Collecting ^{动名词，这个词更强调收藏的动作、行为(爱好)}

• collection ^{名词，这个词多表示收藏的东西、藏品}

People tend to amass possessions, sometimes without being aware of doing so.

tend to do ^{往往、常常、倾向于}

• She tends to get nervous before exams. ^{她往往在考试前变得紧张。}
• Men tend to put on weight in middle age. ^{男人到了中年体重往往会增加。}
• People that are single tend to be more footloose. ^{单身族们常过得无拘无束。}

intend to do ^打算去做

• I intend to finish the project by tomorrow. ^{我打算在明天前完成这个项目。}
• They intend to bring the men up in a special capsule.
• Debbie intends to take short rests every two hours. 

amass possessions ^{积累财富、财产}

• People tend to amass possessions, sometimes without being aware of doing so.
• In a society that sets the gathering of possessions as the chief human objective, they will amass property. ^{在一个以聚敛财富为人生主要目标的社会中，人们会积聚财产。}
• We as a society have been taught to consume and amass material possessions. ^{作为一个社会，我们被教育说要消费，要占有物质。}

belongings / things ^{（习惯用复数）动产}

• He told me to unpack my things and then come down to dinner. 
• They dumped his belongings unceremoniously on the floor. ^{他们粗暴地把他的物品摔到地板上。}
• Ginette and I gathered our things together. ^{吉内特和我把我们的东西集中到一起。}

assets ^资产

• The company has assets worth millions of dollars. ^{这家公司拥有价值数百万美元的资产。}
• By the end of 1989 the group had assets of $3.5 billion. ^{到1989年底该集团已有35亿美元的资产。}
• The book gives a yardstick for measuring assets. ^{该书为评估资产提供了一种标准。}

… without being aware of doing so.

•  … without being conscious of doing so. ^{没有意识到(课文写法替换)}
• They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary.
• He left the house without being aware of forgetting his keys. ^{他没有意识到忘带钥匙就离开了家。}

造句：People tend to sleep less when they get older, sometimes without being aware of doing so.  ^{人们变老时往往睡得更少，有时候自己都没有意识到。}

Indeed they can have a delightful surprise when they find something useful which they did not know they owned.

delightful surprise ^{惊喜交加(矛盾修饰法)}

• Her unexpected visit was a delightful surprise. ^{她的突然拜访是个惊喜交加的意外。}
• The news gave him a delightful surprise. ^{这消息使他喜出望外。}
• The announcement of your engagement to Robert Haines is a delightful surprise. ^{你和罗伯特·海恩斯先生订婚的消息，确实是一件惊喜的事。}

Those who never have to move house become indiscriminate collectors of what can only be described as clutter.

move house / home ^搬家[英]

• We’re moving house / home next week. move
• We’re moving next week. 
•  She had often considered moving to Seattle. ^{她那时常常考虑搬到西雅图去。}
• Modigliani announced his move to Montparnasse in 1909. ^{莫迪里亚尼1909年宣布他要搬到蒙帕尔纳斯去。}

be described as … ^被称为…

• She was described as a talented artist. ^{她被称为一位有才华的艺术家。}
• He has been variously described as a hero, a genius and a bully. ^{他被描述为英雄、天才、恶霸，不一而足。}
• The man was described as tall and dark, and aged about 20. ^{据描述这男人高个子，深色皮肤，年龄在20岁左右。}

They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics for years, in the belief that they may one day need just those very things.

undesirable / unwelcome  ^{不想要的、不需要的}

• The behavior was considered undesirable in a professional setting. ^{这种行为在职业环境中被认为是不受欢迎的。}
• The mayor delivered the unwelcome news that city employees may have to take unpaid time off. ^{市长宣布了人们不想听到的消息，所有城市雇员可能不得不进行不带薪休工。}
• This can have some undesirable side effects. ^{这可能会产生一些不想要的副作用。}

in the thought that …  ^{in the + 表示感觉的名词(在句中作原因状语)}

• Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that (=because they think that) they have cheated of the best things that life has to offer.
• He apologized in the thought that it would make things better. ^{他道歉是因为认为这会改善情况。}

