提到描写”场景”或者”商业活动”，你是不是只会用 have、make、attract？今天我们从 Financial Times（金融时报）一篇讲述疫情期间圣诞购物季的文章中，学几个地道的场景描写表达。

这篇文章大量使用了生动形象的动作动词和短语。对于正在备考雅思或高考的同学来说，这些表达能让你的描写瞬间从”学生腔”变成”记者风”。

英文原文

When I connect to Santa Claus over Zoom, he is busy on another phone call with US president-elect Joe Biden. He clutches a red plastic telephone to his bearded cheek as he sits between a brightly lit Christmas tree and a table bearing a gold-painted typewriter.

He hangs up and excuses himself for being late. “Leila! Your new president needed my help…”

No, this was not a fever dream. This is Christmas shopping in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The event planners at UK department store Selfridges came up with “Dial-a-Santa” virtual appointments as a way for kids to have a version of the traditional experience while still respecting social distancing.

It is one of many tactics being tried by high-end retailers and luxury brands in Europe as they try to save the crucial Christmas shopping season. Others include offering appointments with sales associates to help clients shop using smartphone video or chat, and creating pop-up events to tempt people back, such as Selfridges’ outdoor Christmas market featuring a gigantic helter skelter ride.

It is not exactly a recipe for the joyful consumerism that retailers and brands usually seek to stoke at this time of year. But try they must…

On the various reopening days, there were long queues outside the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Elysées…

Meredith, a 72-year-old London resident, had come to buy gifts on Oxford Street for her grandson and was dressed impeccably for the outing in a Gucci coat and beige trousers. “I’ve missed shopping, and I am too old for online,” she said. She left laden with three bags of toys.

In Paris, I struggled to muster any enthusiasm for shopping for gifts online in November — too little time and even less patience.

Selfridges does not plan to discount until Boxing Day. It instead hopes to draw people in with temporary installations, such as a Fendi-branded bar serving a Fendi Cosmo for £14.

中文对照

当我在Zoom上接通圣诞老人时，他正忙着与美国当选总统拜登通电话。他把红色塑料电话贴在满是胡须的脸颊上，坐在灯光闪闪的圣诞树和金漆打字机之间。

他挂断电话为自己迟到道歉：“莱拉！你的新总统刚才找我帮忙……”

不，这不是痴人说梦。这是2020年疫情下的圣诞购物现实。

英国百货Selfridges的活动策划师想出了”给圣诞老人打电话”的虚拟预约，让孩子们在保持社交距离的前提下体验传统。

这是欧洲零售和奢侈品牌拯救圣诞购物季的许多策略之一。其他策略包括提供销售助理视频/文字陪购，以及举办快闪活动——比如Selfridges户外圣诞集市上巨大的螺旋滑梯。

这不是零售品牌每年此时通常激发欢快消费主义的正确配方。但他们必须尝试……

在恢复营业日，香榭丽舍大街的路易威登门外排起长队……

72岁的伦敦居民梅里蒂斯穿着无可挑剔的古驰外套和米色长裤，到牛津街给孙子买礼物。“我怀念购物，我太老了不适合网购。“她提着三袋玩具满载而归。

在巴黎，11月我很难鼓起网购礼物的热情——时间太少，耐心更少。

Selfridges不打算在节礼日前打折，而是希望通过临时装置吸引人们——比如一个芬迪主题酒吧，卖14英镑一杯的Fendi Cosmo。

词汇解析

1️⃣ stoke — 激发/煽动（情绪、兴趣）

原文出处： “the joyful consumerism that retailers and brands usually seek to stoke at this time of year”

中文解释： 原意是”往火里添柴”，引申为”煽动、激发（某种情绪或需求）“。比简单的 increase 或 create 生动得多。

为什么好： 学生写”激发兴趣”时几乎清一色用 arouse interest 或 increase people’s interest。而 stoke 带有一幅”添柴加火”的画面感，是地道的英式比喻用法。

考场用法对比：

❌ 学生初版 The advertisement increases people’s interest in buying the product.

✅ 升级版 The advertisement stokes consumers’ desire to purchase the product.

