’s gonna rain.So, we should take our umbrellas.the trees are blowing side to side. it means it’s a little windy but still a lovely morning.
    go to the bathroom and brush your teeth, then get dressed and come downstairs to get some breakfast
  • okay, mom.
  • what are we going to have for breakfast?
  • we’re going to have bagel with eggs, bacon and cream cheese this morning.and strawberry blueberry smoothie.
  • perfect.can i make the smoothie?
  • yeah, sure.you need frozen strawberries,blueberries, almond milk and Greek yogurt.
  • it sounds yummy.shall i also put some bananas?
  • no, we should leave the banana out of this recipe to allow the flavors of the berries to shine.grab the blender, and add almond milk first.Then, toss in(加入) the strawberries, blueberries and Greek yogurt.blend it until smooth.you can add some cinnamon, too.
  • it looks nice and thick(厚的, 浓稠的) and it tastes delicious.
  • the egg bagel sandwiches are ready too.i’ve also added tomatoes and cucumbers(黄瓜).
  • we are missing the main ingredient(组成部分): the ketchup.
  • that is a yummy egg bagel sandwich.it’s so filling(让人容易填饱肚子的).now that(既然, 由于) we had breakfast, i guess we better get going.it looks like it’s getting nice out(它看起来天气正在变好。).
  • that’s right. i thought it would rain.(过去将来时态)

2. House - Cleaning Day

-it’s the day we thoroughly(/ ˈθɜːrəli / 全面的) clean the whole house.
we throw(扔) away things we don’t need, pack up（打包） things to donate(捐赠) to the local(本地的) homeless(无家可归的) shelter(橱窗), clean all of the rooms and wash all of the windows.

-what exactly(精确地 ) do we have to do, mom?

-you must clean your rooms.
they are really messy(混乱的, 杂乱的).
clear your beds and chairs(椅子的复数) of all the items(物品) and be sure to put them in their appropriate(合适的) place.
clean under the beds, too.
then make your beds using fresh linens(linen 是亚麻布, linens 是床单).
vacuum the entire(整个的) room.
dust(尘土, 除尘) the shelves(shelf 的复数, 架子, 货架) and put the books that are on the floor in their right places.
clear(整理, 清理, 明白的, 易懂的) and clean(清洁) the dressers(梳妆台) and leave them in order(顺序).

-that’s a lot to do.

-we better get started.
we have a lot to do, indeed (事实上).
i have to do several loads of(loads of “大量的”) laundry（待洗的衣物） and clean the kitchen and the dining room.

-i’ll clean the living room(客厅) and the attic（顶楼）.
it’s getting full(满的 ) up there.
i don’t even remember what’s in there anymore.

-me neither.
we probably don’t need a lot of that stuff(东西).
what should we do with it?
i think i’m gonna have a garage(车库) sale next weekend

-yeah, that’s a great idea.
i have finished cleaning the windows.
that was a huge job.

-oh, good.let me check the list and see what we’ve done so far.
have you cleaned the counters(柜台)?

-yes, i have, so you can mark them as finished.

-okay, i’ll mark(标记) the windows off the list, too.
what about the floors?
have you vacuumed(vacuum 的过去分词, 意思是用吸尘器所做的清洁) and mopped(mop 的过去分词, n.拖把 v.用拖把清洁) them?

-i have done that too.
what else（其他） have we put on the list?

-dusting(v.除尘 n.尘土 dust 的现在进行时) the shelves.

-i already did that yesterday.

-oh, yeah, i remember. so i’ll cross(穿过) that off the list, too.

-so how about you? what have you done so far?

-i’ve cleaned the attic(顶楼).
i’ve made three piles（堆/ paɪl /）.
Keep, donate（捐赠[ˈdoʊneɪt]） or sell(卖), and trash(n. 垃圾, v. 当垃圾处理).
i found a few sentimental（[ˌsentɪˈmentl]情感的, 多愁善感的, mental 是精神的/思想的） items(物品) that I decided to keep.
there is so much more space（空间） now.
it looks great.

