美语情景对话 第810期:Pricey Places 物价高的地方

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?

杰西：汤姆，我今天早上看报纸时注意到一篇新闻报道，报道中说东京和大阪是现在最昂贵的居住地。我记得你说过，你曾在东京居住过。你住在那里时有这种感觉吗？

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 stalls where people cooking. They have people walking up and down the street pushing carts 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 chop off my scruffy locks. I know you've lived in Europe mostly. What was your experience? What was the most expensive place in Europe?

汤姆：没错。东京物价非常贵。我很高兴我现在生活在曼谷。住在这里太棒了。我在这里租了间又漂亮又大的公寓，而且租金很便宜。泰国美食闻名世界，来到泰国以后，你就会发现这里的食物有多便宜，有多易获得。可以从任何一家商店、餐厅、甚至是街上买到各种食物。泰国有烹饪食物的路边摊。还有商贩推着装满食物的推车沿街贩卖，而且这些食物又美味又便宜。我喜欢在曼谷购物。有很多可以买衣服、鞋和包的地方。而且价格低廉，逛街时看到有很多可以买得起的东西，这种感觉真好。你知道吗，东京最令人意想不到的昂贵东西是，理发的价格非常高。我一般不太常去贵的地方剪发，只是剪掉杂乱的头发就花掉一大笔钱，让我感觉非常不爽。我知道你大部分时间都住在欧洲。你的感觉呢？欧洲最昂贵的地方是哪里？

Jess: Well, I've lived in three European cities: Budapest, Madrid and Paris and of the three Paris was definitely 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, facials, waxing. 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.

杰西：我在布达佩斯、马德里和巴黎这三座欧洲城市生活过，其中最昂贵的地方肯定是巴黎。我现在记得最清楚的是巴黎最贵的是美容服务。包括剪发、染发、面部护理、脱毛这些。我每个月都要精打细算，这样才能保证我在巴黎负得起那些我在祖国英国不用考虑就能得到的服务，不过巴黎并不是所有东西都贵。巴黎的美容服务和租金很贵，但是上好的葡萄酒非常便宜，而且种类非常多，这样来看可以互相抵销。

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重点讲解：
1. used to do sth. 过去常常；过去曾；
例句：I used to look on him as a friend.
我以前把他看作是一位朋友。
2. all over 到处；遍及；
例句：The bank has branches all over the country.
该银行在全国各地均有分行。
3. chop off 砍掉；割掉；
例句：She chopped off her golden, waist-length hair.
她剪掉了她那齐腰的金发。
4. stand out 突出；出色；更为重要；
例句：It stands out clearly from other objects.
它在其他东西中显得很突出。
5. balance out （使）平衡；（使）相抵；（使）抵消；
例句：Outgoings and revenues balanced out.
收支相抵。