【英语趣味课堂】意大利的城市-Italian Cities

Todd: So Marion, you've lived in Italy. (Yes) Italy has many favorite cities. Can you talk a little bit about them?

 

Marion: Sure, well the first city I lived in was Genoa. And Genoa is on the Riviera, so it's a very beautiful place. It's a port city, so my apartment was actually looking out over the port, so I had a great apartment. It was a great view. Genoa has a very old center, so the buildings are hundreds and hundreds of years old obviously¹ but it's quite dirty, well I don't really want to say dirty, but it's not very well looked after, the historical center, which is a pity but it does have really a lot of character. I really liked it.

 

Todd: So what other cities have you been to?

 

Marion: Well, I've been to Rome of course. I've been to Rome a few times. I think it's one of my favorite cities actually. I love the fact that in Rome, you walk out of your hotel, or wherever you're staying and you're just surrounded by history, by this amazing, you know, the Coliseum for example. Actually the first time I ever arrived in Italy, I came from the airport directly to the Coliseum station and I walked out the door of that metro² station and there was the Coliseum in front of me. It was one of those moments. It was "Ah, my God!" and there was a full moon up to the left of the coliseum. It was like, almost too perfect, too good to be true.

 

Todd: Ah, did you get a chance to go to Venice?

 

Marion: Yes, I did. Actually, I went to Venice several times. The first time I went was great. We had a chance to travel around, or walk around, and see the city for ourselves. It's really amazing, you know all these bridges, and if you want to get anywhere you have to hop³ on a boat, and the second time I went though, it was for Carnival⁴, Carnivale, that was amazing thing, so everybody is dressed up in their costumes, and the costumes are really, really elaborate⁵ actually and people were having their faces painted, that kind of thing, and everybody was in really good spirits, you know. It was a great occasion⁶.

 

Todd: Sounds fun. And lastly did you get a chance to go to Florence?

 

Marion: Yes, I did actually. I went often because I lived an hour away in Pisa, and so Florence is amazing, it's just maybe the most cultural city after Rome as regards art galleries and that kind of thing and just the city itself. It's all that kind of Terra Cotta hues⁷ of the buildings, you know, and big piazzas⁸, lots of statues and it has a bit of a rich feel to it actually, so, yeah. It's a really good place to people watch as well.

 

Todd: And Milan, did you get a chance to go to Milan?

 

Marion: Yeah, I stayed with a friend in Milan actually for a couple of weeks. Just a few years ago, even though I had passed through before, I didn't really like it because it's a big built up city, lots of smog and pollution, but when I stayed there with my friend and got to know it a bit better, I ended up quite liking⁹ it.

 

Todd: Ok, well, lastly, real quickly, if somebody was going to Italy, and there was only one city they could see, what would you recommend?

 

Marion: It would Rome, absolutely. Yeah.

 

Todd: OK. Thanks a lot Marion.

 

Marion: You're welcome.

1 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。

2 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

3 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

4 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

5 elaborate   

adj.详尽的；复杂的；vi./vt.详述；详细制订

参考例句：

• You understand the situation;I needn't elaborate any further.你对情况是了解的，我不必再进一步详谈了。
• He made an elaborate hairstyle.他做了一个复杂的发型。

6 occasion   

n.场合，时机，机会，诱因，理由；vt.惹起，引起

参考例句：

• Her dress was too showy for such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，她的服装过分华丽了。
• Her tears were fought back on such an occasion.在这种场合下她忍住了眼泪。

7 hues   

色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点

参考例句：

• When the sun rose a hundred prismatic hues were reflected from it. 太阳一出，更把它映得千变万化、异彩缤纷。
• Where maple trees grow, the leaves are often several brilliant hues of red. 在枫树生长的地方，枫叶常常呈现出数种光彩夺目的红色。

8 piazzas   

n.广场，市场( piazza的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the cities of Italy, piazzas are the acknowledged centers of local activity. 在意大利的城市里，广场是公认的群众活动中心。 来自互联网
• Alleyways wind through the city like a maze, opening up into surprising, sunny fountained piazzas. 小巷子像迷宫一般蜿蜒穿过这座城市，出现在令人惊讶、绚烂的喷泉广场上。 来自互联网

9 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。