美语情景对话 第232期:Dublin 都柏林

Marion: So you lived in Dublin for awhile, didn't you Mauve? What's life like in Dublin?

玛丽恩：你在都柏林住过一段时间，对吧，莫夫？都柏林的生活怎么样？

Mauve: I think life in Dublin is very different from everywhere else in the country. It's the biggest city in Ireland. It's got a population of about a million I think, even though the population of Ireland is only 4 million, so most people...

莫夫：我认为都柏林的生活与爱尔兰其他地方的生活非常不同。都柏林是爱尔兰最大的城市。拥有1百万人口，而爱尔兰的人口才4百万，所以大部分人……

Marion: So it's a quarter of the whole population.

玛丽恩：所以都柏林的人口占到全国人口的四分之一。

Mauve: Exactly. It's a very young population, I think, the Dublin population, I suppose like all cities there's plenty to do, in terms of cinemas, theatres, I don't know, you know whatever else, comedy club and all that kind of, plenty of night clubs, loads of restaurants. It's very international now, at the moment I suppose, like there's Japanese restaurants, and well there's always Indian and Chinese, and there's like, I don't know, French and Spanish, and every type of restaurant.

莫夫：没错。我认为都柏林的人口非常年轻化，就像所有城市一样，那里有许多可以做的事情，有电影院，剧院，还有什么，哦，还有喜剧俱乐部，诸如此类的地方，当然也有许多夜店和餐厅。爱尔兰现在非常国际化，因为那里有日本餐厅，印度餐厅，中国餐厅，当然也有法国餐厅和西班牙餐厅，各种类型的餐厅。

Marion: So it's kind of a cosmopolitan city.

玛丽恩：就像国际大都市一样。

Mauve: Yeah, exactly.

莫夫：对，没错。

Marion: Or big by Irish standards, I suppose. Yeah, it's probably like a village for other people.

玛丽恩：可能以爱尔兰的标准来看算大都市。也许其他人会认为那里像乡村。

Mauve: I know. Even though when I went to New York then, in June, it wasn't such a culture shock, cause even though, there are high rise buildings and every thing but it wasn't that different though. You know, I think that Dublin has come on a lot and it's by no means rural anymore, you know, in comparison to other cities in Ireland, like Cork and Gaul, we're very rural, but, I don't think Dublin is.

莫夫：我知道。我六月份去了纽约，那时我并没有遭遇文化冲击，那里有高楼大厦，不过与都柏林并没有太大的不同。你知道，我认为都柏林取得了很大的进步，再也没有乡村的面貌了，你知道，与爱尔兰的乡村科克和高尔相比，都柏林并不是乡村。

Marion: Yeah, I think Dublin is like an international city, and it can stand on it's own.

玛丽恩：对，我想都柏林就像一个国际化城市，可以独立存在。

Mauve: Definitely, yeah, you can compare to London or, you know, New York.

莫夫：完全正确，你可以拿它和伦敦，甚至是纽约相比。

Marion: And the standard of, like the cost of living, is very high in Dublin, though, isn't it.

玛丽恩：都柏林的生活费用非常高昂，对吧？

Mauve: Yeah, it is. Rents are much higher there. It's more expensive to eat out and I suppose to do everything really. You need a good salary to live in Dublin I think.

莫夫：对，的确是这样。租金非常贵。而且外出吃饭的花销也很大，我想那里的所有事情都很贵。要在都柏林生活你要有高收入。

Marion: Yeah, yeah!

玛丽恩：对，对！

Mauve: Big bucks!

莫夫：需要很多钱！

重点讲解：
1. come on
进展；进步；
eg. His French has come on a lot since he joined the conversation class.
他自从参加了会话班，法语取得了很大进步。
eg. Lee is coming on very well now and it's a matter of deciding how to fit him into the team...
李现在进步很大，问题是如何在队里给他找一个合适的位置。
2. by no means
决不；丝毫不；一点儿也不；
eg. This is by no means out of the ordinary.
这丝毫不足为奇。
eg. The problem is by no means as simple as we first thought.
问题决不像我们当初想象的那么单纯。
eg. The inquiry is by no means cut and dried.
调查之事远未盖棺定论。
3. in comparison to
与…相比；与…比较而言；
eg. Women have come a long way in terms of the freedoms they enjoy in comparison to times past.
对比过去，享受到自由，女性已经走了很长的道路。
eg. But this temporary confidence is nothing in comparison to the confidence one can obtain by excelling in sports, academics, or a hobby.
但这些短暂的自信，无法与从运动、学业优异和兴趣当中获得的自信相提并论。