- Audio Lessons 801 - 850
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After the Wedding
Views #850 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
His Wedding
Views #849 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Her Wedding
Views #848 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
New Year's Resolutions
Views #847 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Shibika's Year
Views #846 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Fred's Year
Views #845 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
New Outlook
Views #844 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Christmas Day
Views #843 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Fred's Gifts
Views #842 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Anja's Gifts
Views #841 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Christmas Tree
Views #840 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Canadian Santa
Views #839 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Swiss Santa
Views 838 | Free PDF / MP3 / PDF -
Tourism
Views #837 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Language Worries
Views #836 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Study in Mexico
Views #835 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Nutrition
Views #834 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Yoga
Views #833 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Health
Views #832 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Tennis
Views #831 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Fun Elsewhere
Views #830 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
House Party
Views #829 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Spiders
Views #828 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Creepy Crawlies
Views #827 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Stray Cats Part 2
Views #826 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Stray Cats Part 1
Views #825 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Hotel Costs
Views #824 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Bargains
Views #823 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Sri Lanka
Views #822 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Culture Contrast
Views #821 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
City vs Country
Views #820 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Bad Day
Views #819 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Fan Base
Views #818 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
After the Gig
Views #817 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Band Routine
Views #816 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
The Gig
Views #815 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Off to Osaka
Views #814 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
The Rock Band
Views #813 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Dance Teachers
Views #812 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Salsa Dancing
Views #811 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
The Belly Dance
Views #810 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Bears and Beasts
Views #809 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Wild Life
Views #808 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Alaska
Views #807 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Prague Vacation
Views #806 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
San Francisco
Views #805 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Prague
Views #804 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Jeans - Part 2
Views #803 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Jeans Part 1
Views #802 | Low-Intermediate 4 -
Finland
Views #801 | Low-Intermediate 4
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City vs Country
Michele: Yeah.
Joel: What part of Canada?
Michele: I lived in Ontario in a small town called Beaverton.
Joel: Beaverton. And so how big is the town?
Michele: It was pretty small, about seven or eight thousand people I think.
Joel: Wow, that's pretty small.
Michele: Yeah.
Joel: Did you like that?
Michele: I think when I was really little I liked it. It was nice to play outside with your friends and we always felt really safe. When I got older as a teenager, sometimes I thought it was pretty boring being in such a small town, but I think overall it was good to live in a small town.
Joel: What would you do for fun when you were a teenager?
Michele: Well, there was actually a movie theater in our small town so sometimes we'd go to the theater but it wasn't a great one. We usually went outside of the town into the city to go shopping or see a movie.
Joel: And so since then have you lived in any big cities?
Michele: I've lived near Tokyo in Japan, so that's a pretty big city. Yeah.
Joel: So I guess you prefer that then... to your hometown?
Michele: Well, actually I felt that Tokyo was too big of a city.
Joel: OK.
Michele: Yeah, so..
Joel: It's the opposite extreme.
Michele: Yeah, it's so crowded and the people aren't as friendly so...
Joel: That's probably a big difference between a small town and a big town, huh? Like you know practically everyone.
Michele: Yeah.
Joel: So, you walk into a store. You walk down the street, you can say 'hi' to almost everyone.
Michele: Yeah, well, actually, I've also lived in a really small town in Japan too and I prefered the small town in Japan to the big city like Tokyo. The people in the small town knew my name and were very friendly. If I needed any help then because it's a small town, everybody knows everything about the things in the town so if I needed to find a place or if I wanted to join a club I could easily get the information in a small town, whereas in a big city people don't know the things as well, so.
Joel: You also have to be careful what you do because everyone will talk.
Michele: That's true.
Joel: You can't hide.
Michele: In a small town, you don't have as much privacy but I think the friendliness outweighs the privacy issues.
Joel: OK, thanks Michele.
Michele: You're welcome.
I think overall
Overall it was good to live in a small town.
The term 'overall' is similar in meaning to 'generally speaking'. Notice the following:
- Somethings I didn't know, but overall the test was easy.
- Overall, they had no complaints.
there was actually
There was actually a movie theater.
Here, the phrase 'there was actually' is used to show surprise at finding something unusual. Notice the following:
- There was actually a McDonald's restaurant on the island.
- I couldn't believe there was nobody home.
opposite extreme
Tokyo is the opposite extreme.
We use the term 'opposite extreme' to describe something that is very different from something else. Notice the following:
- The weather in Singapore is the opposite extreme to Vancouver.
- Sometimes I need to experience the opposite extreme.
whereas
I could get information, whereas in a big town it's different.
Here, the word 'whereas' is similar in meaning to 'but'. Notice the following:
- It's cool in the north, whereas in the south it's really hot.
- He likes to sleep late, whereas I usually get up early.
outweighs
The friendliness outweighs the privacy issues.
When one thing 'outweighs' another, it is more important. Notice the following:
- The fun outweighs the danger.
- The convenience outweighs the cost.
Vocabulary Quiz
whereas • outweigh
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