-wonderful.
i still have to clean the living room, then i’m done.
Okay.
i’ll go check on the kids now.

3. What’s for Dinner?

-mom, what’s for dinner?

-i could really go for something spicy（辛辣的） like chili(辣椒).

-spicy? i’m not into（不喜欢） spicy food right now.

-gee(（表示惊奇、感动或气恼）哇，哎呀；向右，前进，快（驾驭马牛等的吆喝声）), i’ve been so busy with house cleaning that i haven’t given dinner a single(单个的, 单一的, 单身的) thought.(so … that 结果副词从句)
Anyway, i don’t feel(在这种情况下，”feel” 是指你对某个活动或行为的心理感受或倾向。所以，”I don’t feel much like cooking” 的意思是你对做饭没有太大的兴趣或欲望。) much like cooking.
i’m just too tired to prepare(准备) a meal(一餐, 进餐) even a small one, plus(加法, 加, 在这里的意思是”而且, 外加”), there’s almost(几乎) nothing in the fridge(冰箱) because we didn’t make it to the grocery(杂货, 杂货店) store this weekend.

-what do you say we order(点餐; 顺序; 命令; 订购) some food?

-good idea, dad.
let’s order Chinese food.
don’t we have a menu somewhere?

-the last time we ordered from that place the food was greasy(油腻的) and it took them forever to deliver(投递, 运送).
but you know what?
there’s a new Greek restaurant downtown(n. 市中心, adv.在市中心 adj. 在市中心的).
i heard they deliver very fast.

-but doesn’t Greek would have lots of garlic(大蒜)?
just the thought of garlic turns me off(turn sb. off 让某人扫兴了, turn sb. on 让某人来兴趣了).
garlic’s good for you.
i can’t get enough of it myself.

-at this rate(速度) we’ll never get anything to eat.
i’m starving(饥饿的).
you two are too picky(adj. 挑剔的).

-let’s better order（订购） some pizza and put on a good movie.

-good idea.
i’m crazy about pizza.
in fact, my favorite is Hawaiian(夏威夷的, 夏威夷人).

-i don’t like Hawaiian(夏威夷的) pizza, i can’t stand(站立; 忍受) pineapple(菠萝） on pizza.
i prefer to eat fruit for dessert（甜点/ dɪˈzɜːrt /）, not with the main course（主菜）, so i’ll go for（选择） chicken pizza.

-i’ll have pepperoni(/ ˌpepəˈroʊni /意大利辣香肠).

-me too.

4. Grocery Shopping

“Grocery store” 和 “supermarket” 都是指卖食品和日用品的商店，但它们之间有一些区别。
“Grocery store” 通常是指规模较小、存货种类较少的商店，主要出售食品和日用品，如牛奶、面包、鸡蛋、洗衣粉等。这些商店可能只有一到两个过道，不提供购物车，而且通常只能接受现金或借记卡付款。
“Supermarket” 是指规模较大的商店，通常有许多个过道和多个部门，如食品、药品、家居、电器等。超市通常提供购物车，并接受多种付款方式。除了食品和日用品，超市还可能售卖其他商品，如家具、玩具等。
总的来说，”grocery store” 和 “supermarket” 的区别在于规模大小、存货种类和可接受的付款方式。

-mom asked me to go grocery（/ ˈɡroʊsəri /） shopping, but i need to finish my homework.
can you go for me, Nicholas?

-i guess i can.
what did mom want you to buy?

-some pork（猪肉）, fish, vegetables and milk.
You can buy some snacks（零食） too, like chocolate cookies.

-wh at kind of fish does mom want?

-mom wants some salmon（三文鱼） and some cod（鳕鱼/ kɑːd /
）.
Make sure that they are fresh.

-how much(为什么不用how many, 因为不知道要买多少, 因为有可能是买好多钱, 也有可能是买好多条, 或者是买多少斤, 所以不确定, 就用 how much 比较合适) salmon and cod should i buy?

