Life lessons on buying stuff

导读

导读:想要的越多,欲望越大,欲望越大,多少钱也会满足不了你。这是一个很小的故事,作者通过描述自己的慢慢成长,讲了一个买车的故事,告诉我们一些关于金钱和欲望的小道理。非常小的事,写的很传神,文字也很简单,但是不随意。关于欲望,我想到最多的还是那部美剧,欲望都市。“欢迎来到不纯真年代。没有谁在蒂凡尼享受早餐,没有人还记得曾经的爱恋,取而代之的是我们在早晨七点匆匆解决完早餐。谁还记得爱情和约会有什么必要联系,我们能做的就是尽可能快的将浪漫爱情抛诸脑后……自我保护和功利主义成为了至高原则。”是的,女子们傲慢而大胆的声诉就十分惊世骇俗,刹那,你会痛斥这是部“万恶的资本主义”剧集,易腐朽我们纯净的灵魂,不如转看《六人行》(《FRIENDS》),笑一笑会更好。然而,如果你只有从中看到轮番上场的“欲望”泄洪,那就大错特错了,所以想了解关于欲望的话题,可以看看这部片子。

更多剧透

第一步:解决高频单词

rough [rʌf]

adj. 粗糙的

furniture [ˈfɜ:rnɪtʃə(r)]

n. 家具

inventory [ˈɪnvəntɔ:ri]

n. 存货

bombard [bɑ:mˈbɑ:rd]

v. 轰炸 炮击

reliable [rɪˈlaɪəbəl]

adj. 依靠的 依赖的

account [əˈkaʊnt]

n.账目 v. 认为 把…视作

invest [ɪnˈvɛst]

v. 投资

hamster [ˈhæmstɚ]

n. 仓鼠

capture [ˈkæptʃɚ]

v.捕获;占领;吸引注意力

pack [pæk]

v.把…打包;使聚集成团

60p

第二步:精读重点段落

(Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦)

[12] My need was transportation. My want was a brand new 350Z. I had choices. Instead of spending $30,000 dollars on a sports car, I could have spent $15,000 on a reliable, used car.

[13] This is all easier said than done. I get it. It’s also hard to learn from other’s mistakes. It seems like we all need to go through these lessons. My hope is that I can shorten the time it takes to learn yours.

[14] One of the things to consider before buying something is to think about the real cost. Say you want a brand new $300 phone. How much does it cost you? Let me guess, you said $300? Sorry, wrong answer.
First, you need to account for sales tax.
$300 x 0.08% = $24
So now, the cost is $324. But now you have to consider how much money you had to earn, to get $324. Good old Uncle Sam, takes money out of every paycheck you get. It’s called income tax.
$324 / (1–0.15) = $381
To get $324 in your bank account to buy that phone, you need to earn $381 ($300+24+57).

[15] if you didn’t spend the money? What if you invested it instead? How much would it be worth down the road?

[16] Here is a little trick. Add a zero to the end of the number and this tells you how much it would be worth in 30 years. That $373 is actually worth $3,730 to you down the road.

[17] Over time you will learn what brings you happiness. I can promise you more stuff is not the answer. When you find things that add value to your life. Buy them. But, think of everything you buy as an investment. How will that one thing return value to you every day or every year?
18 You are making an investment every time you choose NOT to buy something. The investment is in yourself. By saving and investing that money, you shorten the time it takes to reach real freedom.

[19] People say that we don’t own possessions, but rather that they own us. I can tell you that this is true. When you own more, you need more. You also have more stress thinking about all you have to lose. It is a terrible cycle that is hard to stop. My hope for you is that you see this earlier than I did and never get on the hamster wheel.

[20] This post is part of a series of letters to my kids. My goal is to reflect on and capture as many life lessons as possible. Here is the current list I am working from.

85p

第三步:攻克必学语法

一、同位语从句
在复合句主句中名词性成分之后与该名词性成分并列, 补充说明该名词性成分的有关情况的名词性从句, 被称为同位语从句。同位语从句的先行词通常为answer, hope, fact, truth, belief, news, idea, promise, information, conclusion, order, suggestion, problem, question, thought, report, belief, decision, doubt, opinion, theory等抽象名词。
二、同位语从句的引导词
引导同位语从句的词语通常有连词that,whether,连接代词和连接副词等。
1、由that引导
例句:He referred to Copernicus’ statement that the earth moves round the sun. 他提到了哥白尼关于地球绕太阳转的说法。
【注意1】在某些名词(如demand, wish, suggestion, resolution等)后面的同位语从句要用虚拟语气。如:
They expressed the wish that she accept the award. 他们表示希望她接受这笔奖金。
【注意2】引导同位语从句的连词that通常不省略,但在非正式文体中也可以省去。如:
He gabbed his suitcase and gave the impression he was boarding the Tokyo plane. 他拿起了手提箱,给人的印象是他要登上飞往东京的飞机了。
2、由whether引导
例句:We are not investigating the question whether he is trustworthy. 我们不是在调查他是否可以信任的问题。
【注意】whether 可引导同位语从句,但if不能引导同位语从句。
3、由连接代词引导
例句:Have you any idea what time it starts? 你知道什么时候开始吗?
4、由连接副词引导
例句:I have no idea when he will come back. 我不知道他什么时候回来。

100p

加分任务:精读全文

在之前的三步后,你已经完全具备了精读全文的能力。再多花半个小时,让你的学习效果达到120%!

