【英语趣味课堂】巴黎-Paris

Todd: OK, Raphael, you were saying you lived in Paris.

 

Rapheal: Yes, I made my studies there.

 

Todd: Paris is just an amazing city. Can you talk about Paris?

 

Rapheal:Yes! Well, the biggest difference I noticed with Tokyo is the size. Like Paris is nice in that way, you can go anywhere by walking. It might take at maximum an hour and a half if you want to go to a very far place, but basically¹ it's a city like made for walkers and you can really go anywhere just by walking, I mean it's quite pleasant cause you can see many, you know, nice buildings and places and things, just by walking.

 

Todd: Wow, that's nice. How many people live in Paris?

 

Rapheal:Including the suburbs² it's 8 million now. Maybe getting increasing, but the inner³ city is only one million, so it's not overcrowded at all. Yeah!

 

Todd: So, what else would you say is different about Tokyo and Paris?

 

Rapheal:Well, specially⁴, Paris you mean? The Transport is less expensive. This is important.

 

Todd: Yeah

 

Rapheal:Yeah, Yeah.

 

Todd: It's more expensive?

 

Rapheal:No, it's less, sorry, it's less expensive. Anyway, the, I was surprised because Tokyo is not that expensive finally, I mean you can, you can live in a very expensive way if you want but you can save a lot as well. It's really up to you. But in Paris is quite hard to save. I mean, the food is very expensive, and if you want to go out, just, a restaurant or anything, it's really more expensive than in Japan. A restaurant for example, like prices in Japan start from a thousand yen⁵, maybe less, like 600 yen, and in France like the cheapest restaurant you can find is 15 Euro which is around 2000 Yen

 

Todd: Whoa! That is expensive.

 

Rapheal:Yeah, it's more expensive, wherever you go it's more expensive if you want to go out but on the contrary the cinema is really cheap, so so many people go to the cinema, I mean, the cinema is really, it's a part of Paris nightlife, like, people used to go to cinema once a week at least, almost everyone. Yeah, cause it's really cheap. A ticket is 1000 yen, maybe less.

 

Todd: So, what about sports, like what kind of sports do you like to do?

 

Rapheal:Yeah, anything. Anything, yeah! You have a lot of facilities, like gymnasium⁶, swimming pools, clubs, yeah, you can practice a lot. Especially, I was a student so, I had this very easy student life because France has a lot of students, whatever it is, so they give you a bit of money, and you get discount on almost anything, so sport is specially favorized in Paris when you are a student, you canalmost like do whatever you want, as a sport almost free, sometimes, so, it's, you can do a lot of things. Actually, I did Aikido. I did swimming pool, squash⁷, tennis, yeah, uh, basketball, yeah, a lot of things actually.

 

Todd: Active guy. And what about the traffic if you want to drive in Paris?

 

Rapheal:I never tested, because as I told you it's so nice to just walk, that, and I didn't own a car but it's quite tough for people living in the suburbs cause they need a car to come, the train system is not really good. It's not like, there's a lot of delay, trains and things like that, so if you live in the suburbs you need a car, and driving through Paris in the mornings or evening is really difficult, so I just didn't want to test, you know.

 

学习内容：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

in that way

 

In Paris, you can go anywhere by walking; it's nice in that way.

 

You can use the phrase 'in that way' to show you are talking about a specific characteristic of a place or person and not speaking in general terms. Notice the following:

 

He's always on time, so in that way he's a good employee.

There is always something interesting happen, so in that way it is exciting.

overcrowded

 

The inner city's population is only one million, so it's not overcrowded at all.

 

If a place is 'overcrowded' there are too many people to move around comfortably. Notice the following:

 

It can get a little overcrowded in this bar when there is live music.

This coffee shop is always loud and overcrowded.

around

 

In France, the cheapest restaurant you can find is fifteen Euro, which is around two thousand Yen.

 

When we give a number that is not exact just to give a general idea we use the word 'around.' It is an approximate⁸ number. Notice the following:

 

The average salary is around $3,000 per month here.

We need you to be here around ten AM.

on the contrary

 

The food is expensive in France; but on the contrary, the cinema is really cheap.

 

'On the contrary' is used to introduce information that is the opposite of what is being discussed or is different from what people would assume⁹. Notice the following:

 

He is an extremely tall man, but on the contrary his wife is very short.

On the contrary, traveling by train is really relaxing.

favored

 

Sports is favored in Paris when you are a student.

 

Something that is 'favored' is preferred or considered very important.  Notice the following:

 

My parents have always favored my younger brother.

The teacher definitely¹⁰ favors the smart students in the class.

1 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

2 suburbs   

n.郊区，城郊( suburb的名词复数 )；四乡；隧；四郊

参考例句：

• The poor suburbs traditionally formed the bedrock of the party's support. 贫穷的郊区在传统上构成了支持该党的牢固基础。
• The new college will be located in the suburbs. 这所新建的学院将设在郊区。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 inner   

adj.内部的，里面的；内在的，内心的；精神的

参考例句：

• The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
• Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。

4 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

5 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

6 gymnasium   

n.体育馆，健身房

参考例句：

• Our school has a big gymnasium.我们学校有座大型体育馆。
• The game will be staged in the gymnasium.竞赛将在体育馆举行。

7 squash   

n.壁球，摺皱不堪，拥挤嘈杂的人群，浓缩果汁，美国南瓜；vt.压扁，压制；vi.变扁，压榨

参考例句：

• He is drinking lemon squash.他正在喝柠檬露。
• She sprained her ankle playing squash.她在打软式墙网球时扭伤了脚踝。

8 approximate   

adj.大约，大致，近似的；vi.(to)近似，接近

参考例句：

• The builder gave an approximate cost for fixing the roof.房屋修建商给修理房顶粗略地估计了一个价钱。
• The approximate date of his departure is next month.他大约在下个月动身。

9 assume   

vt.假装；假定，设想；承担；呈现，采取

参考例句：

• I assume that he won't cheat you.想来他是不会骗你的。
• We can't assume anything in this case.在这种情况下我们不可能做出假设。

10 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。