今日美国口语 第1课:Moving to Los Angeles

对话篇:

Ken and Cynthia just moved from New York to a new house in Los Angeles. They are in the study now.

Ken： I'm happy to be in this new house. It's much larger than I thought.
Cynthia: Yes, but I can't find any place to put this bookcase.
Ken： I see. I guess it is too big. The one we had before wasn't as big as this one.
Cynthia: I will try to put it in the living room. Anyway, this place is brighter than our old house in New York.
Ken: And, it's more spacious. Though the rent is more expensive, it's worth it.
Cynthia: But we will have to work harder to pay for it.
Ken: Don't worry. That's life. Life is easier down here. We can make much more money than we ever did in New York.
Cynthia: Money isn't everything. It's more polluted in Los Angeles.
Ken: Yes… because of all the cars and all the freeways.
Cynthia: Yes. And, that's why it's quieter in New York.
Ken: But think of the weather, Cynthia!
Cynthia: Right! Some things are better, and some things are worse. Living in Los Angeles really isn't the same as living in New York.
When Ken and Cynthia were told that they were going to have twins, they were more.

听力会话:

In the stories and conversations in Book 1, you are going to hear a lot about Emilie Bertrand, Bob Ennis and Randy Chen. Emilie is the same age as Bob. They are 23, but Randy is only 20. Only Bob is American, but they are all living in the same country, the United States. Emilie comes from France, and Randy was born in Beijing.

Emilie was born and brought up in the suburbs of Paris. While she was a student there, she earned extra money by modeling for one of the top fashion houses in France. After high school, Emilie wanted to study fashion and spent three years in college to learn the business. Her parents were not pleased with her decision to study the arts. They always thought Emilie should be a teacher. But Emilie had her dream, and she wanted to make it come true. After she graduated, Emilie ran into a problem. She could not find a job in Paris. After she looked for several months, she had to make a difficult choice: give up her dream or leave her family and get a job in the United States. She chose to go to the United States two years ago, and now she has quite a good reputation in her field.

Bob comes from San Francisco, and like most young men of his age, he leads a fairly normal life. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and his major was electronic engineering. He was just an average student who was always good at sports. He likes track and field the best. He still isn't married and shares an apartment with two of his friends from college.

Randy has a very promising future. He just arrived in California from Beijing. Back home Randy always spoke English very well because it was his ambition to do his college work in America. After he finished at one of the best high schools, he spent two years in the army. At first he wasn't sure he would get accepted to an American college, but finally he got into one of the best. He arrived in the States only four weeks ago, so he has many things to learn. He lives in the dormitory.

单词注释:

1. bright a 明亮的
2. spacious a 广阔的
3. rent v 租赁
4. worth a 相等于……的价值
5. polluted a. 受污染的
6. comparison n. 比较
7. lecture n. 讲课
8. scenic a. 风景优美的
9. armchair n. 摇椅
10. soup n. 汤
11. practical a. 实际的
12. attractive a. 吸引人的
13. modern a. 时髦的
14. manual n. 手册
15. useful a. 有用的
16. sour a. 酸的
17. popular a. 受欢迎的
18. narrow a. 窄的
19. hall n. 大厅
20. traditional a. 传统的