【英语趣味课堂】加拿大的主要城市-Canada's Main Cities

Todd: OK, Mike, you are from Canada.

 

Mike: That's right.

 

Todd: So, actually I want to go to Canada for vacation. I've never been. What would you recommend¹ for a Canadian vacation?

 

Mike: Well, it really just depends on the kind of holiday that you want to have. If you want to have a relaxing outdoors, kind of back to nature, kind of holiday, I'd recommend Vancouver. If you wanted to do a holiday that's maybe a little more culturally oriented². If you want experience, a different type of culture, Montreal, would be a city that I'd recommend, um, and if you wanted to go to a big multi-cultural city with a lot of nightlife and things to do with respect to entertainment, or sports, then I'd recommend Toronto.

 

Todd: So, have you been to all three cities?

 

Mike: Yes. I actually have lived most of my life in Toronto and in Montreal and, but I have spent some time in Vancouver as well, so, all three are very different in attitude and lifestyle and in the way people live.

 

Todd: How so? How is somebody from Toronto different than somebody from Vancouver?

 

Mike: Well, somebody from Toronto I think is a little bit more high paced, maybe you could almost say, they're a little bit more stresses out, just because the pace of life in Toronto is a little bit faster. It's kind of the big economic center of Canada, so it tend to have a lot more of a business culture to it, where as Vancouver, is much more, like many West Coast cities in the United³ States, as well, it's a lot more relaxed, a lot more easy-going⁴, so there's a difference in culture there,and Montreal has a strong French-Canadian influence, so in fact, it's mostly French-Canadian, so that just changes the dynamic⁵ of the city.

 

Todd: OK, so if you were to live in any city, which one would you choose?

 

Mike: Of, those three? (Yeah) Personally I would think I would go for Montreal, just because I like the dynamic. The one bad point about Montreal is the weather.

 

Todd: What? It's very cold?

 

Mike: Yes, it gets very, very cold and it has a very long winter. In fact, the joke is that in Montreal the seasons are nine month of winter and three months of bad-skating.

 

Todd: OK, well, thanks, Mike.

 

学习内容：

 

holiday

 

It depends on what kind of holiday you want to have. 

When used like this, 'holiday' means⁶ the same as vacation. Notice the following:

 

They always go on adventure holidays.

I need to go away on a beach holiday and relax a little.

culture or recommend

 

If you want a different type of culture, Montreal would be a city that I'd recommend. 

The 'culture' of a place is how the people act and what they think is important. You 'recommend' something if you think it is a good idea for what someone is looking for. Notice the following:

 

There are many differences between our cultures.

Are there any coffee shops around here that you would recommend for studying?

nightlife

 

If you wanted to go to a city with a lot of nightlife, then I'd recommend Toronto. 

The 'nightlife' of a place is what people do for fun or socially at night. An example of nightlife would be bars or dance clubs. Notice the following:

 

Is nightlife important to you when you think about where you want to live?

It's a beautiful place to live, but there is almost no nightlife.

high paced or stressed⁷ out (although it spelled stresses out in the transcript)

 

Somebody from Toronto I think is a little bit more high paced or stressed out. 

If you have a 'high paced' life it means that you are always moving at a fast pace and that everything happens quickly. If something or somebody is 'stressed out' it means that they feel very stressed or pressured. Notice the following:

 

She likes to eat fried⁸ food when she gets stressed out.

His job is very high paced and stressful around the holidays.

dynamic

 

Montreal has a strong French-Canadian influence, so that just changes the dynamic of the city.

The 'dynamic' of a place is how it feels or how the different parts work together to make everything function. Notice the following:

 

There is a big difference in the dynamics⁹ of a college class and a high school class.

The dynamic in the office really changed after he left.

1 recommend   

vt.推荐，介绍；劝告，建议；使成为可取，使受欢迎

参考例句：

• Can you recommend me a good book?你能给我介绍一本好书吗？
• I can recommend this play to all lovers of good theatre.我把这个剧推荐给所有爱好优秀戏剧的人。

2 oriented   

adj.以…为方向的；重视的

参考例句：

• Our students are oriented towards science subjects. 我们教的学生都是理科方向的。
• He oriented himself on coming to a new city. 他初到一个新城市，就使自己适应新的环境。

3 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

4 easy-going   

adj.随和的；轻松的

参考例句：

• She is an easy-going girl.她是一个随和的女孩子。
• The students considered Mrs.Smith an easy-going teacher.学生们认为史密斯夫人是一位宽容随和的老师。

5 dynamic   

adj.有活力的，能动的；力的；动力的

参考例句：

• This is a dynamic world.这是一个不断变化的世界。
• There is a dynamic ball in the computer.在电脑里有个动态的球。

6 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

7 stressed   

adj.紧张的，有压力的

参考例句：

• Loud music makes me stressed out.大声的音乐让我很紧张。
• He stressed that we should always be honest.他强调我们应该永远诚实。

8 fried   

adj.油煎的；油炒的

参考例句：

• I ate everything fried.所有油炸的我都吃。
• I prefer fried peanuts.我选择炸花生。

9 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。