【英语趣味课堂】布宜诺斯艾利斯-Buenos Aires

Daniel: Hey how are you?

Valeria: Fine and you?

 

Daniel: Good thanks. I have a question. I'm planning to go to Buenos Aires.

 

Valeria: That's great.

 

Daniel: And I need your advice basically¹.

 

Valeria: Sure, no problem.

 

Daniel: What's the city like?

 

Valeria: Well, the first thing you will notice when you are there, it's like everybody in a hurry, everybody is busy.

 

Daniel: OK.

 

Valeria: And everybody has a lot of things to do. And I'm not only talking about working, right?

 

Daniel: What else?

 

Valeria: Usually porteos, people from Buenos Aires, is very stressful but once you finish your work, you have a lot of things to do in the city like you have plenty of cinemas, restaurants, theater, festivals. I don't know, so many things. Tell me what kind of things you like.

 

Daniel: I don't know. I'm looking for something that it's unique in Buenos Aires.

 

Valeria:: I think that one like unique from Buenos Aires is like art in the street.

 

Daniel: OK.

 

Valeria: This is one thing.

 

Daniel: What about it?

 

Valeria: Art in the street means² you are walking and you will find like people dancing tango.

 

Daniel: OK.

 

Valeria: Or people like playing music and that is free of charge of course.

 

Daniel: Yeah, because they're in the street.

 

Valeria: Yes. So once they finish they will offer you one hat and if you enjoy the spectacle³, you will put some money on there.

 

Daniel: OK, that's a good nice idea.

 

Valeria: Yeah. But besides these kind of shows, you can also find cultural spectacles⁴ more organized like in theater or there is an opera house, a big one, where you can also enjoy ballet⁵, like high quality opera and ballet.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

basically

 

 

I need your advice, basically.

 

You can use the word 'basically' to summarize⁶ what you would like to say. Notice the following:

 

He is just lonely, basically.

Basically, I am just too tired to go out tonight.

plenty of

 

 

You have plenty of cinemas, restaurants, theater, festivals.

 

If you have 'plenty of' something, you have enough of it.  Notice the following:

 

I have plenty of shoes, but I don't like any of them.

It's nice to go running around here at night, because there are plenty of lights.

unique

 

 

I'm looking for something that's unique in Buenos Aires.

 

Something that is 'unique' is different from all other things like it.  It is one of a kind. Notice the following:

 

She has a very unique style of dress that suits her personality⁷.

I can't tell if I like this soup.  It's very unique.

free of charge

 

 

You will find people dancing or playing music free of charge

 

When something is 'free of charge,' you don't have to pay for it. Notice the following:

 

The only thing you get free of charge on airplanes these days is something to drink.

You can try that gym for a week free of charge.

spectacle

 

 

If you enjoy the spectacle, you will put some money in there.

 

Used like this, 'spectacle' refers to a public performance or demonstration⁸.  Notice the following:

 

She is a big spectacle when she drinks too much.

They make quite a bit of money with their daily spectacles on the street.

 

1 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 spectacle   

n.（大规模）场面，壮观[pl.]眼镜

参考例句：

• She was fascinated at the spectacle of a rocket launching.她被发射火箭的壮观场面强烈地吸引住了。
• The opening ceremony was a fine spectacle.开幕式典礼是个壮观的场面。

4 spectacles   

n.眼镜

参考例句：

• a pair of spectacles 一副眼镜
• People wear spectacles so that they can see better. 人们戴眼镜是为了看得更清楚。

5 ballet   

n.芭蕾舞

参考例句：

• Angela studied ballet for six years.安吉拉学了六年芭蕾舞。
• She is a celebrated star of ballet.她是一个芭蕾舞明星。

6 summarize   

vt.概括，概述，总结

参考例句：

• I will summarize what I have done.我将概述我所做的事情。
• They need to find information quickly and be able to summarize it in clear language.他们需要快速找到信息并能用清晰的语言概述。

7 personality   

n.个性，人格，名人

参考例句：

• Einstein was a great personality.爱因斯坦是个伟大的人物。
• She has a powerful personality.她有坚强的个性。

8 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。