【英语趣味课堂】曼彻斯特-Manchester

 Todd: Hello, what is your name?

 

Mathew: My name is Mathew Gill.

 

Todd: Mathew, where are you from?

 

Mathew: I'm from England, from North of England, near Manchester.

 

Todd: Were you living in Manchester before you can to Japan?

 

Mathew: No, I was living in Bangkok, in Thailand, before I came to Japan.

 

Todd: Wow, world traveler.

 

Mathew: Yes, something like that.

 

Todd: Tell us about Manchester. What is Manchester like?

 

Mathew: Manchester's well know for being quite a grim¹, industrial town. but it's got a more modern reputation² as a center of arts, and there's lots of cool music that comes out of there. Oasis³ from Manchester is the most famous band, and the Smiths, kind of fifteen years ago, came from Manchester.

 

Todd: Oh, that's great. I love the Smiths, actually. Do you like Manchester?

 

Mathew: I think it's a fantastic place, yeah.

 

Todd: I'd love to live there in the future. It's a great city.

 

学习内容：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

world traveler

 

Wow, world traveler!

 

A "world traveler" is a person who has been to many different countries in the world.  Notice the following:

 

She wanted to escape the corporate⁴ world and be a world traveler for a while.

He was a world traveler in his twenties.

grim

 

Manchester's well known⁵ for being a grim town.

 

A "grim" town is nasty⁶ and unfriendly; not a welcoming place to be.  Notice the following:

 

He always tells very grim stories about when he was a child.

I've heard such wonderful things about Panama.  I wasn't expecting it would be so grim.

reputation

 

Manchester has got a more modern reputation.

 

Your "reputation" is what people think about you. Notice the following:

 

According⁷ to your reputation, you like to party.

She has a reputation of being a hard worker, but very difficult to work with.

center of arts

 

A more modern reputation as a center of arts.

 

A "center of arts" is a place that has recent or traditional art.  Places like this attract a lot of painters, photographers, and other artists.  Notice the following:

 

He always wanted to live in a center of arts and visit galleries or museums in his free time.

She moved to Paris because it was a center of arts.

actually

 

I love the Smiths, actually.

 

"Actually" has a similar meaning to "really" but is frequently⁸ added⁹ to a sentence to show a different opinion than someone else.  The sentence before the example sentence could be: The Smiths are terrible people.  And the example sentence shows a disagreement¹⁰.  Notice the following:

 

It has been nice to spend some time alone, actually.

It is actually quite easy to travel in the city.

 

1 grim   

adj.严酷的，令人害怕的，不愉快的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• I've had a grim day.我过了不愉快的一天。
• His expression was grim when he told them they had lost their jobs.当他告诉他们说他们已被解雇时，他的表情十分冷酷。

2 reputation   

n.名誉，声誉，声望，信誉

参考例句：

• We are very anxious to keep up the reputation of the firm.我们对于保持公司的名誉非常急切。
• He has not too good a reputation in the matter of honesty.就诚实而言，他的名声不太好。

3 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

6 nasty   

adj.令人讨厌的，困难的，恶劣的，下流的

参考例句：

• She got a nasty knock on the head when she fell.她跌倒时头部受到严重碰撞。
• When this material burns，it flings off a nasty smell.这种物质燃烧时发出一股难闻的气味。

7 according   

adj.按照，根据

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• We must cut our coat according to our cloth this year.今年我们必须学会量入为出。

8 frequently   

adv.常常，屡次，经常地，频繁地

参考例句：

• Please write to me frequently.请经常给我来信。
• I like that you should call on me frequently.我喜欢你经常来拜访我。

9 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

10 disagreement   

n.不一致；分歧；意见不合

参考例句：

• They were in disagreement about the move to Cambridge.他们在是否迁居剑桥方面有争议。
• I hope this disagreement does not divide us.我希望意见不同不至于使我们分道扬镳。