美语情景对话 第277期:Melbourne 墨尔本

Todd: Now, Aaron, you're from Melbourne.

托德：亚伦，你来自墨尔本。

Aaron: That's right.

亚伦：没错。

Todd: What's Melbourne like?

托德：墨尔本怎么样？

Aaron: Melbourne's the second biggest city in Australia but there's a big city area with big buildings, then there's a lot of houses and then it runs into the countryside, where it's just hills and mountains and a lot of greenery basically. The city is center is busy but it's not very busy. It's not as busy as Tokyo or New York. It's just a busy city but then it just slows down as you move away from the city.

亚伦：墨尔本是澳大利亚第二大城市，那里是个大城市，有许多高楼，也有许多房屋，不过那里也有乡村，有许多山脉和绿色的草木。这座城市是澳大利亚的中心，是座繁忙的城市，但是其实并不是那么繁忙。并不像东京或纽约那样繁忙。它只是个繁忙的城市，而在你远离城市以后就会发现它放慢了脚步。

Todd: Is it easy to find housing?

托德：那里容易找房子吗？

Aaron: It's very easy to find housing. There's a lot of hotels, accommodation, and a lot of places to rent. You can buy houses quite cheaply in Melbourne as well and there's only about 5 million people there so it's not crowded as well.

亚伦：找房子非常容易。那里有许多旅馆和住宿的地方，有许多出租的房屋。你可以在墨尔本买到非常便宜的房子，那里只有5百万人居住，所以不是那么拥挤。

Todd: How much would a house cost? A decent house?

托德：一座房子要花费多少钱？一个不错的房子？

Aaron: A decent house in Australia, or in Melbourne, would cost about 250,000 Australian dollars, which I guess compared to Japanese prices, isn't so bad, and that would be a big 4 bedroom house, maybe two stories.

亚伦：在澳大利亚，在墨尔本一座不错的房子要花费25万澳元，我认为和日本房价相比的话，还不算太贵，这样的房子基本有4间大卧室，可能有两层。

Todd: Wow! Front yard and backyard?

托德：哇！有前院和后院吗？

Aaron: Front yard, back yard, driveway, garage, 4 bedrooms.

亚伦：有前院，后院，私人车道，车库，还有4间卧室。

Todd: What's the transportation like in the city?

托德：墨尔本的交通情况怎么样？

Aaron: The transportation is very good, but it's very slow. You have to wait twenty minutes for trains. They only run every twenty minutes, but the buses and the trams will take you to wherever you want to go, but the trains are very centralized, so they all run into the city, through four major train stops, and then they run back out to the suburbs on a big loop so they never cross over each other and you have to catch buses if you want to go away from the city.

亚伦：交通情况非常好，不过速度很慢。你要是坐列车必须要等20分钟。列车每20分钟运行一趟，不过公交车和有轨电车可以带你去你想去的任何地方，而列车很集中，它们都在城市中运行，会通过4个主要的火车站，它们会在郊区循环一圈再返回市区，所以它们从来不会交叉，而如果你想离开市区的话不得不去赶公交车。

Todd: Is it a safe city?

托德：那是一个安全的城市吗？

Aaron: It is a safe city but like any place it has it's troubles but you don't have to worry about living in Melbourne.

亚伦：墨尔本是安全的城市，不过就和其他地方一样，它也有自己的问题，不过你不必担心在墨尔本的生活。

重点讲解：
1. slow down
（使）放慢；（使）减速；
eg. The car slowed down as they passed Customs.
过海关的时候，车速慢了下来。
eg. There is no cure for the disease, although drugs can slow down its rate of development.
尽管药物可以减缓病情的发展，但是这种病仍然是不治之症。
eg. Damage to the turbine slowed the work down.
涡轮机的损坏降低了工作的效率。
2. compared to
相对…而言；对照；
eg. In 1800 Ireland's population was nine million, compared to Britain's 16 million.
1800年，爱尔兰的人口数为900万，而英国则有1，600万。
eg. The bank offered to lend us$5000 but it's chickenfeed compared to what we need.
银行提出给我们五千美元贷款，但这笔钱与我们所需要的数目相比是杯水车薪。
3. cross over
跨越；交叉；
eg. Those wishing for luck will often cross one finger over another, a gesture that's said to date back to early Christianity.
那些祈祷好运的人常常双手握拢十指交叉。这个姿势据说可以追溯到早期基督教中。
eg. The straps cross over at the back and are tied at the waist.
带子在背后交叉，然后系在腰部。