-oh, buy four pieces of salmon fillet（ fɪˈleɪ 鱼片） and four pieces of cod filet.
do i need to buy some spices（/ spaɪs /香料） so mom can marinate（腌制/ ˈmærɪneɪt /） a fish?

-Yes, get some ground（磨碎的） pepper（胡椒粉/ ˈpepər /） and some garlic（大蒜/ ˈɡɑːrlɪk /）.

-how about vegetables?

-we need carrots, potatoes, cabbage（卷心菜/ ˈkæbɪdʒ /） and some lettuce（生菜/ ˈletɪs /）.
we need some fruit also.
what do you want?

-apples and bananas.
and how about some soft（柔软的） drinks(软饮料, 意为不含酒精的饮料)?

-no, buy some bottled（瓶装的/ ˈbɑːtld /） water instead.
it is healthier for us.

-oh, i just remembered.
we also need bread.
please put it on the list.
should i get one loaf（条（面包）） or two?

-two loaves.
you have quite（十分，非常） a few items（物品, 项目，条款） to take care of（照顾，照料）.
you need to get going.

-yes, the list is quite long.
by the time i get to the cashier（收银员/ kæˈʃɪr /） to pay, i will probably have a full shopping cart（购物车）.
Okay, i am all set（一切就绪） to go.
i’ll be back soon.

-thanks.

5. I’ll Fix It Myself

-the clothes dryer（烘干机） stopped working.
We need a new one.

  • but this one is not so old.
    we just need to fix it.
    i can do it myself.
    it needs just a new moisture(水气,潮气) sensor(传感器).

  • are you sure you can do it?
    it seems a complicated(complicate 意为’vt. 使…复杂化’; complicated 意为’adj. 复杂的’) job.
    better call the repair(v. 修理) man.

  • i’m not going to let the repair guy rip me off(欺诈) and pay hundreds of dollars on this.
    i come from a long line of handy men.(“long line of” 的中文翻译是 “长系列的”，但在这个句子中，它是一个习语，表示某个特定品质或技能在一个家族或血统中代代相传。所以，“I come from a long line of handy men.” 这句话的意思是：我来自一个代代相传擅长做手工的家族。)
    my dadused to(“used to” 的中文翻译是 “过去常常” 或 “过去经常”。在英语中，”used to” 用来表示过去经常做的事情，但现在已经不再这样做了。 )
    fix everything - lawnmowers(lawn草坪/ lɔːn /; mower割草机 [ˈmaʊər]), cars, appliances(家用电器 [əˈplaɪəns]).
    his father was a house builder, one of his brothers built boats and one made furniture（家具）.
    i’ve been helping my dad and grandpa since i was a young child on anything so i think
    i can fix the dryer myself.
    i’ll have this thing running(让这个东西运行起来) in no time(“立刻，马上”), honey.
    i watched an instructional(instruct意为’v. 指导’, instruction 意为’n. 用法说明, 指示’, instructional 意为’adj. 指导的;教学的’) video so I know exactly（精确地） what to do.
    it’s done.
    it’s as good as new.
    i fixed the dryer.
    i took（take的过去式） it all apart(apart意为’分开’, take apart 意为’拆开’) and swapped out（替换） the sensor.
    now press(按压) start and see if it works.

-it works.
i had no idea you were so good with your hands.
you could definitely（明确地/ ˈdefɪnətli /） say that repairing（修复，repair） things has always been in your blood（血液）.

6. Decorating the House

-can you hold（抓牢） the end of this tape measure（卷尺）?

-sure. what’s this for?

-i’m taking some measurements（复数形式，尺寸） for new curtains（复数形式窗帘）.
didn’t you say the house needs doing over（do over 重新做，这里指重新装修）?

-what about measuring（measure 的 ing 形式，测量） the floor for a new carpet（地毯） and the walls for a new wallpaper?

-i thought we’d just fix up（修复） the wood（木质的） floor and use some paint（油漆） for the walls.

-okay, sounds good.

-we need to scrape off（用刀或其他工具从表面去除或清除某物） all the loose（零散的，松散的） flakes of paint（油漆片） before redecorating（重新装修（redecorate 的 ing 形式））.
tomorrow we’ll go out and pick out（挑选） some curtains and paint.

