你好呀，欢迎收听：英语考试Cat 🐱🐱🐱🐱 彩蛋: 这期我家有3只猫"出镜"了 🐱🐱🐱能猜出是哪三只吗? 1. What do you usually shop for? I mostly shop for daily necessities and a few things for my cats, so products like groceries, books, clothes, plus cat food and litter. For groceries, I prefer the local supermarket for packaged stuff and the fresh-food market for fresh veggies and meat since the produce there is fresher. But for things like books and clothes, I always buy those online. They're often cheaper than in physical retail stores, and the best part is they get delivered right to my door, so no need to carry heavy bags around. * mostly 主要地；通常 * daily necessities 日常必需品 * products 产品；物品 * groceries 食品杂货 * cat litter 猫砂 * packaged stuff 包装好的商品 * fresh-food market 生鲜市场 * fresh veggies 新鲜蔬菜 * produce 农产品 * physical retail stores 实体零售店 * delivered right to my door 直接送到家门口 2. Do you often go to malls? I guess so, at least once a week. There are two malls really close to where I live, both around four floors, though the one that is closest is half the size. Both have everything though: restaurants, clothing stores, home appliance shops, cinemas, and even supermarkets. Sometimes when I go, I just go to have a look, window shopping, plus I like the vibe, or vibrancy of the place. Malls have this busy, lively atmosphere that's nice to be around, even if I'm just meeting a friend for coffee. * half the size 一半大小 * home appliance shops 家电专卖店 * go to have a look 去看看 * window shopping 橱窗购物；逛而不买 * plus 而且；另外 * the vibe 氛围 * vibrancy 活力 * lively atmosphere 热闹的氛围 3. Do you shop online a lot? I do, actually, yes. Like I mentioned earlier, I get books, clothes, and most importantly, cat supplies online. Cat food and litter are things I need to restock regularly, so buying them online makes way more sense, especially as they can be heavy. They're also way cheaper than in stores, and like I said, I don't have to haul them home. Door-to-door service is great, and saves me so much hassle. * restock regularly 定期补货 * makes way more sense 合理得多 * haul 拖/运 * Door-to-door service 送货上门服务 * saves me so much hassle 省去很多麻烦 4. How common are shopping centers in your country? In cities, they're absolutely ubiquitous. Despite online shopping, people still like going to malls, especially as they have, as I mentioned earlier, everything including restaurants and cinemas, so pretty much every community or neighborhood has some sort of shopping center or plaza or mall. Also, I think for many families, going to the mall on weekends is basically a ritual: they'll shop a little, eat together, maybe watch a movie. Young people also love hanging out there to meet up with friends, go window shopping, or to just chill. * ubiquitous 随处可见 * online shopping 网购 * so pretty much every 所以几乎每个 * neighborhood 街区 * some sort of 某种 * plaza 广场 * basically a ritual 基本上是一种惯例 * hanging out 闲逛；泡（在某地） * chill 放松 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 顺便打个广告： 欢迎朋友们加入我的【知识星球】 里面有10万字的雅思口语书，内容梗概： (1) 78个Part 1话题语料 (2) 55个Part 3话题语料 (3) 40个Part 2话题语料 (4) 雅思口语高分tips (5) 雅思口语高分词汇表达 这本口语书是PDF的，放在了我的知识星球，星球里除了这本书，还有雅思听说读写、语法基础知识等内容。 星球目前的价格是388元/年，欢迎加入。如不适合，星球可以3天无理由退款，付的款会原路返还给你。

你好呀，欢迎收听：英语考试Cat 🐱🐱🐱🐱 What motivates people to volunteer and help others in their community? Hmmm, well, I guess people are motivated to volunteer mainly by a sense of altruism and personal fulfillment. I think these individuals believe in contributing to the greater good and using their time and effort to make a positive impact, and I think that makes a person feel good inside. In other words, they feel a deep satisfaction from helping those in need, support or help, and in turn, I would assume this even brings a sense of purpose or meaning, but I think there are others who feel a love for people generally, and that it is their nature to help. So I guess at least a couple of different elements that motivate people to do it. * are motivated to：有做……的动机 * sense of altruism：利他主义精神 * personal