VIP Class Notes (Vicki)

Vocabulary

essential oil – 精油

ticklish – 怕痒的

gadget – tool, electronics
i.e. We need to upgrade our gadgets.

stockpiled – 囤积的
i.e. I have a lot of clothes that I don’t wear stockpiled at home.

obsolete – useless
i.e. When iPhone became popular, Nokia became obsolete.

superseded – 被超越的
i.e. Nokia was superseded by iPhones.

landfill – the place where we bury our trash

romba – robot vacuum

stuffed animal – 毛绒玩具

extracted (adj.)- 被提取的
i.e. Essential oil is extracted from natural plants and flowers.

extract (n.) – 精粹

antidote – 解药
i.e. I need the antidote for this poison.

resurrect – to make something alive again
i.e. Jesus resurrected on Xmas Eve.

Have you got any gadgets hanging around your home that you no longer want or use? Between us, we have millions of bits of tech stockpiled in drawers that could be given a new lease of life.

Part of the problem for our unloved gadgets is that many become obsolete quickly because their software doesn’t get updated. Other items are left unused because they’re broken or they’ve become superseded by a fancy new version. Many of these items are electronics, but despite them appearing to be past their sell-by date, they don’t need to end up in landfill.

There are several ways to make the most of our unwanted gadgets. Recycling is the obvious solution. Materials used to make them can be extracted and reused in other things. As an example, Elisabeth Ratcliffe from the Royal Society of Chemistry told the BBC: “There are about thirty different elements just in a smartphone, and many of them are very rare.” These can be used in touch screens and solar panels.

Probably the best antidote to our throwaway culture is to repair our broken tech. This takes patience and skill, which can be learnt at repair clubs and repair cafés –free meeting places where you’ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need. In the UK, the interest in mending our stuff and giving it a new life is reflected by the popularity of a TV series called The Repair Shop, where craftspeople rescue and resurrect items their owners thought were beyond saving.

A final option for your discarded gadgets is to upcycle them. You can breathe new life into unwanted stuff by transforming it into valuable pieces or collectable retro items. These could be sold on, meaning you can make some cash from your junk and create much needed space in your home!