So great is our passion for doing things for ourselves, that we are becoming increasingly less dependent on specialized labour.

Our passion for doing things for ourselves is so great that … ^{正常语序（头重脚轻）}
We are becoming increasingly independent of specialized labor. ^替换写法

passion ^{n.强烈情感；激情}

• his passion for table tennis 
• his passion for the girl

表达感情的词后面介词用“for”

do sth. for oneself ^{亲自做某事}

• The following example of 'sick humor' will enable you to judge for yourself.

increasingly  ^{more and more 越来越多的}

• ...and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. 

• It is also becoming increasingly difficult to deal with the problem of traffic in towns.  ^{考研阅读真题}
• As a result of all these factors, governments are becoming increasingly dependent on biologists and social scientists for planning the appropriate programs and putting them into effect. ^{考研英译汉}

造句：Organic food is becoming increasingly popular. ^{有机食品正在变得越来越流行。}
造句：People are becoming increasingly aware of national and international issues. ^{人们正在变得越来越了解国家和国际间的问题。}

be dependent on … ^依赖于…

• It's a pleasant dream but everything depends on 'if' !
• The area is heavily dependent on tourism. ^{这个地区非常依赖旅游业。}
• She is still financially dependent on her parents. ^{她在经济上仍然依靠父母。}
• She had grown ever more peevishly dependent on him. ^{她脾气变得更坏，对他的依赖更重了。}

造句: So far away does my mother live that we hardly ever see her.^{我母亲住得这么远以至于我们很少 (hardly ever) 见到她。}
造句: So great is our passion for the Internet that we are becoming increasingly less interested in the television. ^{我们对因特网的热情是如此的高涨以至于我们对电视越来越没有兴趣了。}

No one can plead ignorance of a subject any longer, for there are countless do-it-yourself publications.

To plead ignorance of a subject is no longer a legitimate / justifiable excuse. ^替换表达

countless / numerous ^{数不胜数的} 

• There are countless people who, ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food.
• There are numerous people, who ... ^相互替换

do-it-yourself ^{复合形容词}

• take-home pay ^税后工资
• a can’t-be-put-down book ^{爱不释手的书}
• a wait-and-see policy ^{观望的政策}
• a good-for-nothing man ^{一无是处的人}

Armed with the right tools and materials, newlyweds gaily embark on the task of decorating their own homes.

Armed with ^{装备有、佩戴上} 

• Armed with a torch, the vicar went up into the clock tower to see what was going on.
• Armed with the new machine, a search party went into the cave hoping to find buried treasure.

reading / writing / building materials ^{阅读/写作/建筑材料}

• The teacher provided a list of reading materials for the course. ^{老师为课程提供了一份阅读材料清单。}
• She went to the store to buy some writing materials for her project. ^{她去商店买了一些写作材料为她的项目做准备。}
• They ordered building materials for the construction of the new house. ^{他们订购了建造新房的建筑材料。}

gaily ^{cheerfully / happily 开心的、兴高采烈的}

• Magda laughed gaily.  ^{玛格达快乐地笑了。}
• She waved gaily to the little crowd. ^{她高兴地向这一小群人挥手。}
• He put on a gaily coloured shirt. ^{他穿上了一件色彩亮丽的衬衫。}

embark on … ^{1.上船；2.开始某个工作、任务}

• We embarked on the ship for Shanghai.

Men, particularly, spend hours of their leisure time installing their own fireplaces, laying out their own gardens; building garages and making furniture.

particularly / especially / in particular ^尤其特别

• She enjoys all genres of music, but she is particularly fond of jazz.^{她喜欢所有类型的音乐，尤其喜欢爵士乐。}
• This restaurant is known for its seafood, especially the lobster.^{这家餐厅以海鲜著称，尤其是龙虾。}
• I love all my classes, but I find the science class in particular fascinating.^{我喜欢所有的课程，但我觉得科学课特别有趣。}

lay out ... ^{布置、摊开、摆放开…}

• While they were laying it out on the decks.
• Lay out the map on the table and let’s have a look.
• As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them.

Some really keen enthusiasts go so far as to build their own computers.

go so far as to … ^{到…这么一个程度}

• I can only trust him so far. 
• Some go so far as to call the market a bond bubble. ^{甚至有人说现在的债券市场出现泡沫了。}
• She went so far as to rent downtown office space. ^{她甚至还在市中心租用了办公地方。}

1. I got a surprise for you.
2. Yeah? I got one for you too.
3. I’ve watched you do business for years, but I thought there was a limit to how sick you could … 
4. How could you, Linus? How could you do what you did to me and to her? How could you go that far? What the hell makes you think you have the right?
5. Habit. 

build ^{assemble 组装}

• The cupboard is easy to build. ^{这个橱柜容易组装。}
• Last time I tried to assemble a toy train for my son and I almost gave up. ^{上次我试着给我儿子组装玩具火车，我差点就放弃了。}

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.

cater for ... ^{满足、迎合}

• Schools often fail to cater for the needs of gifted children.
• It is a resort that clearly caters for the well-off.

craze ^{fad / mania 狂热}

• We called that craze "tulip mania". ^{我们称这种狂热为“郁金香狂热”。}
• Bands from London introduced the craze for this kind of music. ^{伦敦的乐队引发了对这种音乐的狂热。}
• More pertinent right now is whether or not the craze has reached a tipping point. ^{现在更重要的是，这股狂热是否已经达到临界点。}

run ^开设…

• The college runs summer courses.

services for novices ^尾韵

• the institute for the destitute
• Haste makes waste. ^欲速不达
• Man proposes, God disposes. ^{谋事在人、成事在天}

Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.  — Thomas Edison

Such things provide an excellent outlet for pent up creative energy, but unfortunately not all of us are born handymen.

outlet ^{n. means of releasing energy, strong feelings, etc.（精力、强烈情感等的）发泄的途径}

• Sport became the perfect outlet for his aggression. ^{运动成为他攻击性心理的最佳出路。}
• Her father had found an outlet for his ambition in his work. ^{她父亲在工作中找到了施展抱负的途径。}
• She needed to find an outlet for her many talents and interests. ^{她的多才多艺、兴趣广泛需要找个施展的机会。}

pent-up ^{adj. pent-up feelings or energy have not been expressed or used for a long time（情感、精力等）被压抑的，郁积的}

• He needs an outlet for all that pent-up anger. 
• He still had a lot of pent-up anger to release. ^{他仍有许多被压抑的愤怒要发泄。}
• She was too pent-up to speak. ^{她闷闷不乐，不想说话。}
• She burst into tears, releasing all her pent-up emotions. ^{她放声大哭，发泄出全部郁积起来的情感。}

not 与 all, every, everything, everyone, both ^{连用多表示部分否定}

• All that glitters is not gold.
• Every machine here is not produced in our plant.
• Both of the substances do not dissolve in water.

be born + 名词 ^{表示出生以后的状态}

• sb. are born handymen
• He was born an idiot.
• He was born idiotic.