fulfillment：个人成就感 * the greater good：公共利益 * make a positive impact：产生积极影响 * feel a deep satisfaction：感到深深的满足 * those in need：有需要的人 * a sense of purpose：使命感 * it is their nature to help：乐于助人是他们的本性 What are the benefits of volunteering for both the individual and the community? Well, I think the benefits are similar or the same as I just mentioned, namely feeling a deep satisfaction, might bring a sense of meaning, and for some, they simply have a big love for others. As for the community, it creates a positive and supportive atmosphere, moving away from a "each-man-for-himself" mindset. When neighbors volunteer together at community events, it strengthens social bonds, supporting the idea that collective action fosters unity. Overall, volunteering enriches both individuals' lives and the community's social fabric I think. * are similar：相似 * a sense of meaning：意义感 * a positive and supportive atmosphere：积极且互助的氛围 * a "each-man-for-himself" mindset：“各自为战、自私自利” 的心态 * strengthens social bonds：加强社会联系；巩固社交纽带 * collective action 集体行动 * fosters unity：促进团结 * enriches both individuals' lives 丰富个人生活 * social fabric：可理解为社会结构、社会关系网 How can volunteering and helping others be integrated into schools and workplaces? That’s a tough question to answer. I’m really not sure except to say that I think schools can send students at different times to help seniors or help with some local event by assisting those in need, things like that, and I know from my own experience and from talking to others, that, for example, in our high-school, we had a program like this. So I think organizing programs like blood donation, old-age home visits, and beach clean-ups can effectively engage students. These activities not only teach students about social responsibility but also allow them to apply their skills in real-world settings, and I believe they also have an educational element to them as they provide real-world examples of how each person can make a real difference to others’lives. * seniors：老年人 * assisting：协助 * those in need：有需要的人 * program：项目 * blood donation：献血 * old-age home visits：养老院探访 * beach clean-ups：海滩清理 * engage：吸引参与；让…… 参与进来 * social responsibility：社会责任 * apply their skills：运用他们的技能 * real - world settings：真实环境 * educational element：教育元素 Do you think it is the responsibility of individuals or governments to provide support to those in need? Overall, I'd say that the responsibility should mostly be shouldered by the authorities since they have the resources and power to implement systemic solutions, such as social welfare policies and public assistance programs. However, in saying that, individuals, groups and communities should also help in sharing this responsibility since, in my opinion, everything is connected. I mean, what we see in front of us has, in some way, an effect on all of us, so instead of ignoring a problem, I think individuals can also make a difference by simply reaching out and helping others, even if that help seems useless. The effect it can have on the recipient, that feeling of being at least noticed by others, can go a long way in helping that person or even demographic. So I think it’s the responsibility of all, actually. * responsibility should mostly be shouldered：责任应主要由…… 承担 * implement：实施 * systemic solutions：系统性解决方案 * social welfare policies：社会福利政策 * public assistance programs：公共援助项目 * individuals：个人 * ignoring a problem：忽视问题 * make a difference：产生影响；发挥作用 * reaching out：主动伸出援手 * the recipient：受助者；接受者 * go a long way：大有帮助；作用很大 * demographic：特定人群 (此处指某类受助人群) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 顺便打个广告： 欢迎朋友们加入我的【知识星球】 里面有10万字的雅思口语书，内容梗概： (1) 78个Part 1话题语料 (2) 55个Part 3话题语料 (3) 40个Part 2话题语料 (4) 雅思口语高分tips (5) 雅思口语高分词汇表达 这本口语书是PDF的，放在了我的知识星球，星球里除了这本书，还有雅思听说读写、语法基础知识等内容。 星球目前的价格是388元/年，欢迎加入。如不适合，星球可以3天无理由退款，付的款会原路返还给你。