-i can’t wait.
Eh… shall we redecorate the hallway（门厅，走廊，过道）, too?

-we can consider（考虑） it.
maybe we can decorate it in a more traditional（传统的） way.

7. Family’s Expenses

-i went over the household budget and we’ve overspent this month.

our expenses are mounting.

we have to cut back on our shopping from now on.

-really?

that’s too bad.

we need to figure out how much money we’ve spent and what we’ve spent it on.

-okay.

let’s get the receipts out.

-let’s see.

we’ve spent $850 on our home loan payment, $300 on groceries, $111 on utilities,

$250 on gasoline, two hundred dollars on clothes, one hundred dollars on books,

a hundred fifty dollars on cell phones and four hundred dollars on entertainment last month.

-that’s $2361.

-we put five hundred dollars into the savings account.

that’s two hundred eighty sixty one dollars.

our paychecks add up to thirty one hundred dollars.

that means we don’t have any receiptsfor $239 dollars.
-right.
let’s think about it for a bit.
where do you think we can save money?
-Well, we could eat in more often.
that $400 for entertainment is mostly going to restaurants.
-yeah, that’s a good idea.

and you like to cook.

8. Electricity Bill

-did you see our last electricity bill?

-no. was it high?

-it was very high.

how much higher is it than usual?

-it is double the normal amount.

-wow.

that is high.

can we afford that?

-no.

we need to do some changes from now on to lower it.

-but what can we do?

-from now on we must unplug the unused electronic devices.

-next, we must adjust the water temperature to 48 degrees C.

it shouldn’t be hotter than that.

we can do our laundry using cold water.

that will save a bunch of money, because we’re not wasting hot water.

Also, we should run full loads.

instead of doing multiple small loads, we should do one big load.

-another way to save is to lower the temperature when we’re going to sleep at

night or when we’re not in the house.

-during the winter months, we can set the temperature to 18 degrees C.

during the hot summer days, we can increase the temperature to 24 degrees C.

so we’re not wasting our air conditioning’s energy cooling the house too much.

-exactly.

we can also change our regular light bulbs to LED.

that will save us another bunch of money.

we’ll be saving four to six times the energy.

-perfect.

we’ll do so from now on.

Review

1. Family Morning Routine

  • @ morning, Nicholas. @@ time @ school. @ out @ bed.Jessica @@ up and dressed.
  • good morning, mom.
  • @@ check @ weather @@ . @@ looking @@ cloudy.@ like @@ gonna rain.So, @ @ take @ umbrellas.the trees @@ side @@. @ means @@ windy but @@ lovely @.
    @@@ bathroom and @@ teeth, then @ dressed and @ downstairs to @@ breakfast
  • okay, mom.
  • what @ we @@@@ breakfast?
  • we @@@@ bagel with eggs, bacon and cream cheese this morning.and strawberry blueberry smoothie.
  • perfect.can @@ the smoothie?
  • yeah, sure.you need frozen strawberries,blueberries, almond milk and Greek yogurt.
  • it @ yummy. shall @ also put @ bananas?
  • no, we @@@ banana out @@ recipe to @@ flavors @@ berries @@. @ the blender, and add almond milk first.Then, (加入) the strawberries, blueberries and Greek yogurt.blend @@ smooth.you can add some cinnamon, too.
  • it @ nice and (厚的, 浓稠的) and it @ delicious.
  • the egg bagel sandwiches are ready too.@@ added tomatoes and (黄瓜).
  • @@ missing @@(组成部分): the ketchup.
  • that is a yummy egg bagel sandwich.it’s so (让人容易填饱肚子的).(既然, 由于) we @ breakfast, i guess @@@ going. (它看起来天气正在变好。).
  • that’s right. i @ it @ rain.(过去将来时态)

2. House - Cleaning Day

-it’s the day we @(/ ˈθɜːrəli / 全面的) clean @whole@
we (扔) away things we don’t need, （打包） things to (捐赠) to the(本地的) (无家可归的) (橱窗), clean @@@ rooms and @@@ the windows.

