雅思口语— “少量”“少许”的多种表达（含当季口语话题例句）
“少量”“少许”的表达
{ IELTS SPEAKING}
在之前的文章里我们给大家梳理了一些有关“许多”“大量”的表达。
在雅思口语中，我们在描述数量时，除了“多”，还有很多时候会需要描述“少量”“少许”，而很多小伙伴可能也还停留在“a few””a small number/amount of”上。还是那句话，并不是说这几个“少量，少许”的表达不好，而是在口语考试中，如果有多处需要进行描述时，我们还是希望可以避免重复。在今天的文章中，我们就一起来积累、学习使用一些其他“少量，少许”的表达。同样地，每个表达下会附一些适用于雅思口语考试相关话题的例句，希望大家能通过这些例句学会使用这些表达。
meagre
meagre: 少量的，不足的（a meagre amount of food, money etc is too small and is much less than you need） 。通过英文释义，大家可以看到，meagre一词在形容少量、不足时，通常是指金钱或食物的数量。
在雅思口语中，我们在讨论农业相关的问题时，可能会提到毕业生不愿意选择农民这个职业，很大原因是他们觉得农民的收入很少。
In this day and age, new graduates are reluctant to work as a farmer. To them, farming means long hours of hard labour but a meagre income.
再比如，我们描述自己早餐吃得比较少时：
I do have breakfast every morning, but just a meagre meal of bread and cheese.
而在讨论到城市问题时，可能会涉及城市的房价过高，因而越来越多人选择在大城市工作，但在小城市、乡下购置购房的现象：
In the eyes of Chinese people, property has long been seen as a safe form of savings, but the unattainable housing in metropolises is painful for most wage-earners. As a result, they choose to buy a property in a small town where they can at least turn meagre savings into a home.
a handful of
a handful of：少许，少量的（a very small number of people or things）。其实看hand，大家应该就能猜到，handful的量应该不会多，毕竟一只手能握住的“量”比较有限。
在当季雅思口语中有关“Jewellery”的话题中，我们在描述自己拥有的这类物品比较少时：
I just have a handful of earrings. I don’t wear them very often.
而在描述受欢迎的运动场所时，我们也可以用到这个表达：
This place is hugely popular with local residents. If you go there in the evening or on weekends, you’ll see hordes of people exercising or chilling out there. I normally go there in the early morning when only a handful of retirees are there, practising Tachi or something.
再比如在T-shirts这个话题里问到“是否会买T-shirts作为纪念物”：
In fact, I bought a handful of silk shirts when I spent my holiday in Krabi, a beautiful coastal town in Thailand.
再比如我们描述去餐厅吃饭的场景：
It was Saturday night. We thought the restaurant would be teeming with diners, but to our surprise, when we arrived, there were just a handful of people.
a sprinkling of
a sprinkling of：零星，少量（a small amount of something, especially scattered over an area）。这个表达可以用来形容事物，也可以用来描述人数“很少”。
比如在描述不同寻常的一餐时：
It’s like no other noodles. They even add a sprinkling of Rousong, also known as meat floss, to the surface.
再比如讨论在网上寻求他人建议时：
Admittedly, when you post a question online, you’ll soon receive many responses, But honestly speaking, you’ll probably get only a sprinkling of useful ones.
当我们在Part2中描述人物，对其外貌进行描述时：
She’s got fair skin with a sprinkling of freckles on her cheeks.
在讨论男性女性职业发展的不平衡时：
Women are still underrepresented in most industries, with only a sprinkling of them making it to the top.
a (tiny) sliver of
a tiny sliver of: 一小片，一点点，一丁点儿。sliver一词原本是指从某个大块物上切割下来的一片，但a (tiny) sliver of常被用来形容“很少，一点点”。
比如在最近New York Times中有关韩G流行音乐发展的报道中就用到了这个表达：
While the genre has fans in almost every corner of the world, the sales of K-pop’s biggest labels account for a tiny sliver of the global music market.
再比如雅思口语Part2让我们描述自己在家里喜欢的放松地方时：
My favourite spot is always the balcony. My apartment gives me an excellent view of the city because I live quite high up. When the weather is nice, I enjoy sitting on the balcony and reading while sipping a coffee. When the sun is blazing, I’ll pull back the curtains so that only a sliver of sunlight streams in.
