英语访谈对话 497 The Big OE

 　　Todd: So Mark, when I was in London I saw so many people from New Zealand and actually everywhere in the world I meet so many people from New Zealand, but you have such a small population. Is anybody still in New Zealand?

　　Mark: Yeah, I think the Kiwis and Aussies that you see in London and in other parts of England and Europe, many of them are young Kiwis doing what we call ‘the big OE’.

　　Todd: The big OE? What’s that?

　　Mark: ‘The big overseas experience’ or ‘the big overseas excursion’. So, a lot of people, when they finish school or finish university, they take a year off and because New Zealand is located a long way from anywhere, instead of taking a trip from one country to another for a week, like many Europeans do, when young New Zealanders travel they tend to go backpacking a lot, get a part time job working in a pub¹ or a restaurant in London to make more money and then they will travel for 3 or 4 months through Europe. They may go back to England and work a bit more and then see a few more countries, and then maybe after a year or so they’ll start heading back towards home. That’s ‘the big OE’.

　　Todd: So did you do ‘the big OE’?

　　Mark: Sort of, yeah. After I’d finished work at…after I’d finished university I worked for a few months and yes, I did go to England. I’d applied² for a job and then hadn’t heard back so I started my OE and I did it for a few months and then I actually found out I’d got a job, so I cut the OE short to join the working world.

　　Todd: Ok, what countries besides London are popular for Kiwis to go and visit?

　　Mark: Um, now…

　　Todd: Or what cities or places?

　　Mark: Now I think they’re getting more adventurous³. Before it used to be very euro-centric, but now a lot more people are going through Asia and going to more exotic⁴ locations: maybe South America, some people travel to Africa. The old ties to England are still there; I think that’s still the first location for many people: save a bit of money and then see the rest of the world.

1 pub   

n.[英]旅馆，小店，酒馆

参考例句：

• He is the landlord of this pub.他是这家酒店的店主。
• They saw that four large men marched into the pub.他们看到四个彪形大汉走进了酒吧。

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

4 exotic   

adj.奇异的，异乎寻常的，外（国）来的，外国产

参考例句：

• There are some exotic words in English language.英语中有一些外来词。
• She likes to wear exotic clothes.她喜欢穿奇装异服。