-what (精确地 ) @@ have to do, mom?

-you must clean your rooms.
they are really (混乱的, 杂乱的).
clear your beds and (椅子的复数) of all the (物品) and @ sure @ @ them@@ (合适的) place.
clean @ the beds, too.
then @ your beds @ fresh (linen 是亚麻布, linens 是床单).
@ the (整个的) room.
(尘土, 除尘) the (shelf 的复数, 架子, 货架) and put the books that @@@ floor @ their right places.
(整理, 清理, 明白的, 易懂的) and (清洁) the (梳妆台) and @ them in (顺序).

-that’s a lot @@.

-we better get @.
we have a lot to do, (事实上).
i have to do several (loads of “大量的”)（待洗的衣物） and clean the kitchen and the dining room.

-i’ll clean the (客厅) and the （顶楼）.
it’s getting (满的 ) @@.
i don’t even remember @@@there anymore.

-me @.
we probably don’t need a lot of that (东西).
what @ we do @ it?
i think i’m gonna have a (车库) sale next weekend

-yeah, that’s a great idea.
i @ finished @ the windows.
that was a huge job.

-oh, good.let me check the list and see what we@@ so far.
@ you cleaned the (柜台)?

-yes, i @, so you can mark them @ finished.

-okay, i’ll (标记) the windows @ the list, too.
what about the floors?
have you (vacuum 的过去分词, 意思是用吸尘器所做的清洁) and (mop 的过去分词, n.拖把 v.用拖把清洁) them?

-i @ done that too.
what （其他） @ we @ on the list?

-(v.除尘 n.尘土 dust 的现在进行时) the shelves.

-i already @ that yesterday.

-oh, yeah, i remember. so i’ll (穿过) that @ the list, too.

-so how about you? what @ you done so far?

-i’ve cleaned the (顶楼).
i’ve made three （堆/ paɪl /）.
Keep, （捐赠[ˈdoʊneɪt]） or (卖), and (n. 垃圾, v. 当垃圾处理).
i found a few （[ˌsentɪˈmentl]情感的, 多愁善感的, mental 是精神的/思想的） (物品) @ I decided to @.
there is so much more （空间） now.
it @ great.

-wonderful.
i still have to clean the living room, then i’m @.
Okay.
i’ll @ check @ the kids now.

3. What’s for Dinner?

-mom, @@ for dinner?

-i @ really @@ something spicy（辛辣的） @ chili(辣椒).

-spicy? i’m （不喜欢） spicy food right now.

-gee(（表示惊奇、感动或气恼）哇，哎呀；向右，前进，快（驾驭马牛等的吆喝声）), i @@ so busy @@@ that i haven’t @@ a single(单个的, 单一的, 单身的) thought.(so … that 结果副词从句)
Anyway, i don’t @(在这种情况下，”feel” 是指你对某个活动或行为的心理感受或倾向。所以，”I don’t feel much like cooking” 的意思是你对做饭没有太大的兴趣或欲望。) much like cooking.
i’m just @@ to (准备) a (一餐, 进餐) even a small one, plus(加法, 加, 在这里的意思是”而且, 外加”), there’s (几乎) @ in the (冰箱) because we @@@@ to the (杂货, 杂货店) store this weekend.

-@@@ say we @(点餐; 顺序; 命令; 订购) some food?

-good @, dad.
@@@ Chinese food.
don’t we @@@ somewhere?

-@@@ we @@ that place the food was (油腻的) and it took them forever to @(投递, 运送).
but you know what?
@@ a new Greek restaurant (n. 市中心, adv.在市中心 adj. 在市中心的).
@@ they deliver very @.

-but doesn’t Greek @ have @@ garlic(大蒜)?
just the thought of garlic @@@ (turn sb. off 让某人扫兴了, turn sb. on 让某人来兴趣了).
garlic’s @@ you.
i can’t @@@ it myself.

