2006年NPR美国国家公共电台二月-Life in Oslo, World's Most Expensive City

If you're heading to Oslo, be prepared to shell out lots of krone. It's now the most expensive city in the world. That according to the Economist¹ Intelligence Unit's bi-annual Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, Oslo has dethroned Tokyo, which held the top spot for 14 years. For a sense of, what it costs to live in Oslo, we've called Kristin Joys, she's a real estate² agent in the Norwegian capital. Thanks for being with us.

Eh hmm.

And give us a sense of a daily event, maybe, ah. . , a cup of coffee in Oslo, what would that cost?

Eh, a cup of coffee would cost 15 Kroners if you go to a coffee bar.

15 Kroner.then 1 Krone is 15 cents?

Eh, yeah, so I would say it's about 2 dollars.

2 dollars, OK, well that sounds about like what you might end up paying here and some parts of the country, anyway depending on how , how good that coffee is. Eh, what about a movie ticket?

100 Krones.

100 Kroners, so 15 dollars.

Yeah.

That better be a good movie.

Oh, yes, I`ve just been to the "Penguin`s March" today.

Oh, "The March of the Penguins³".

Yeah, " March of the Penguins", yes.

And was it worth 100 Krones?

To me, yes, but not to my grandchildren who were 6 and 8.

They didn`t think it was, it was worth the price.

They thought it was a little too much walking.

Too much walking of the penguins?

Not happening anything.

Now if you go out to dinner at a, at a reasonably nice restaurant, nothing, nothing extravagant⁴, and better something decent⁵, eh, what would you end up paying for 2 people would you say?

For 2 people, if you have some glasses of wine, you would end up (ur) paying about 1000 Kroners each, 2000 Krones.

That's about 300 dollars, I think.

Yeah.

That would make you think twice for sure.

Yeah, absolutely.

Is , is the kind of thing that you get used to, that, this is just what things cost in Norway?

Well, yes, it looks like people are getting used to it, but I am not because I think twice to go to a restaurant. But I think the average people, they'd . . . the young people go much more to restaurants than my generation. I am (ur) 60 years old, and I am not used to these prices. But the young people are.

There must be bargains. There must be something that`s just a great deal.

Yes, well, you don`t pay anything for the nature we have.

Ha ha. . That's free.

That`s free yes. It`s difficult to find bargains but it is a good country to live in , peaceful and, and the bargains is that you can walk on / the steets and feel fairly secure⁶ so, eh, but bargains when you go shopping? no, I don`t think so.

Well, Kristin Joys, it's good to talk with you, thanks very much.

Thank you for calling me.

Kristin Joys spoke⁷ with us from Oslo. Again , the newly⁸ named most expensive city in the world. 8 of the top 10 cities on the Economist Intelligence Unit's list are in Europe. They include London at number 7, Paris at number 4, and Zurich and Geneva at numbers 8 and 9.

Tokyo which, as Melissa has said, held the top spot since 1991 now falls to number 2, with its neighbour Osaka tied with Paris for number 4. Perhaps the United States can be happy that it doesn't do very well on this list. New York City ranks as most expensive among American cities, but globally it`s only number 27.

As for the least expensive cities in the world, where bargains abound⁹, it's San Jose, Costa Rica, at 120. New Delhi at 122. Manila and the Philippines at 127, and the winner, the least expensive city. It`s the capital of Iran. Tehran is ranked 128 .

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 estate   

n.所有地，地产，庄园；住宅区；财产，资产

参考例句：

• My estate lies within a mile.我的地产离那有一英里。
• The great real estate brokers do far more than this.而优秀的房地产经纪人做得可比这多得多。

3 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

5 decent   

adj.象样的，不错的，体面的，正派的，恰当的

参考例句：

• We want to raise our children to be decent men and women.我们盼望把孩子们培养成优秀人才。
• There isn't even a decent table in this room.这屋里连张像样的桌子也没有。

6 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 newly   

adv.新近，最近；重新，再度；以新的方式

参考例句：

• Have you reviewed for this newly published novel?你给这本新出版的小说写书评了吗？
• It is a newly planted tree and it has not established yet.这是一颗新栽的树，还没有扎下根来。

9 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。