听播客学英语 223 比较

 　　Today’s podcast is about how to make comparisons² in English. I am talking to my friend Anna. She comes from Canada and she is going to tell us about some of the differences she has seen between Canada and England.

　　I first came to England in January 2005. When I left my home in Winnipeg in central Canada, it was snowing and bitterly cold. By comparison¹, England was a lot less cold. Everything seemed very green, compared to the blanket of snow on the ground in Canada. There were even some flowers in the garden.

　　The traffic in England was so confusing at first. In England, the traffic drives on the left, while in Canada – and most of the rest of the world – people drive on the right. And if you are walking, it is more difficult to cross the road in England than in Canada.

　　In Winnipeg, the landscape is almost completely flat. But in Birmingham, by contrast, there are hills and valleys – not big ones, but bigger than what I am used to.

　　Everything seems smaller in England – the cars and houses, and things like refrigerators for example. Houses in Canada are often built of timber³, while in Englaand they are generally built of brick⁴ or stone. If I go to a supermarket in Canada, I can find food in really big cans and containers. But in England, even the biggest cans of food look small.

　　England is more racially and culturally diverse⁵ than the part of Canada I come from. I am not yet used to the different regional accents which people in England have – to my ears they all sound the same. People in England seem to be more fashion conscious than in Canada, particularly the young women. They all seem to wear similar clothes in the latest popular style.

　　In Canada, we are used to travelling quite long distances to go to the shops or to visit friends. In England, the distances are shorter, but it often takes as long because the traffic is more congested.

　　To sum up, I suppose I would say that central Canada is bigger, obviously⁶, than England, and flatter⁷; colder in the winter and hotter in the summer; and emptier – there are many fewer people per square kilometer. And England is smaller, and much more crowded; a lot wetter and greener.

1 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。

2 comparisons   

比较( comparison的名词复数 )； [修辞学]比喻； [语法学]（形容词或副词的）比较等级； 类似

参考例句：

• I. Comparisons to a Living Creature (i. e., the Sphinx riddle) 1．比作某种生物（如斯芬克司谜） 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• Make comparisons about the products. 对产品做对比。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

3 timber   

n.木材，原木，大木料，栋木

参考例句：

• These trees need more time to grow into useful timber.这些树不够年头，还没成材呢。
• The timber is graded according to its thickness.木材按厚度分级。

4 brick   

n.砖；vt.用砖砌，用砖堵住

参考例句：

• She stared blankly at the brick wall in front of her.她面无表情地瞪着面前的砖墙。
• I bought a brick of ice cream for my daughter.我给女儿买了块冰砖。

5 diverse   

adj.不同的；相异的；多种多样的；形形色色的

参考例句：

• Spain is a composite of diverse traditions and people.西班牙是一个汇集了多种传统和民族的国家。
• Society is now much more diverse than ever before.当今社会较之以往任何时候都要丰富多彩得多。

6 obviously   

adv.显然；明白地

参考例句：

• Obviously they were putting him to a severe test.显然他们是在给他以严峻的考验。
• Obviously he was lying.显然他是在撒谎。

7 flatter   

v.向...谄媚，奉承，使高兴，使感到荣幸

参考例句：

• We flatter ourselves that we provide the best service in town.我们相信我们提供的服务在本市最好。
• It turns my stomach to hear him flatter.听到他拍马屁，我实在感到讨厌。