-at this @ (速度) we’ll never @@ to eat.
i’m @(饥饿的).
you two @ too @ (adj. 挑剔的).

-@@ better （订购） @ pizza and @@ a good movie.

-good idea.
i’m crazy @ pizza.
@ fact, my @ is @ (夏威夷的, 夏威夷人).

-i dont like Hawaiian(夏威夷的) pizza, i can’t (站立; 忍受) (菠萝） @ pizza.
i prefer @eat fruit @ （甜点/ dɪˈzɜːrt /）, not with the （主菜）, so i’ll （选择） chicken pizza.

-i’ll @ pepperoni(/ ˌpepəˈroʊni /意大利辣香肠).

-me too.

4. Grocery Shopping

“Grocery store” 和 “supermarket” 都是指卖食品和日用品的商店，但它们之间有一些区别。
“Grocery store” 通常是指规模较小、存货种类较少的商店，主要出售食品和日用品，如牛奶、面包、鸡蛋、洗衣粉等。这些商店可能只有一到两个过道，不提供购物车，而且通常只能接受现金或借记卡付款。
“Supermarket” 是指规模较大的商店，通常有许多个过道和多个部门，如食品、药品、家居、电器等。超市通常提供购物车，并接受多种付款方式。除了食品和日用品，超市还可能售卖其他商品，如家具、玩具等。
总的来说，”grocery store” 和 “supermarket” 的区别在于规模大小、存货种类和可接受的付款方式。

-mom @ me to @ （杂货店/ ˈɡroʊsəri /） shopping, but i need @@my homework.
can you @@ me, Nicholas?

-i guess i can.
what @ mom want you @ buy?

-some （猪肉）, fish, vegetables @ milk.
You can buy some （零食） too, @ chocolate cookies.

-what @@ fish @ mom want?

-mom @ some （三文鱼） and some （鳕鱼/ kɑːd /
）.
@ sure that they @ fresh.

-(为什么不用how many, 因为不知道要买多少, 因为有可能是买好多钱, 也有可能是买好多条, 或者是买多少斤, 所以不确定, 就用 how much 比较合适) salmon and cod @@@?

-oh, buy four @@ salmon （ fɪˈleɪ 鱼片） and four @@ cod @.
@ i need @ buy @ （/ spaɪs /香料） so mom can （腌制/ ˈmærɪneɪt /） a fish?

-Yes, get some （磨碎的） （胡椒粉/ ˈpepər /） and some （大蒜/ ˈɡɑːrlɪk /）.

-how @ vegetables?

-we @ carrots, potatoes, （卷心菜/ ˈkæbɪdʒ /） and some （生菜/ ˈletɪs /）.
we need @ fruit also.
what @ you want?

-apples and bananas.
and how @ some （柔软的） (软饮料, 意为不含酒精的饮料)?

-no, buy some （瓶装的/ ˈbɑːtld /） water instead.
it is healthier @ us.

-oh, i just remembered.
we also need bread.
please @ it @ the list.
should i @ one （条（面包）） @ two?

-two loaves.
you have （十分，非常） @@（物品, 项目，条款） to （照顾，照料）.
you need to @@.

-yes, the list @ quite long.
by the time i @@ the （收银员/ kæˈʃɪr /） @ pay, i will probably @ a full shopping （购物车）.
Okay, i am （一切就绪） to go.
i’ll @@ soon.

-thanks.

5. I’ll Fix It Myself

-the clothes （烘干机） @ working.
We need a new one.

  • but this one is not so old.
    we just need to fix it.
    i can do it myself.
    it needs just a new moisture(水气,潮气) sensor(传感器).

  • are you sure you can do it?
    it seems a complicated(complicate 意为’vt. 使…复杂化’; complicated 意为’adj. 复杂的’) job.
    better call the repair(v. 修理) man.

