Informal English – Are you a news junkie?

Old stuff, broken devices, useless kitchen appliances, dirty and stained clothes, faded and discoloured furniture without stuffing, torn blankets and linen, books without pages, ugly pictures in cheap frames, Chinese statues, knicknacks from a local shop, defective souvenirs, various chips and fragments. What is it called?

Garbage, trash, waste, rubbish. JUNK!

Шаг №1 – изучаем слово JUNK

Junk – [ʤʌŋk] (джанк) – старьё, рухлядь, хлам; утиль, отходы, отбросы

• to get rid of the junk — выкидывать хлам
• the attic is full of junk — на чердаке полно хлама
• a junk dealer — старьёвщик
• a junk shop — магазин, где продаётся старьё
• Rose finds her furniture in junk shops…
• What are you going to do with all that junk, Larry?

Шаг №2 – что такое JUNKIE?

A junkie (=junky) = [‘ʤʌnkɪ] – наркоман / наркоторговец

Definitions of a junkie

1. a drug addict – наркоман (или еще наркоторговец)
2. You can use junkie to refer to someone who is very interested in a particular activity, especially when they spend a lot of time on it. – заядлый любитель чего-либо, прямо как наркоман, только без вреда для здоровья (хотя вот тут как раз можно поспорить).
   a computer junkie
   a news junkie

Шаг №3 – INFO JUNKIE – новая реалия в 21 веке технологий

I devote all this article to a another fashionable realia of the 21st century of advanced technologies and high-speed life and microwave mentality.

(Всю эту статью я затевала именно для того, чтобы познакомить вас с очередным новомодным понятием – INFO JUNKIE).

A news junkie is a kind of info junkie. According to the Urban Dictionary, it is a word for someone who is always looking to learn new information. The junkie part comes in when the person seems to be ‘addicted’ to any new information. Such a person frequents* news sites, technology journals, reads many books, and seems to understand all this. Chosen topics of interest can be varied. An info junkie is usually a first point of contact when your computer breaks down, when you are stuck doing a crossword puzzle or when you need some sound** advice.

*to frequent = to do something very often (in this context – to visit/read frequently)
**sound advice = useful and adequate advice (= здравый совет, “трезвый”)

My opinion (spot the clichés which can be benefit your speech)

As for me, I reckon that I’m an info junkie. I find it quite natural to go on social media in order to check the feed. Honestly speaking, I’m aware that I won’t die without this stupid news about strangers and without reading various “interesting facts”. However, I’m addicted to this kind of activity right now. It makes me feel involved and engaged into some interaction with the outer world. Obviously, it looks like a monologue: someone is sharing and speaking, and I’m only reading. Anyway, I don’t care a lot, being an info junkie keeps up my interest in other people, and that’s enough.

You can write your piece of writing taking into consideration the patterns and clichés which I´ve mentioned above. Just give it a go and you´ll manage to make your speech more colourful and structured.

P.S. Everything in moderation.