英语访谈对话 304 Travel

 　　Michael: Simon have you done much traveling?

　　Simon: I'd like to think that I have. Yes.

　　Michael: OK, so where have you been?

　　Simon: Well, I've been to a lot of places. I'd probably say about twenty different countries. I've taught English in Japan, Korea, and in Thailand and traveled throughout Southeast Asia. I have family in Europe so I've done the, you know, the high school backpacking trip around Europe and since I'm North American I've visited pretty much all of North America, you know, US, Mexico, Canada, and I went on a delightful² trip to Cuba.

　　Michael: Cuba! Excellent!

　　Simon: How bout¹ you? Are you well traveled?

　　Michael: Um, not as well as you. I think my tally³ is now is 14 countries. I've been to Scotland⁴, Ireland, England. I've been to Trinidad and Tabago.

　　Simon: Wow that sounds! That would be an interesting place.

　　Michael: Yeah, it was. I've been to quite a few places in Asia now. Singapore and Hong Kong. I've been to Australia. I've been to about 20 prefectures in Japan.

　　Simon: Oh, wow. That's quite a few. Travel in Japan is quite difficult actually. For those of us that don't make a lot of money anyway.

　　Michael: Yeah, it is kind of expensive, but actually, the prefectures are so small, that you can go to quite a few on a local train from Tokyo.

　　Simon: That's true. That's true. Ah, is there any prefecture that stands out in your mind as being special or interesting or different?

　　Michael: Mm, that's a good question. Prefecture! I don't know about Hiroshima prefecture but the city stands out in my mind. The people are really, really lovely. And as far as the scenery, Mie prefecture is gorgeous⁵ and for that real Japan experience for that people from abroad, their image of Japan, Hakone in Kanagawa. I stayed in a Japanese inn⁶ there and it was just perfect.

　　Simon: Wow, that sounds great. Yeah, for me, the real good stuff⁷ in Japan was Tohoku because it's one of the few places in Japan where you don't see power lines everywhere but you still have a lot of Japanese traditional architecture and style.

　　Michael: Yeah, I had one of those experiences in Tohoku, I think it was in Akita, driving and we passed, we were on a bridge and we passed by a valley with a very traditional Japanese houses and a little tiny river and it was exactly like you imagined Japan.

　　Simon: Oh, that's great!

1 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

2 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

3 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

4 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。

5 gorgeous   

adj.华丽的，灿烂的，美丽的，宜人的，棒的

参考例句：

• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。
• What a gorgeous day it is today!今天天气多好啊！

6 inn   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店，小饭店

参考例句：

• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。
• We stayed in a small village inn,right off the map.我们住在一家偏僻的乡村小店里。

7 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。