【英语趣味课堂】旅游的几种形式-Types of Travel

 Simon: Like many people, I like to travel and there are many ways you can travel, uh, many forms of transportation. Probably the main three that I wanna talk about now are by car, by train and by airplane. Now each of these forms of transportation 

have there pros¹ and cons². Would you agree?

 

Friend: Indeed, I would.

 

Simon: So, what's your favorite form of transportation, of those three?

 

Friend: I would have to say the automobile³.

 

Simon: Um, well, tell me some of the, the pros of traveling by car.

 

Friend: That would be mainly freedom. Freedom of movement. Freedom of stop. Freedom to go. Freedom to, yeah, freedom basically.

 

Simon: OK, uh, what about a train? What are the advantages of being of a train?

 

Friend: Ah, I would say, good views of the countryside. You can move around on a train. You're not stuck in a car. You can go for a cigarette. You can get something to drink. You can go to the bathroom, which you cannot do in a car.

 

Simon: OK, and let's talk about the airplane. Why, what are some of the advantages of flying?

 

Friend: Speed.

 

Simon: That's it?

 

Friend: That's all I can say about that, speed.

 

Simon: OK, uh, let's talk about the disadvantages, the cons. So what, what are some things that a train has, that is not that great?

 

Friend: There's nothing I can say bad about a train, except, yeah! Train's good.

 

Simon: OK!

 

Friend: Price!

 

Simon: Yeah, price, in many countries train travel is expensive. Uh, we are traveling in Japan, so the train is very fast and efficient, however, it is expensive, and another thing is, you're confined by schedule and things like that. How about the disadvantages of a car?

 

Friend: Ah, pollution, accidents, cost, yeah, cars can be expensive, too, maintenance⁴, gas.

 

Simon: And how about the plane?

 

Friend: The disadvantages of a plane. The lack of view,and yeah, that stale, stale air.

 

Simon: Oh, yeah, also, I could sort of say the fear factor, yeah, and being confined to a small space. Yeah that's it.

 

学习内容：

 

pros and cons

 

Each of these forms of transportation have their pros and cons. 

 

'Pros and cons' is another way to say 'positives and negatives.' Notice the following:

 

Before you make a decision, you need to think about the pros and cons. 

There are more pros than cons in my new job.

freedom

 

The pros of traveling by car would be mainly freedom. 

 

When you have 'freedom,' you can do whatever you want, whenever you want to do it. Notice the following:

 

This is his first year living alone and he's enjoying his freedom.

Having your own company gives you a lot of freedom.

stuck

 

You can move around on a train, whereas⁵ you're stuck in a car. 

 

When you are 'stuck' someplace, you can't move to where you want to go.  Notice the following:

 

I hate being stuck in the house.

We have been stuck in this meeting for almost 2 hours.

confined

 

When you travel by train, you're confined by schedule; when you travel by plane, you're confined to a small space. 

 

If you are 'confined' to something, you are restricted by its limitations.  Notice the following:

 

The dog is confined to those two rooms.

My legs hurt from being confined to this chair all day.

stale air

 

The disadvantages of the plane is the lack of view and that stale air. 

 

'Stale air' does not feel fresh.  It feels like it has recirculated many times.  Notice the following:

 

Stale air makes me feel like I can't breathe.

We should open a window, because this room is full of stale air.

1 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

4 maintenance   

n.维修，保养，扶养费，维持，保持

参考例句：

• His small farm provides maintenance,but not much more.他的小农场能使他们维持生活，但仅此而已。
• He has to pay maintenance to his ex-wife.他必须给前妻赡养费。

5 whereas   

conj.而，却，反之

参考例句：

• They want a house,whereas we would rather live in a flat.他们想要一座房子，而我们宁愿住在一套房间里。
• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。