你好呀，欢迎收听：英语考试Cat 🐱🐱🐱🐱 1. Are you a creative person? I guess I'd say yes; my creativity mainly shows up when I'm working with words. I really dislike dull, formulaic writing, so whenever I have to put something down on paper, whether it's a work report or a personal note, I always try to spice it up a bit, like using a more vivid phrase or adding a small, relatable example to make it less tedious. I also love creative writing, like short stories or even just little poems; it feels like a fun way to turn random thoughts floating in my head into something concrete and engaging. * creativity 创造力；创意 * dull 枯燥的；乏味的 * formulaic 公式化的；刻板的 * put something down on paper 把东西写下来 * work report 工作报告 * personal note 个人笔记 * spice it up 让它更有趣 * vivid phrase 生动的短语 * relatable example 相关的例子 * tedious 单调乏味的；冗长的 * creative writing 创意写作 * short stories 短篇小说 * little poems 小诗 * random thoughts 随机的想法 * concrete 具体的；实在的 * engaging 引人入胜的；有吸引力 2. What did you learn about creativity at school? Back in college, most of our classes had a lot of group discussions, and that's actually where I picked up a lot about creativity. When you're talking to classmates from different majors—some into design, some into engineering, some into literature—you hear totally different perspectives on the same topic. For example, once we had to brainstorm ideas for a campus event: a design student thought about visual themes first, while a business major focused on how to get more people to join. That taught me creativity isn't just about "being original"; it's also about combining different ways of thinking and doing things to come up with better solutions. * group discussions：小组讨论 * picked up：学到；掌握 * different majors：不同专业 * design：设计 * engineering：工程 * literature：文学 * totally different perspectives：完全不同的视角 * brainstorm ideas：头脑风暴 * campus event：校园活动 * visual themes：视觉主题 * business major：商科专业 * focused on：专注于；聚焦于 * being original：原创性；独特性 * combining different ways of thinking：结合不同的思维方式 * doing things：做事方式 * come up with better solutions：想出更好的解决方案 3. Does anyone in your family have a good imagination? Definitely my mom's younger brother, my uncle. When we were kids, all of us cousins would beg him to tell stories every time we visited. He was amazing at it: he never just read from books; he made up little tales on the spot, and he was so good at building suspense. Like, he'd pause right when the main character was about to find a secret, or use super descriptive words: he'd say things like "the door creaked so slowly you could hear every wood grain rub together"...that made us lean in, waiting to hear what happened next. We'd stay hooked the whole time, never wanting the story to end. * beg：恳求；央求 * tell stories：讲故事 * made up little tales：编小故事 * on the spot：即兴；当场 * building suspense：制造悬念 * pause：停顿 * main character：主角 * secret：秘密 * descriptive words：描述性词汇 * creaked：（门）吱呀作响 * wood grain：木纹 * rub together：摩擦 * lean in：倾身靠近 * hooked：着迷的；入迷的 4. Are people in your country generally very creative? Well, in China, there are a lot of all different types of people, simply because there are so many people, so I'd say, yes, there are. You can see it in so many little things, even in things like technology, AI or renewable energy, where people are coming up with new solutions for big problems. But even in everyday life, many people are creative. Just look at shopping platforms: you’ll find all kinds of unique products or services, like custom hand-drawn phone cases, or in the creative hobbies people have. It's almost like "nothing is impossible if you can think of it". So, indeed, I think people here are really good at turning a fun idea into something useful or interesting. * all different types of people：各种各样的人 * renewable energy：可再生能源 * coming up with new solutions：想出新的解决方案 * everyday life：日常生活 * shopping platforms：购物平台 * all kinds of unique products or services：各种各样独特的产品或服务 * custom hand-drawn phone cases：定制手绘手机壳 * creative hobbies：创意爱好 * nothing is impossible if you can think of it：只有想不到，没有做不到 * turning a fun idea into something useful or interesting：把有趣的想法变成有用或有趣的事物 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 顺便打个广告： 欢迎朋友们加入我的【知识星球】 里面有10万字的雅思口语书，内容梗概： (1) 78个Part 1话题语料 (2) 55个Part 3话题语料 (3) 40个Part 2话题语料 (4) 雅思口语高分tips (5) 雅思口语高分词汇表达 这本口语书是PDF的，放在了我的知识星球，星球里除了这本书，还有雅思听说读写、语法基础知识等内容。 星球目前的价格是388元/年，欢迎加入。如不适合，星球可以3天无理由退款，付的款会原路返还给你。

