9 Inside the World of Pawn Shops 当铺世界的奥秘

仔细听

Pawn shops are businesses where people bring their possessions to get a small，short-term loan or to sell.The United States has about twelve thousand of them.Pawn shops may be large or small，clean or dirty，but they are all full of stories about people's lives.

当铺是人们交易所有物的地方，人们通过抵押所有物来获得小数额、短期的贷款，或者选择直接出售这些物品。在美国大约有一万两千家当铺。当铺的规模可大可小，有些很整洁，有些很脏乱，但它们都承载了人们生活中的许多故事。

听力破解：twelve被播音员重读，强调美国店铺数量较多；此外，需注意full of[′fuləv]处的连读。

仔细听

This may explain the popularity of reality programs like“Pawn Stars”on the History Channel.

It features a family of pawnbrokers in Las Vegas，Nevada.“Hard Core Pawn” on True TV features a pawnbroker and his grown son and daughter in a large pawn shop in Detroit，Michigan.

这大概是历史频道的“典当之星”这类真人秀节目如此流行的原因吧。

节目以内华达州拉斯维加斯的一个当铺商之家为拍摄对象。True电视台的“铁杆典当铺”则讲述了密歇根州底特律的一个当铺老板和他已成年的一对子女的故事。

词汇宝典：feature做名词时意为“特色，特征”，做动词时意为“以……为特色”，此处用It features...表达，地道简洁，在日常写作中值得借鉴。

仔细听

These shows are among the most-watched programs on the two cable channels.But some pawnbrokers consider them misleading.

Most of the time the programs show people who want to sell their items.Pawnbrokers say very few customers want to do that.They just need a small loan for a short time.

这两档节目在这两个有线电视频道都是收视率最高的节目之一。但是，一些典当商认为它们误导了人们。

这些节目演的大多是想要出售自己物品的人们。但典当商说很少有客户想这样做。他们仅仅是需要一笔短期小额贷款。

听力破解：most-watched和misleading两个词均被重读了，通过词义的前后对比可以看出这些受欢迎的真人秀节目在当铺商看来却是一种误导；few也被重读，通常播音员会强调这类表示数量关系的信息。

仔细听

People who want“fast cash”can get a loan based on the resale value of their item.This is what it means to pawn something.The pawnbroker will sell the item if the loan is not repaid on time.

那些想获得“快钱”的人可以根据自己物品转售的价格来获得相应价格的贷款。这也是当铺存在的意义所在。如果贷款没有如期偿还，当铺商将会出售这些被抵押的物品。

词汇宝典：fast cash指“快钱”，用来形容物品的快速变现。fast常用的说法有：fast break（快速突破）；fast five（玩命关头）；stand fast（屹立不动）等。

仔细听

But sometimes people do want to sell an item.The pawnbroker might buy it and then try to resell it for a higher price.Pawnbrokers say twenty-five to thirty-five percent of their money comes from selling items.Some pawn shops specialize in jewelry，but most of them accept a wide variety of items.

但有时人们确实想变卖物品。当铺老板可能会买下这些物品，然后尝试以更高的价格转售。当铺商说，他们收入的25%～35%来自转售。有些当铺只接受珠宝首饰，但大多数店铺接受多种物品。

听力破解：do被重读，强调人们有时去当铺的原因确实是变卖物品；resell it连读为[ri′selit]。

学着说一说

1.get a loan获得一笔贷款

▶“获得贷款”除了新闻中的表达，还可以用 obtain a loan表示，如：

I obtained a substantial loan.我获得了大笔贷款。

▶loan 的常用搭配还有 make a loan，意为“贷款”，如：

The bank made a loan of ten thousand pounds to the factory.

银行贷给那家工厂一万英镑。

2.consider them misleading认为……误导

▶consider后可接动词的-ing形式，也可接从句，如：

A：Have you already considered what to do next？

你考虑好下一步该做什么了吗？

B：I don't know yet.还没有。

▶口语中常用 consider的形容词形式considerate，意思是“周到的，体贴的”，如：

That was considerate of you.你真周到。

3.a wide variety of种类广泛的

▶variety 在新闻中表示“多样，种类”，如：

His writing lacks variety.他的文体缺乏变化。

▶various of 也可以表示“各种各样的”意思，如：

I like making friends in various of English groups.

我喜欢在各种各样的英语群里交朋友。