查看/展开全文


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(Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦)

Life lessons on buying stuff

[1] In 1999, After graduating college, I moved to Austin. I packed everything I needed into a little four-door red Saturn. My first apartment was 700 square feet, roughly the size of a 3-car garage. Of course, this meant my apartment was pretty empty, so off I went to fill it up with stuff.

[2] A few years later, I moved out of my apartment and put everything I owned into a 10-foot-long moving truck. The new house was 2,100 square feet. It had a dining room (I never had one of those). There were three bedrooms (yet only one of me). And a kitchen, living room, 2-car garage, patio and backyard.

[3] I had 3 times as much space and so much more to buy. I turned one room into an office, one room into the guest space, I bought dining room furniture and the list goes on. After a few years, we decided to move out. We wanted to get ready to build a family. That means we need more space.

[4] We rented a 24 foot long moving truck and hired professionals to move everything. Our new house, at 3,400 square feet, was almost double the size of our first one. This was a two story and we actually didn’t use the second floor for years. After 13 years in the house, stuff is everywhere.

[5] At the time, all this made sense. This was the path you took. When you looked around, everyone was moving up and getting more. The first time I stopped to think about it was in 2014. I heard about a job opportunity in Australia and started to consider it. What would a move to another country look like?

[6] I knew Australia was an amazing place. While it would be tough to be on the other side of the world, it would be a great learning experience for the whole family. It would be one heck of an adventure. But what about all our stuff?

[7] I walked through the house and took inventory of everything we owned. I made a mental list of each item I would NEED to bring. At the end, that list was shocking. Outside of the bare necessities, it was blank. There was nothing that was an absolute need. Going through the exercise made me realize how little all our stuff actually means.

[8] Here’s the problem. American culture works against you every day. Advertisers bombard us with over 5,000 messages a day, trying to get us to buy more stuff. And it works. Some reports show we buy twice as many things today as we did 50 years ago. Another study shows that 9 out of 10 teenage girls rank shopping as their favorite activity. We have to stop this cycle.

[9] This all starts with wants vs. needs. A need is something you must have. Food, water, air, clothes, education are all examples of needs. A want is something you would like to have. It isn’t necessary, but something in you says it would be nice. In some cases, you fool yourself into thinking a want is a need!

[10] There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.
 — Jackie French Koller

[11] I made a promise to myself when I was 16 that my first new car would be Nissan 300Z. When I was 22 I made good on that promise. I bought a brand new silver 350Z (they stopped making the 300’s). I made myself believe this was a need. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun with that car, but looking back I was wrong.

[12] My need was transportation. My want was a brand new 350Z. I had choices. Instead of spending $30,000 dollars on a sports car, I could have spent $15,000 on a reliable, used car.

[13] This is all easier said than done. I get it. It’s also hard to learn from other’s mistakes. It seems like we all need to go through these lessons. My hope is that I can shorten the time it takes to learn yours.

[14] One of the things to consider before buying something is to think about the real cost. Say you want a brand new $300 phone. How much does it cost you? Let me guess, you said $300? Sorry, wrong answer.

First, you need to account for sales tax.
$300 x 0.08% = $24
So now, the cost is $324. But now you have to consider how much money you had to earn, to get $324. Good old Uncle Sam, takes money out of every paycheck you get. It’s called income tax.
$324 / (1–0.15) = $381
To get $324 in your bank account to buy that phone, you need to earn $381 ($300+24+57).

[15] if you didn’t spend the money? What if you invested it instead? How much would it be worth down the road?

[16] Here is a little trick. Add a zero to the end of the number and this tells you how much it would be worth in 30 years. That $373 is actually worth $3,730 to you down the road.

[17] Over time you will learn what brings you happiness. I can promise you more stuff is not the answer. When you find things that add value to your life. Buy them. But, think of everything you buy as an investment. How will that one thing return value to you every day or every year?
18 You are making an investment every time you choose NOT to buy something. The investment is in yourself. By saving and investing that money, you shorten the time it takes to reach real freedom.

[19] People say that we don’t own possessions, but rather that they own us. I can tell you that this is true. When you own more, you need more. You also have more stress thinking about all you have to lose. It is a terrible cycle that is hard to stop. My hope for you is that you see this earlier than I did and never get on the hamster wheel.

[20] This post is part of a series of letters to my kids. My goal is to reflect on and capture as many life lessons as possible. Here is the current list I am working from.