你好呀，欢迎收听：英语考试Cat 🐱🐱🐱🐱 Show Notes 超字数了，需要查看重点词汇中英对照的朋友，请点这里。 When do people in your country usually retire? I think this mostly depends on the type of job someone has, though there's a general baseline, but this baseline is gradually shifting to be later in recent years. Basically, right now, it depends on gender and type of job, but the retirement ages are between 55 and 60 years old, but I think in the future, this will change to 60 to 65 years old, and I guess this is because we have an aging society. I know that, for example, professionals in formal sectors usually retire at a set age that's slightly lower for women than for men, and this has been a long-standing general guideline. In contrast, people in rural areas who work in farming or local, unstructured labor often don't "retire" in the traditional sense. So while formal jobs have a usual retirement age of between 55 and 60, which is now gradually trending later, informal and rural work often has no fixed "retirement", so it varies based on job type. What are the reasons that people do not retire? I guess there would be two main reasons, one being out of necessity and the other being out of love, or passion for the job, or in other words, boredom if they didn't continue to work. For most, not retiring boils down to still relying on or wanting a steady income, but for others, work is less about money and more about staying mentally active, feeling useful, or continuing to do something they're passionate about. Many people without substantial savings or a robust pension, for example, might want or need to keep earning. On the other hand, skilled professionals like doctors or engineers often delay retirement because their work lets them apply their expertise or interact with others. So non-retirement typically stems from either financial necessity or a desire to keep engaging with meaningful work. Will retirement ages keep getting later? Oh, I really don't know. So many different things are happening now, such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, plus an aging population plus economic uncertainties, and then there's things like improved healthcare, so there are so many things to consider. Overall, though, I guess the trend is that people will continue to work longer, perhaps even well into their 70's, but who knows? Given longer lifespans, pension system pressures, and the value of experienced workers, it's reasonable to expect retirement ages will keep inching up later and later. What do retired people do in your country? Haha, that's a good question, but I know in my neighborhood, they play cards, sit around chatting, playing mahjong, and taking care of the grandchildren. In fact, I would say in my country, retired people keep themselves pretty busy, at least that's my perception. So I would say a lot of their activities are community or family-focused, as retirement often frees up time to prioritize relationships and leisure. For example, you can often see group activities in public spaces are very common: you'll often see retired people gathering in parks to dance, play board games or cards, or simply chat. Also, it's common for grandparents to care for the young children of the home. So overall, retired life here is usually busy with meaningful activities, making it a period of life focused on connection with family, friends, community and enjoyment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 顺便打个广告： 欢迎朋友们加入我的【知识星球】 里面有10万字的雅思口语书，内容梗概： (1) 78个Part 1话题语料 (2) 55个Part 3话题语料 (3) 40个Part 2话题语料 (4) 雅思口语高分tips (5) 雅思口语高分词汇表达 这本口语书是PDF的，放在了我的知识星球，星球里除了这本书，还有雅思听说读写、语法基础知识等内容。 星球目前的价格是388元/年，欢迎加入。如不适合，星球可以3天无理由退款，付的款会原路返还给你。