For Sale:One Life 出售：人生
时间：2018-12-17 作者：英语课 分类：英语广播节选
英语课
A Fresh Beginning 重新开始
Do you ever feel sick of your life?
Then why not sell it?
This is exactly what one man is attempting to do following the breakdown 1 of his marriage.
Ian Usher 2, a 44-year-old British man living in Australia, is using the online auction 3 site eBay to sell not only his belongings 4, but his entire life.
Up for grabs are his house and everything that's in it: his car, his jetski, his parachuting gear, even his pots and pans.
But what makes the auction unique is that the package also includes a two-week trial run at his job as an assistant in a rug store, and even an introduction to his friends in the local area.
The lovelorn Mr Usher said he no longer wanted to be reminded of the life he shared with his ex-wife, and hopes the sale will raise funds for a life-changing adventure.
He said that once the sale has gone through, he plans to walk out of his front door with his wallet in one pocket and his passport in the other, and see where the next plane takes him.
Bidding opened on Sunday, and by Monday morning had already reached the staggering figure of 13m yuan (2 million Australian dollars).
Unfortunately for Mr Usher most of the high bids turned out to be fake, as he had not activated 5 a registration 6 system that would have only let genuine bids through.
After removing the bogus bids the value of his 'life' stood at 2m yuan, though he hopes the final figure will be over 3m yuan.
Whatever the final price he receives, he is by no means the first person to try to sell something unusual online. A fighter jet, a piece of Britney Spears' chewing gum, and even some toenail clippings have all been sold on eBay.
Do you ever feel sick of your life?
Then why not sell it?
This is exactly what one man is attempting to do following the breakdown 1 of his marriage.
Ian Usher 2, a 44-year-old British man living in Australia, is using the online auction 3 site eBay to sell not only his belongings 4, but his entire life.
Up for grabs are his house and everything that's in it: his car, his jetski, his parachuting gear, even his pots and pans.
But what makes the auction unique is that the package also includes a two-week trial run at his job as an assistant in a rug store, and even an introduction to his friends in the local area.
The lovelorn Mr Usher said he no longer wanted to be reminded of the life he shared with his ex-wife, and hopes the sale will raise funds for a life-changing adventure.
He said that once the sale has gone through, he plans to walk out of his front door with his wallet in one pocket and his passport in the other, and see where the next plane takes him.
Bidding opened on Sunday, and by Monday morning had already reached the staggering figure of 13m yuan (2 million Australian dollars).
Unfortunately for Mr Usher most of the high bids turned out to be fake, as he had not activated 5 a registration 6 system that would have only let genuine bids through.
After removing the bogus bids the value of his 'life' stood at 2m yuan, though he hopes the final figure will be over 3m yuan.
Whatever the final price he receives, he is by no means the first person to try to sell something unusual online. A fighter jet, a piece of Britney Spears' chewing gum, and even some toenail clippings have all been sold on eBay.
GLOSSARY 词汇表
feel sick of
厌倦
online auction site
拍卖网站
up for grabs
供选购的
parachuting gear
跳伞装备
rug
地毯
raise funds
集资
bidding
（拍卖时的）出价
turned out to be
（出乎意料）的
genuine
真是的
fighter jet
战斗机
breakdown
破裂
belongings
拥有物品
jetski
喷气滑水艇
trial run
试验
lovelorn
失恋的
gone through
通过
staggering figure
高额数字
registration system
登记系统
bogus
假冒的
toenail clippings
脚趾甲屑
1 breakdown
n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌
- She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
- The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。
2 usher
n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员
- The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
- They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。
3 auction
n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖
- They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
- They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。
4 belongings
n.私人物品，私人财物
- I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
- Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。