  • i’m not going to let the repair guy rip me off(欺诈) and pay hundreds of dollars on this.
    i come from a long line of handy men.(“long line of” 的中文翻译是 “长系列的”，但在这个句子中，它是一个习语，表示某个特定品质或技能在一个家族或血统中代代相传。所以，“I come from a long line of handy men.” 这句话的意思是：我来自一个代代相传擅长做手工的家族。)
    my dadused to(“used to” 的中文翻译是 “过去常常” 或 “过去经常”。在英语中，”used to” 用来表示过去经常做的事情，但现在已经不再这样做了。 )
    fix everything - lawnmowers(lawn草坪/ lɔːn /; mower割草机 [ˈmaʊər]), cars, appliances(家用电器 [əˈplaɪəns]).
    his father was a house builder, one of his brothers built boats and one made furniture（家具）.
    i’ve been helping my dad and grandpa since i was a young child on anything so i think
    i can fix the dryer myself.
    i’ll have this thing running(让这个东西运行起来) in no time(“立刻，马上”), honey.
    i watched an instructional(instruct意为’v. 指导’, instruction 意为’n. 用法说明, 指示’, instructional 意为’adj. 指导的;教学的’) video so I know exactly（精确地） what to do.
    it’s done.
    it’s as good as new.
    i fixed the dryer.
    i took（take的过去式） it all apart(apart意为’分开’, take apart 意为’拆开’) and swapped out（替换） the sensor.
    now press(按压) start and see if it works.

-it works.
i had no idea you were so good with your hands.
you could definitely（明确地/ ˈdefɪnətli /） say that repairing（修复，repair） things has always been in your blood（血液）.

6. Decorating the House

-can you hold the end of this tape measure?

-sure.

what’s this for?

-i’m taking some measurements for new curtains.

didn’t you say the house needs doing over?

-what about measuring the floor for a new carpet and the walls for a new wallpaper?

-i thought we’d just fix up the wood floor and use some paint for the walls.

-okay, sounds good.

-we need to scrape off all the loose flakes of paint before redecorating.

tomorrow we’ll go out and pick out some curtains and paint.

-i can’t wait.

Eh… shall we redecorate the hallway, too?

-we can consider it.

maybe we can decorate it in a more traditional way.

7. Family’s Expenses

-i went over the household budget and we’ve overspent this month.

our expenses are mounting.

we have to cut back on our shopping from now on.

-really?

that’s too bad.

we need to figure out how much money we’ve spent and what we’ve spent it on.

-okay.

let’s get the receipts out.

-let’s see.

we’ve spent $850 on our home loan payment, $300 on groceries, $111 on utilities,

$250 on gasoline, two hundred dollars on clothes, one hundred dollars on books,

a hundred fifty dollars on cell phones and four hundred dollars on entertainment last month.

-that’s $2361.

-we put five hundred dollars into the savings account.

that’s two hundred eighty sixty one dollars.

our paychecks add up to thirty one hundred dollars.

that means we don’t have any receiptsfor $239 dollars.
-right.
let’s think about it for a bit.
where do you think we can save money?
-Well, we could eat in more often.
that $400 for entertainment is mostly going to restaurants.
-yeah, that’s a good idea.

and you like to cook.

8. Electricity Bill

-did you see our last electricity bill?

-no. was it high?

-it was very high.

how much higher is it than usual?

-it is double the normal amount.

-wow.

that is high.

can we afford that?

-no.

we need to do some changes from now on to lower it.

-but what can we do?

-from now on we must unplug the unused electronic devices.

-next, we must adjust the water temperature to 48 degrees C.

it shouldn’t be hotter than that.

we can do our laundry using cold water.

that will save a bunch of money, because we’re not wasting hot water.

Also, we should run full loads.

instead of doing multiple small loads, we should do one big load.

-another way to save is to lower the temperature when we’re going to sleep at

night or when we’re not in the house.

-during the winter months, we can set the temperature to 18 degrees C.

during the hot summer days, we can increase the temperature to 24 degrees C.

so we’re not wasting our air conditioning’s energy cooling the house too much.

-exactly.

we can also change our regular light bulbs to LED.

that will save us another bunch of money.

we’ll be saving four to six times the energy.

-perfect.

we’ll do so from now on.