英语阅读欣赏—改掉乱花钱的毛病

　多数人在某些时刻会产生购物的冲动。有时我们花大价钱买下一些并不需要的东西，买回家后直接闲置，再也想不起来用。让我们一起来看看文章中的主人公是怎样抑制购物冲动的吧。

　　i got bored with my big-screen tv - before i even bought it.we’ve never paid more than $250 for a television. i don’t watch much tv. but i do enjoy movies. so a few years ago,i started fantasizing about buying a 32-inch-screen tv to replace our 25-inch set.

　　我开始厌烦大屏幕的电视机了──我还没把它买回家就已经厌烦了。我们买电视机的花费从未超过250 美元。我不怎么看电视，却非常喜欢看电影。所以早在几年前，我就开始幻想购买一台32 英寸屏幕的电视机，换掉我们家25 英寸的那台。

　　back then, such a highdefinition tv would set you back around $1,500.that seemed like a terrible extravagance. so i told myself when the price dropped to $500, i would buy one.

　　在那时，买这样一台高清电视机要花上大概1500 美元，这听起来太奢侈了。所以我对自己说，等价格降到500 美元时，我就买一台。

　　this christmas, i spotted one for under $500 but felt no urge to buy it. so i didn’t.

　　就在这个圣诞节，我看到了一台价格低于500 美元的大屏幕电视机，但却失去了买下它的冲动，所以迟迟未出手。

　　what happened?

　　这是怎么回事呢？

 i talked to a new york university professor who has researched how people’s reactions change as they get nearer to a situation.he believes the shift in my mind occurred when dropping prices suddenly made a big-screen tv a real possibility forme.

　　我去找纽约大学的一位教授谈了谈。他研究过当人们靠近某一情境时，反应将会如何变化。他认为，当价格骤降让拥有一台大屏幕电视突然成为可能时，我的想法发生了改变。

　　he likens the process to a trip to the mountains. when the trip is far off, we focus on the scenic view we expect to see. as the trip nears, we begin thinking about all the hassles of traveling there, the mosquitoes that will bite us and so on.

　　他把这一过程比作一次登山旅行。当距离旅行日期尚远时，我们关注的是期待看到的风景。而当启程之期临近时，我们就会开始考虑旅行中可能遇到的种种麻烦，比如蚊虫叮咬等。

　　as i talked to him, i realized that was exactly what happened with me and my big-screen tv. i knew there was no way i’d shell out $1,500 for a set, but it was fun to think of viewing movies on one.

　　在与其交流时，我意识到他所描述的这种情形恰好符合我买大屏幕电视的想法。我知道自己根本不会花1500 美元买台电视机，但每每想到可以用它来看电影，就感觉乐在其中。

　　the big price drop changed everything. now i began focusing more on munda concerns.where would the tv actually sit? would it be a hassle setting it up?

　　大减价改变了这一切。现在，我开始更多地关注那些现实的问题。比如电视机到底应该放在哪里？安装它会不会很麻烦？

　　there were other factors as well.during that time, we moved and bought a new house. the owners left their relatively new 27-inch toshiba tv behind. it wasn’t a high-definition tv. but it was a big improvement over our old set. so i had already gotten a better tv without buying anything.

　　还有其他一些因素影响了我。那段时间里，我们搬进了新买的房子。原来的房主把他家那台比较新的27英寸东芝电视机留给了我们。虽然它不是一台高清电视，但比我们那台旧电视机好多了。所以，我没花钱就拥有了一台更好的电视机。

　　i seem to talk myself out of buying things more and more as i get older. i briefly covet something,and then the urge passes.

　　随着年龄的增长，我似乎越来越能说服自己不要买什么东西。我会短暂地渴望一件东西，然后这种购买欲就消失了。

　over the years, even when i buy something i like, i often find myself vaguely disappointed. the car that seems so magical in the dealer’s lot is just a car a few weeks after you take it home.

　　这些年来，即使我买了自己喜欢的东西，也常生出说不清的失望。比如在车行里看上去如此迷人的好车，在开回家几周后也会变得普普通通。

　　in the end, few purchases give me true psychic joy. and those that do are usually embarrassingly prosaic. i bought a mini dozer ice scraper for 99 cents 19 years ago in a michigan car wash. i still have it. it’s basic but it has a tough blade that is particularly good at chiseling a sheet of ice off your windshield.

　　结果到头来，购物几乎不能带给我真正心灵上的喜悦。而那些真正带给我喜悦的东西却通常平凡得让人尴尬。19 年前，我在密歇根州的一家洗车行里花99 美分买了一个“袖珍推土机”牌刮冰器。我现在还在用它。它的款式非常普通，但结实的铲刃在给挡风玻璃除冰时特别好用。

　　during that period, we’ve owned a series of more-expensive contraptions that combined an ice scraper with a snow brush or even a glove. they’re not as sturdy as the mini dozer. if you apply a lot of pressure, the blades often snap.

　　那时候，我们已经有一套更贵的除冰用具，有的刮冰器上带着雪刷，甚至还配有护把。但它们都不如“袖珍推土机”那么结实。如果用力过大，它们的铲刃通常都会折断。

　　what about the big-screen tv? i’m sure i will buy it at some point. then i’ll sit down in my sofa, flip on the set and see if it was worth it.

　　那大屏幕电视机怎么办呢？我知道自己在将来的某个时刻肯定会买。然后，我会坐在沙发上，赶紧打开，看看它是否值这个价格。

　　编后语：

　　也许我们在商场看到一件华美的毛皮大衣，会禁不住诱惑花费上千甚至上万元把它买下来；也许我们看到电影主角使用洗碗机快捷方便地清洗餐具，会冲去电器城把洗碗机抱回家。在我们产生购物冲动时，该怎么合理地抑制它呢？不妨从文中找找答案。在距离某种情境较远时，我们只会憧憬美好的结果。而当你真有可能买下一些并不实用，且超出自己经济能力的商品时，可以多想想买下它后的现实问题。在冲动购物前，三思而后行，你就能免去许多不必要的挥霍。