💡 效果 stoke 比 increase 多了一层”主动煽动”的意味，更准确地表达出广告的营销意图。

更多例句：

  • The government’s speech stoked public fears about inflation.
  • Social media can stoke both creativity and anxiety among teenagers.

2️⃣ come up with — 想出（方案/主意）

原文出处： “The event planners at Selfridges came up with ‘Dial-a-Santa’ virtual appointments…”

中文解释： 想出/提出（方案、计划、点子）。这是英语最实用的短语动词之一。

为什么好： 很多学生考场上只会用 think of 来表达”想出”。come up with 更口语化但也更自然，且在雅思口语 Part 2 和 Part 3 中极其高频。

考场用法对比：

❌ 学生初版 The government thought of a plan to solve the problem.

✅ 升级版 The government came up with a plan to solve the problem.

💡 效果 come up with 比 think of 更”有行动感”——你想到了而且还”拿出”了一个方案。在口语和写作中都是加分表达。

更多例句：

  • The team came up with three creative solutions in just one hour.
  • We need to come up with a better way to motivate students.

3️⃣ muster — 鼓起/聚集（勇气、热情、支持）

原文出处： “I struggled to muster any enthusiasm for shopping for gifts online”

中文解释： 鼓起（勇气/热情），聚集（力量/支持）。这个词隐含”你本来没有，但努力调动出了这种情绪”。

为什么好： 学生只会说 I don’t have enthusiasm 或 I can’t feel…。而 muster 表达的是”我努力了一下才勉强调动出这种感觉”——这个细微差别恰恰是高分作文需要的精确度。

考场用法对比：

❌ 学生初版 I didn’t have any enthusiasm for online shopping.

✅ 升级版 I struggled to muster any enthusiasm for online shopping.

💡 效果 muster 暗示了”本来没有，努力调动后仍然勉强”——比单纯说”没有”更准确、更有画面感。

更多例句：

  • She finally mustered the courage to speak in public.
  • The politician tried to muster support for his new policy.

4️⃣ laden with — 满载着

原文出处： “She left laden with three bags of toys.”

中文解释： 满载着、提着很多（东西）。来自 lade（装载）的过去分词，比 carrying 或 with 生动得多。

为什么好： 学生写”拿着很多东西”只会 carrying a lot of things。laden with 不仅表达”有”，还暗示”很多、很重、很吃力”——画面感直接拉满。

考场用法对比：

❌ 学生初版 She went home carrying many shopping bags.

✅ 升级版 She went home laden with shopping bags.

💡 效果 laden with 只用一个词就表达了”提着很多东西”的完整画面，简洁又高级。

更多例句：

  • The Christmas tree was laden with colourful decorations.
  • After the exam week, students felt laden with stress.

5️⃣ draw (people) in — 吸引（人）进来

原文出处： “It instead hopes to draw people in with temporary installations”

中文解释： 吸引（顾客/观众/人群）。比 attract 更自然、更口语化。特别适合描述”用什么方法吸引人进来”的场景。

为什么好： 学生千篇一律用 attract（attract customers, attract attention）。draw in 更地道，在雅思口语中被考官视为”自然表达”的典型。

考场用法对比：

❌ 学生初版 The new café attracts many young people.

✅ 升级版 The new café draws in many young people with its stylish interior.

💡 效果 draw in 搭配上”用什么吸引”（with…），完整地写出”方法+结果”的逻辑链，非常符合雅思Task 2的评分标准。

更多例句：

  • The museum drew in thousands of visitors during the holiday.
  • A catchy title can draw readers in instantly.

写作建议

这篇文章的英语有一个共同特点——动词生动、画面感强。从圣诞老人”clutches a red plastic telephone”到顾客”left laden with bags”，每个动作都能在读者脑中唤起具体画面。

对于备考雅思或高考的学生，建议在以下场景使用今天学的词汇：

场景可用表达
描述商业/营销stoke, draw in, come up with
描述个人感受muster, laden with
描述因果关系a recipe for

下一篇见！ 每天读一点外刊，积累一个能用一辈子的表达。

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