Collecting

更新：2023-11-22

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[00:01.46]Lesson 59
[00:03.81]Collecting
[00:11.44]What in particular does a person gain when he or she becomes a serious collector?
[00:20.29]People tend to amass possessions, sometimes without being aware of doing so.
[00:26.32]Indeed they can have a delightful surprise when they find something useful which they did not know they owned.
[00:33.77]Those who never have to move house become indiscriminate collectors of what can only be described as clutter.
[00:41.36]They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics for years, in the belief that they may one day need just those very things.
[00:51.17]As they grow old, people also accumulate belongings for two other reasons,
[00:56.89]lack of physical and mental energy, both of which are essential in turning out and throwing away, and sentiment.
[01:06.26]Things owned for a long time are full of associations with the past,
[01:11.00]perhaps with relatives who are dead, and so they gradually acquire a value beyond their true worth.
[01:18.51]Some things are collected deliberately in the home in an attempt to avoid waste.
[01:23.52]Among these I would list string and brown paper,
[01:27.19]kept by thrifty people when a parcel has been opened, to save buying these two requisites.
[01:33.82]Collecting small items can easily become a mania.
[01:38.27]I know someone who always cuts sketches out from newspapers of model clothes that she would like to buy if she had the money.
[01:47.02]As she is not rich, the chances that she will ever be able to afford such purchases are remote;
[01:53.40]but she is never sufficiently strongminded to be able to stop the practice.
[01:59.07]It is a harmless habit, but it litters up her desk to such an extent that every time she opens it, loose bits of paper fall out in every direction.
[02:10.23]Collecting as a serious hobby is quite different and has many advantages.
[02:16.07]It provides relaxation for leisure hours, as just looking at one's treasures is always a joy.
[02:23.56]One does not have to go outside for amusement, since the collection is housed at home.
[02:29.69]Whatever it consists of, stamps, records, first editions of books, china, glass,
[02:37.98]antique furniture, pictures, model cars, stuffed birds, toy animals,
[02:45.53]there is always something to do in connection with it,
[02:49.00]from finding the right place for the latest addition, to verifying facts in reference books.
[02:56.07]This hobby educates one not only in the chosen subject, but also in general matters which have some bearing on it.
[03:04.68]There are also other benefits.
[03:07.23]One wants to meet like-minded collectors, to get advice,
[03:11.24]to compare notes, to exchange articles, to show off the latest find.
[03:17.39]So one's circle of friends grows.
[03:20.36]Soon the hobby leads to travel, perhaps to a meeting in another town,
[03:25.31]possibly a trip abroad in search of a rare specimen, for collectors are not confined to any one country.
[03:33.65]Over the years, one may well become an authority on one's hobby and will very probably be asked to give informal talks to little gatherings
[03:43.49]and then, if successful, to larger audiences.
[03:47.88]In this way self-confidence grows, first from mastering a subject, then from being able to talk about it.
[03:56.50]Collecting, by occupying spare time so constructively, makes a person contented, with no time for boredom.