【英语趣味课堂】在瑞典的生活-Life in Sweden

Todd: So, Ruth in Europe, have you traveled much?

 

Ruth: Yeah, actually, um, well, when I was younger I went on a tour around all of Western Europe and then when I was at university I backpacked around Scandinavia for a month with a friend. (Nice!) It was really nice, actually, yeah.

 

Todd: Wow, so where did you go in Scandinavia?

 

Ruth: Well, we started off in Sweden and then we went to Norway and then we went to Denmark. We never actually made it to Finland. That was simply because we ran out of money, so.

 

Todd: So were you out in the wilderness¹, or were you just going from village to village?

 

Ruth: Really we just, we arrived in Stockholm. We went around Stockholm. We went to Oslo. We spent most of our time in the cities, although everything was so expensive. We ended up sleeping in youth hostels³ or on people's floors.

 

Todd: What do you remember most about your trip?

 

Ruth: Um, probably just having no money, so we couldn't eat really for a fortnight.

 

Todd: You couldn't eat?

 

Ruth: Well, we ate breakfast in the youth hostel², and then we would take a bread roll from the youth hostel, from the breakfast bar and have that for lunch and then in the evening we would eat if we could afford it.

 

Todd: Actually, in terms of food, what do people in Scandinavia usually eat?

 

Ruth: Um, I think they eat a lot of potatoes and meat and things. I'm not sure really what a typical Scandinavian meal would be.

 

Todd: That's OK. You didn't have any money to buy any food right?

 

Ruth: We didn't eat so.

 

Todd: Yeah, silly question. Um, so what do you remember most about Stockholm?

 

Ruth: Ah, they've got some really nice buildings in Stockholm. I've got relatives who live in Stockholm so we stayed with them, and also it was really hot when we went there, but it was also very pricey.

 

Todd: So in every store you went into were they playing ABBA?

 

Ruth: No. Thank goodness⁴.

 

学习内容：

 

backpacked

 

When I was at university, I backpacked around Scandinavia for a month with a friend. 

 

'Backpacking' is a common method of travel for young people or people trying to travel on a budget.  Most people who are 'backpacking' carry a large backpack and travel by ground transportation⁵, such as trains and buses.  Notice the following:

 

We backpacked through most of South America last summer.

Backpacking is very common thing for people in their 20s.

ran out of money

 

We never actually made it to Finland, because we simply ran out of money. 

 

You 'run out of money' when you spend all the money that you have.  Notice the following:

 

We had some travel problems and actually ran out of money in the middle of nowhere.

If you keep spending like this, you are going to run out of money in a week.

youth hostels

 

Everything was so expensive, so ended up sleeping in youth hostels or on people's floors. 

 

A 'youth hostel' is cheap hotel, where young people can stay in dorm-style rooms.  These are very popular with backpackers.  Notice the following:

 

The hotels are pretty cheap, but if you want a really cheap place to stay, I suggest the youth hostel down the street.

A lot of youth hostels have communal⁶ kitchens for the guests to use.

fortnight

 

We just had no money, so we couldn't eat really for a fortnight. 

 

'Fortnight' is another way of saying 14 nights and days or 2 weeks.  Notice the following:

 

It's hard to imagine that your life will be completely⁷ different in a fortnight.

I haven't talked to you in almost a fortnight.

pricey

 

Stockholm is really nice, but it's also very pricey. 

 

If a place is 'pricey,' it is expensive. Notice the following:

 

This store is bit pricey.  Don't you think?

Traveling in Mexico is actually kind of pricey.

1 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 hostel   

n.（学生）宿舍，招待所

参考例句：

• I lived in a hostel while I was a student.我求学期间住在青年招待所里。
• He says he's staying at a Youth Hostel.他说他现住在一家青年招待所。

3 hostels   

n.旅舍，招待所( hostel的名词复数 )；青年宿舍

参考例句：

• The students were protesting at overcrowding in the university hostels. 学生们在抗议大学宿舍过于拥挤。 来自辞典例句
• Are there any cheap hostels in Nanjing for one person? 南京有没有便宜的旅店可以一个人住？ 来自互联网

4 goodness   

n.善良，善行，美德

参考例句：

• Would you have the goodness to turn off the radio?劳驾，请你把收音机关上好不好？
• Thank goodness,we've found a cure for the disease.好了，这病有救了！

5 transportation   

n.运输，运输系统，运输工具

参考例句：

• The transportation of goods by air costs a lot.航空运输货物花费很高。
• He finally solved the difficulty of transportation.他终于解决了运输的困难。

6 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

7 completely   

adv.完全地，十分地，全然

参考例句：

• She never completely gave up hope.她从不完全放弃希望。
• I feel completely in the dark on this question.这件事使我感到茫然。