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lesson 59 Collecting 收藏 People tend to amass possessions, sometimes without being aware ofdoing so. Indeed they can have a delightful surprise when they find somethinguseful which they did not know they owned. Those who never have to move housebecome indiscriminate collectors of what can only be described as clutter. Theyleave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics for years, in thebelief that they may one day need just those very things. As they grow old,people also accumulate belongings for two other reasons, lack of physical andmental energy, both of which are essential in turning out and throwing away,and sentiment. Things owned for a long time are full of associations with thepast, perhaps with relatives who are dead, and so they gradually acquire avalue beyond their true worth. Some things are collected deliberately in the home in an attempt toavoid waste. Among these I would list string and brown paper, kept by thriftypeople when a parcel has been opened, to save buying these two requisites.Collecting small items can easily become a mania. I know someone who alwayscuts sketches out from newspapers of model clothes that she would like to buy,if she had the money. As she is not rich, the chances that she will ever beable to afford such purchases are remote; but she is never sufficientlystrongminded to be able to stop the practice. It is a harmless habit, but it littersup her desk to such an extent that every time she opens it; loose bits of paperfall out in every direction. | 
