【英语趣味课堂】生活成本高昂的城市-Pricey Places

Jess: So, Tom, I was reading in the newspaper this morning, and I noticed a story which said that Tokyo and Osaka are now the most expensive cities to live in. I remember you told me you used to live in Tokyo. Was that your experience of living there?

Tom: That's right. Tokyo was really expensive. I am so pleased that now I live in Bangkok. Living here is fantastic. My apartment - I have this lovely beautiful big apartment and the rent is a good deal. Thai food is famous all over the world and actually when you come to Thailand, you realize how cheap the food is and how available it is. You can buy food - every kind of food from any shop or restaurant - even on the street. They have street stalls¹ where people cooking. They have people walking up and down the street pushing carts² full of food and it's all really cheap and delicious. I like to go shopping in Bangkok. There's a lot of clothes and shoes and bags. The prices are really low and it's this lovely feeling being able to walk around and afford things. Did you know in Tokyo the most surprising expensive thing was getting a hair cut. I don't go much for expensive hair cuts and it used to kill me how much I had to pay just to get someone to chop³ off my scruffy⁴ locks. I know you've lived in Europe mostly. What was your experience? What was the most expensive place in Europe?

 

Jess: Well, I've lived in three European cities: Budapest, Madrid and Paris and of the three Paris was definitely⁵ the most expensive. The things that stands out in my mind as being the most expensive were beauty services. Things like hair cuts, hair coloring, facials⁶, waxing⁷. I actually had to save and budget every month to make sure I was able to afford in Paris the the things I was used to getting without thinking about back home in Britain, but not every thing was expensive there. Beauty services were and rent was but the wine, brilliant French wine, was really cheap and there was a huge variety, so in that way, I guess it balanced itself out.

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

I was reading the newspaper

 

I was reading the newspaper this morning and I noticed an interesting story.

 

Here is a good example of the past continuous⁸ tense where a continuing action in the past (reading the newspaper) is interrupted⁹ by a second action (I noticed a story). Notice the following:

 

I was driving to work when I noticed the engine sounded strange.

He was downloading free MP3's when he noticed a virus¹⁰ warning¹¹.

kill me

 

 

It used to kill me how much I had to pay.

 

We use the phrase¹² 'kill me' to talk about something that causes us to feel very bad. Here are two samples:

 

It kills her to see young kids begging for food on the street.

It used to kill me how much I paid for DVD's. Now I download everything.

chop off my scruffy locks

 

 

I got someone to chop off my scruffy locks.

 

When we chop off  our scruffy locks, we cut our long untidy¹³ hair. Notice the samples:

 

He was happy to get a job, but it killed him to chop off his scruffy locks.

After my brother chopped¹⁴ off his scruffy locks, even our mom didn't recognize him.

stands out

 

 

The thing that stands out about her are the green eyes.

 

Something or someone that stands out is different from the others. Here are some samples:

 

The thing that stands out about Jack¹⁵ is his long scruffy red hair.

For me, the thing that stands out about Tokyo is the neon.

balance out

 

 

I guess it balanced itself out.

 

When a past experience had both good and bad things we say it balanced itself out. Notice the sample sentences:

 

The check at the restaurant just killed me, but the food was really delicious so it balanced itself out.

What a day! We took the wrong train and got lost, but discovered some really cool places. I guess it balanced itself out.

1 stalls   

n.戏院正厅前排座位，前座观众；摊( stall的名词复数 )；熄火；厩；（房间内的）小隔间

参考例句：

• market stalls selling cheap bric-a-brac 集市上出售廉价小摆设的货摊
• the front row of the stalls 正厅第一排

2 carts   

n.运货马车，手推车( cart的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The farm carts have worn ruts in the lane. 农用大车在乡间小路上磨出了车辙。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All the boats and carts started off at the same time. 车船齐发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 chop   

n.厚肉片，排骨，砍，交换，戳记，商标；vt.剁碎，砍，切，割断；vi.砍，突然转向

参考例句：

• He struck off the branch with a single chop of the ax.他一斧子就砍掉了那根树枝。
• She cut down the seedling with one chop.她一刀就把小苗砍倒了。

4 scruffy   

adj.肮脏的，不洁的

参考例句：

• Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛，但神态老练世故。
• His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。

5 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

6 facials   

n.美容，面部按摩( facial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I work a salon and I do a lot of facials. 我在沙龙工作，而且经常做面部护理。 来自互联网
• Perform facials on members and guests using safe and professional techniques. 使用安全、专业的技术手法为会员和客人提供按摩服务。 来自互联网

7 waxing   

上蜡；打蜡

参考例句：

• Something of daylight still lightered, and the moon was waxing bright: I could see him plainly. 还有一点儿日光残留着，月亮正在渐渐变亮，我可以清清楚楚地看见他。 来自辞典例句
• Waxing a car after washing will rejuvenate the appearance of the car. 清洗车身后在漆面上打蜡将使汽车的外观焕然一新。 来自互联网

8 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

9 interrupted   

adj. 中断的 动词interrupt的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He could not conceal his annoyance at being interrupted. 他因受扰而难掩怒色。
• She was interrupted by the entrance of an attendant. 服务员进来，打断了她的话。

10 virus   

n.病毒，滤过性微生物，毒害，恶毒；（一个能够复制、感染其他程序或破坏操作系统的程序）

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a virus infection.他受到病毒感染。
• There is a virus going round the world.世界上流行着一种病毒性疾病。

11 warning   

n.警告，告诫，训诫，警戒，警报

参考例句：

• The other side paid no attention to our warning.对方不重视我方的警告。
• He realized that his doctor was warning him off drink.他意识到医生在告诫他戒酒。

12 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

13 untidy   

adj.不整齐的，懒散的，懒惰的

参考例句：

• This is an untidy plan.这是一个杂乱无章的计划。
• I must apologize for the untidy state of the room.屋子这么不整洁，实在抱歉。

14 chopped   

[医]剁碎的

参考例句：

• He chopped some wood for the fire. 他劈了些柴烧火。
• Finish by sprinkling some chopped almonds over the cake. 最后在蛋糕上撒些剁碎的杏仁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。