【英语趣味课堂】对加拿大的第一印象-First Memories of Canada

Jeremy: So Abidemi, you were born in Nigeria, but you moved to Canada and did most of your schooling¹ in Canada.

 

Abidemi: That’s right.

 

Jeremy: Can you tell me a little bit about what the transition² was like coming from Nigeria to Canada and doing a Canadian education system?

 

Abidemi: Sure. For me, it was an interesting experience. Both great and at the same time—hmm, I don’t want to say traumatic, but very different in terms of lifestyle. Since I was very young, I’d loved traveling. I wanted to travel. So when my family decided³ to make the move to Canada, I was really excited. But I have to say, I wasn’t really prepared. I had no idea where is Canada, America, England—they’re all the same to me at that age. 

So when we moved and my dad had initially⁴ made the move. He went ahead of us. He got a job. He found a place for us to live. And then, I arrived with my mom and my other sisters. There were five girls and we arrived at the airport. And my first memory is looking out, mid-December in Montreal—we arrived at Montreal airport—, looking out, and seeing this white thing covering the ground and thinking, “What is that? Why is it so white?” And I remember saying to my dad as he drove up to drive us home, “Let’s play in that. I want to play in that. What is that?” So that was my first memory of Canada of the snow. 

And it was fun. It was great arriving in December but at the same time, it was very cold. Personally, I’m not somebody that likes the cold too much, but having the warmth of my family in the midst⁵ of that cold made it worth it. It was awesome⁶. 

And then at school, making the transition was a little harder. At that time, the school we went to, there were not a lot of minorities. So, I think some of the teachers and some of the students weren’t sure how to get accustomed to us, and we weren’t sure what to expect either. But everyone tried their best and we flourished⁸. And I went on to high school and then to university. And one of the things was having my teachers—like we were talking about before, recognized the potential in me and my sisters and really encouraging us, and being with my classmates and making friends and having fun with them . 

And during that time, it was the late ‘90s, and there were a lot of transitions⁹ going on in other parts of the world. So people from different countries, like I remember we had a lot of people from Bosnia because of the war coming to my high school, and from other parts of the world, from Asia, so it was a really multicultural¹⁰ school—high school that I went to. So learning¹¹ about other cultures through my friends, too, made it really worth it. 

 

So I’m certainly glad that my family made the move. It’s opened up amazing opportunities for me as well. And being able to come now to Japan and teach English, that was because of that. So yeah, although it was hard in ways that I hadn’t imagined, but it was so worth it. And I’be grown and I’be had so many awesome experiences that yeah, I’m really thankful for it. 

 

重点词汇：

 Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson!

traumatic

 

 

It was not traumatic, but very different.

 

Something traumatic is emotionally¹² upsetting. Notice the following:

 

It was traumatic to see my dog hit by a car.

The earthquake was a traumatic experience.

initially

 

 

My dad had initially made the move.

 

Initially means at first, and shows that a first event was followed by another event. Notice the following:

 

After college, initially, I wanted to be a teacher.

Initially, I planned to travel alone.

at the same time

 

 

December was fun, but at the same time, it was very cold.

 

At the same time shows contrast. It is similar in meaning to nevertheless. Notice the following:

 

He is very strict. At the same time, he can be kind.

New York is pricey, but at the same time it's fun.

in the midst of

 

 

Having my family in the midst of that made it worth it.

 

In the midst of means in the middle of. Notice the following:

 

I am in the midst of a meeting. Can I call you back?

We are in the midst of renovations on our house.

minority

 

 

There were not a lot of minorities.

 

The minority consists of less than 50% of a group. Notice the following:

 

Hispanics are the largest minority in the U.S.

There are only a few minorities at my school.

flourished

 

 

Everyone tried their best and we flourished.

 

To flourish⁷ means to do really well. Notice the following:

 

I struggled in high school but flourished in college.

He flourished once he moved out on his own.

 

 

 

 

1 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

2 transition   

n.转变，变迁，过渡

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood.青春期是童年与成年之间的过渡时期。
• They all support a peaceful transition.他们全部都支持和平过渡。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 midst   

n.中部，中间，当中

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• There is a thief in our midst.我们当中有小偷。

6 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

7 flourish   

vi.茂盛，繁荣，兴旺；vt.挥动(以引起注意)

参考例句：

• When the root is firm,the branches flourish.本固枝荣。
• She rode by with a flourish of her whip.她骑马挥鞭而过。

8 flourished   

v.茂盛，繁荣( flourish的过去式和过去分词 )；兴旺发达；挥动

参考例句：

• Under the wise rule of the headmaster, the school flourished. 在校长明智的管理下，这所中学得以发展起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In cities people talked about science, but feudalism flourished on the land. 在城市里，人们高谈科学，可是在农村，封建主义仍然在泛滥。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 transitions   

过渡，转变，变迁( transition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Before explaining a workflow, I'll explain a few simple pieces of terminology: states and transitions. 在解释什么是工作流之前，我先来解释几条简单的术语：状态(states)和过渡(transitions)。
• Both ionization and excitation lead to eletronic transitions that may be the emission of light. 电离和激发都将导致可能伴随有光发射的电子跃迁。

10 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

11 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

12 emotionally   

adv.感情上，情绪上，冲动地

参考例句：

• a special school for emotionally disturbed children 为精神异常儿童开办的特殊学校
• A wide range of emotionally stressful events may trigger a relapse. 多种令人情绪紧张的事情都可能引起旧病复发。 来自《简明英汉词典》