200p

rough [rʌf]

adj. 粗糙的

furniture [ˈfɜ:rnɪtʃə(r)]

n. 家具

inventory [ˈɪnvəntɔ:ri]

n. 存货

bombard [bɑ:mˈbɑ:rd]

v. 轰炸 炮击

reliable [rɪˈlaɪəbəl]

adj. 依靠的 依赖的

account [əˈkaʊnt]

n.账目 v. 认为 把…视作

invest [ɪnˈvɛst]

v. 投资

hamster [ˈhæmstɚ]

n. 仓鼠

capture [ˈkæptʃɚ]

v.捕获;占领;吸引注意力

pack [pæk]

v.把…打包;使聚集成团

不要一时兴起,就要天天在一起

明天见!


下载音频

Life lessons on buying stuff

[1] In 1999, After graduating college, I moved to Austin. I packed everything I needed into a little four-door red Saturn. My first apartment was 700 square feet, roughly the size of a 3-car garage. Of course, this meant my apartment was pretty empty, so off I went to fill it up with stuff.

[2] A few years later, I moved out of my apartment and put everything I owned into a 10-foot-long moving truck. The new house was 2,100 square feet. It had a dining room (I never had one of those). There were three bedrooms (yet only one of me). And a kitchen, living room, 2-car garage, patio and backyard.

[3] I had 3 times as much space and so much more to buy. I turned one room into an office, one room into the guest space, I bought dining room furniture and the list goes on. After a few years, we decided to move out. We wanted to get ready to build a family. That means we need more space.

[4] We rented a 24 foot long moving truck and hired professionals to move everything. Our new house, at 3,400 square feet, was almost double the size of our first one. This was a two story and we actually didn’t use the second floor for years. After 13 years in the house, stuff is everywhere.

[5] At the time, all this made sense. This was the path you took. When you looked around, everyone was moving up and getting more. The first time I stopped to think about it was in 2014. I heard about a job opportunity in Australia and started to consider it. What would a move to another country look like?

[6] I knew Australia was an amazing place. While it would be tough to be on the other side of the world, it would be a great learning experience for the whole family. It would be one heck of an adventure. But what about all our stuff?

[7] I walked through the house and took inventory of everything we owned. I made a mental list of each item I would NEED to bring. At the end, that list was shocking. Outside of the bare necessities, it was blank. There was nothing that was an absolute need. Going through the exercise made me realize how little all our stuff actually means.

[8] Here’s the problem. American culture works against you every day. Advertisers bombard us with over 5,000 messages a day, trying to get us to buy more stuff. And it works. Some reports show we buy twice as many things today as we did 50 years ago. Another study shows that 9 out of 10 teenage girls rank shopping as their favorite activity. We have to stop this cycle.

[9] This all starts with wants vs. needs. A need is something you must have. Food, water, air, clothes, education are all examples of needs. A want is something you would like to have. It isn’t necessary, but something in you says it would be nice. In some cases, you fool yourself into thinking a want is a need!

[10] There are two ways to be rich: One is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little.
 — Jackie French Koller

[11] I made a promise to myself when I was 16 that my first new car would be Nissan 300Z. When I was 22 I made good on that promise. I bought a brand new silver 350Z (they stopped making the 300’s). I made myself believe this was a need. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun with that car, but looking back I was wrong.

[12] My need was transportation. My want was a brand new 350Z. I had choices. Instead of spending $30,000 dollars on a sports car, I could have spent $15,000 on a reliable, used car.

[13] This is all easier said than done. I get it. It’s also hard to learn from other’s mistakes. It seems like we all need to go through these lessons. My hope is that I can shorten the time it takes to learn yours.

[14] One of the things to consider before buying something is to think about the real cost. Say you want a brand new $300 phone. How much does it cost you? Let me guess, you said $300? Sorry, wrong answer.

First, you need to account for sales tax.
$300 x 0.08% = $24
So now, the cost is $324. But now you have to consider how much money you had to earn, to get $324. Good old Uncle Sam, takes money out of every paycheck you get. It’s called income tax.
$324 / (1–0.15) = $381
To get $324 in your bank account to buy that phone, you need to earn $381 ($300+24+57).

[15] if you didn’t spend the money? What if you invested it instead? How much would it be worth down the road?

[16] Here is a little trick. Add a zero to the end of the number and this tells you how much it would be worth in 30 years. That $373 is actually worth $3,730 to you down the road.

[17] Over time you will learn what brings you happiness. I can promise you more stuff is not the answer. When you find things that add value to your life. Buy them. But, think of everything you buy as an investment. How will that one thing return value to you every day or every year?
18 You are making an investment every time you choose NOT to buy something. The investment is in yourself. By saving and investing that money, you shorten the time it takes to reach real freedom.

[19] People say that we don’t own possessions, but rather that they own us. I can tell you that this is true. When you own more, you need more. You also have more stress thinking about all you have to lose. It is a terrible cycle that is hard to stop. My hope for you is that you see this earlier than I did and never get on the hamster wheel.

[20] This post is part of a series of letters to my kids. My goal is to reflect on and capture as many life lessons as possible. Here is the current list I am working from.

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