造句：He takes vitamin pills every day in the belief that they may benefit his health. ^{他每天都吃维生素药丸，相信这样对健康有好处。}
造句：He wrote to the girl one letter after another in the hope of winning her heart. ^{他给这个女孩子写了一封又一封信希望能赢得芳心。}

… that they may one day need just those very things. ^{注意：课文这句话这两个词的词性}

• He is just the very man wanted by the police.
• This is just the very picture in which we are part. ^{这正是我们身置其中的世界图景。}
• It is meaningless, nothing is to be achieved; just the very activity is enjoyed. ^{不需要意义也没有什么要达成，只是享受在这些行动中。}
• Or just a very unusual sensation? ^{或者仅仅是一种非常特别不寻常的感觉呢？}
• It is just a very strange mask. ^{它仅是一个很奇怪的面具。}

As they grow old, people also accumulate belongings for two other reasons, lack of physical and mental energy, both of which are essential in turning out and throwing away, and sentiment.

“名词 + 介词 + 关系代词” 引导非限定性定语从句 ^{前提是定语从句修饰的不是先行词本身，而是先行词相关的东西或一部分}

造句：He has two sons, one of whom died in the war. ^{他有两个儿子，其中的一个死于战火。}
造句：The speaker posed four questions, the answers to which proved very illuminating. ^{演讲者提了四个问题，它们的答案被证明非常具有启发性。}

• She hurried home to feed her cats, one of which had just had kittens.
• The most valuable find of all was the ship's log book, parts of which it was still possible to read.

sentiment ^{n. [U] (usu. derog. 通常作贬义)tender feelings of pity, nostalgia, etc. which may be exaggerated or wrongly directed (contrasted esp. with reason)（对怜悯﹑ 怀旧等的）情感，多愁善感，感情用事（尤与理智相对）}

• There's no room for sentiment in business.
• She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband's death.
•  Laura kept that letter out of sentiment. ^{劳拉出于伤感保留了那封信。}

Things owned for a long time are full of associations with the past, perhaps with relatives who are dead, and so they gradually acquire a value beyond their true worth.

Things owned for a long time…

Things kept / possessed for a longtime … ^{课文写法替换}

… full of associations with the past…

… full of connections with the past, …^{课文写法替换}

relative ^{n. 亲戚；相关物}

• She visited her relatives during the holiday. ^{她在假期拜访了亲戚。}
• Get a relative to look after the children. ^{找个亲戚来照看这些孩子。}
•  The pheasant is a close relative of the guinea hen. ^{这种雉鸡和这种珍珠鸡是亲缘物种。}

nostalgia ^{n. 乡愁；怀旧之情；怀乡病}

• He felt a wave of nostalgia when he visited his hometown. ^{当他访问家乡时，感到了一股怀旧之情。}
• He might be influenced by nostalgia for the surroundings of his happy youth. ^{他也许被他对快乐青年时代的环境的怀念影响了。}
• The images provoked strong surges of nostalgia for the days of yore. ^{这些影像勾起了对昔日时光的深深怀念。}

and so = and therefore ^{因此(引出并列句，表达结果)}

• Gold Coast has an ideal climate, and so it is not surprising that it has become a tourist paradise.
• I am not an emotional type and so cannot bring myself to tell him I love him. ^{我不是情感外露的人，因此难以开口对他说我爱他。}
• But the call of the wild was simply too strong and so he set off once more. ^{但大自然的吸引力实在太大了，所以他又一次出发了。}

gradually ^逐渐地…

• The climate gradually became warmer. ^{气候逐渐变暖了。}
• The water deepened gradually. ^{水渐渐变深了。}
• My mood gradually lightened. ^{我的心情渐渐好起来。}

beyond their true worth ^{超过了…价值}

• The house was sold for a price beyond its true worth. ^{这房子以超过实际价值的价格出售。}
• Nobody knew the true worth of his work. ^{没有人知道他的工作的真实价值。}
• However, this is not a reflection of your true worth. ^{但这并不能反映你的真实价值。}

appreciate ^{v. 增值}

• The value of our house has appreciated by 50%. 
• The value of the house appreciated over time. ^{这所房子的价值随着时间而增值。}
•  They don't have any confidence that houses will appreciate in value. ^{他们对房屋增值没有一点信心。}