By Stasia Buckle

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I absolutely love junk. I don’t care what it is. If it looks rubbish I’ll probably buy it.

I think I got this from my granddad. His flat was full of the stuff. I remember he had a cupboard piled with treasures which my sister and I would spend hours rummaging around in.[2] I don’t think we ever actually made it through to the back wall but I did manage to find an old pellet gun once.[3] I casually pulled the trigger right at my sister’s head. Thankfully the pellet missed, but the bang was so loud that it did leave us both deaf for the rest of the day. Granddad thought this was so funny and from then on every time we left his flat he would follow us out to the car and fire the pistol[4] into the air as we drove away.

I don’t think granddad gave much thought to the colour scheme or interior design[5] of his place. You couldn’t see the walls or the carpet for a start. To an adult it was a mess, but it was like Santa’s grotto[6] to me. You never left there disappointed. He had it all, Charles and Diana mugs, framed pictures of the Pope, china dogs carrying shopping bags, trinkets of every kind.[7] He even re-purposed[8] his junk. I once walked into the living room to find a picture of the Queen framed by a toilet seat[9]—I don’t think he was much of a fan.

My love of junk has got me into financial trouble. If I want something then I’m quite happy to barter[10] all day. For me it’s not about the price, it’s about the game. I love it. When I’m on eBay[11], I forget about the price and what I’m buying. I get so involved with the bidding that all else is forgotten whilst I race to win the sale.[12] Then right at the last minute some clever git[13] always gets in there with the final bid. This is when things get personal and I burst into a fit of rage and bid on anything just to win and make myself feel better.

I went to Kempton Market[14] the other day and I could feel my heart speeding up as I looked at all the piles of lovely junk. Here it’s described as “antique” or “vintage” and I can’t afford it.[15] Even an old Muppet money saving tin, where you put a shilling into its mouth and in return it shuts its mouth and then smiles at you,[16] was £85. And where would I find a shilling anyway?

I have managed to get my hands on some good stuff during my junk raids.[17] I have had to work hard for it though, but it was worth it. My favourite pieces of junk are special. They have history, character and charm, and I suppose you can never really put a price on that.

Vocabulary

1. junk: 废弃的旧东西，废旧杂物；junkie: 废品旧货商，〈喻〉上瘾的人。

2. cupboard:（放衣服、食品等的）小橱柜；rummage: 翻找，仔细搜查。

3. made it through to the back wall: 形容祖父橱柜里的杂物很多，翻不到头；pellet:（气枪、猎枪、玩具枪等的）子弹，铅弹。

4. pistol: 手枪，发令枪。

5. colour scheme or interior design: 指对房屋墙面、内饰等的颜色配置和内部装修。

6. Santa’s grotto: 圣诞老人的小屋，用来给孩子们储存圣诞节礼物，grotto本义为“洞穴，（人工开挖用以避暑的）洞室”。

7. Charles and Diana mug: 查尔斯王子和戴安娜王妃的结婚纪念杯；Pope: 教皇；trinket: 小装饰物，廉价首饰。

8. re-purpose: 此处指为旧物寻找新用途。

9. toilet seat: 马桶座圈。

10. barter: 讨价还价。

11. eBay: 全球最大的电子商务网站。

12. bidding:（在拍卖中买主）喊价，出价；whilst: =while，当……的时候；race: 全速进行。

13. git: 无用的人。

14. Kempton Market: 指在伦敦坎普顿公园（Kempton Park）内举办的旧货买卖集市，每两个月举办一次，是英国最大的旧货市场。

15. antique: 古董的；vintage: 古式的，老式的。

16. muppet: 提线木偶；money saving tin: 存钱罐；shilling: 先令，英国1971年以前的货币单位。

17. get one’s hands on: 把……弄到手；raid: 劫掠，夺取。

（来源：英语学习杂志）