Views #418 | Low-Intermediate 4

Canada's Main Cities

Mike compares Canada's three main cities.

Script
Vocab
Quiz


Mike	Todd

Todd: OK, Mike, you are from Canada.

Mike: That's right.

Todd: So, actually I want to go to Canada for vacation. I've never been. What would you recommend for a Canadian vacation?

Mike: Well, it really just depends on the kind of holiday that you want to have. If you want to have a relaxing outdoors, kind of back to nature, kind of holiday, I'd recommend Vancouver. If you wanted to do a holiday that's maybe a little more culturally oriented. If you want experience, a different type of culture, Montreal, would be a city that I'd recommend, um, and if you wanted to go to a big multi-cultural city with a lot of nightlife and things to do with respect to entertainment, or sports, then I'd recommend Toronto.

Todd: So, have you been to all three cities?

Mike: Yes. I actually have lived most of my life in Toronto and in Montreal and, but I have spent some time in Vancouver as well, so, all three are very different in attitude and lifestyle and in the way people live.

Todd: How so? How is somebody from Toronto different than somebody from Vancouver?

Mike: Well, somebody from Toronto I think is a little bit more high paced, maybe you could almost say, they're a little bit more stresses out, just because the pace of life in Toronto is a little bit faster. It's kind of the big economic center of Canada, so it tend to have a lot more of a business culture to it, where as Vancouver, is much more, like many West Coast cities in the United States, as well, it's a lot more relaxed, a lot more easy-going, so there's a difference in culture there,and Montreal has a strong French-Canadian influence, so in fact, it's mostly French-Canadian, so that just changes the dynamic of the city.

Todd: OK, so if you were to live in any city, which one would you choose?

Mike: Of, those three? (Yeah) Personally I would think I would go for Montreal, just because I like the dynamic. The one bad point about Montreal is the weather.

Todd: What? It's very cold?

Mike: Yes, it gets very, very cold and it has a very long winter. In fact, the joke is that in Montreal the seasons are nine month of winter and three months of bad-skating.

Todd: OK, well, thanks, Mike.

Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

holiday

It depends on what kind of holiday you want to have.

When used like this, 'holiday' means the same as vacation. Notice the following:

They always go on adventure holidays.
I need to go away on a beach holiday and relax a little.

culture or recommend

If you want a different type of culture, Montreal would be a city that I'd recommend.

The 'culture' of a place is how the people act and what they think is important. You 'recommend' something if you think it is a good idea for what someone is looking for. Notice the following:

There are many differences between our cultures.
Are there any coffee shops around here that you would recommend for studying?

nightlife

If you wanted to go to a city with a lot of nightlife, then I'd recommend Toronto.

The 'nightlife' of a place is what people do for fun or socially at night. An example of nightlife would be bars or dance clubs. Notice the following:

Is nightlife important to you when you think about where you want to live?
It's a beautiful place to live, but there is almost no nightlife.

high paced or stressed out (although it spelled stresses out in the transcript)

Somebody from Toronto I think is a little bit more high paced or stressed out.

If you have a 'high paced' life it means that you are always moving at a fast pace and that everything happens quickly. If something or somebody is 'stressed out' it means that they feel very stressed or pressured. Notice the following: