Talking About Your Hometown - Spoken English Lesson

英文口說 — 描述您的故鄉

Hi, I'm Gina. Welcome to Oxford Online English!

嗨！我是Gina。 歡迎來到Oxford Online English！

您住在哪裡？ 您住在小鎮、大城市，或者遠方的農村？

Where do you live? Do you live in a small town, a big city, or a remote village?

What’s it like?

那裡是怎样的呢？

在本節課裡，您可以學習如何用英文描述您的故鄉。

In this lesson, you can learn how to describe your hometown in English.

我們先從一些基礎的英文字彙，來描述您的故鄉。

Let’s start with some basic English vocabulary You can use to talk about your hometown.

第一部分：介紹您的故鄉。

Part one: introducing your hometown.

我們先從一個簡單的句子開始。

Let’s start with a simple sentence.

"I live in a ________."

What could you say? You could say something like:

"I live in a ________."

"I live in a city"; "I live in a town"; "I live in a village."

您可以說什麼？您可以這樣說：

"I live in a city"; "I live in a town"; "I live in a village."

這是個好的開端，但是太基礎了。 我們來增加多一點的細節。

That’s a good start, but it’s very basic. Let’s add a bit more detail.

那裡叫做什麼？ 有多大？

What’s it called? How big is it?

"I live in Paris. It’s the capital city"; "I live in Shanghai. It’s a huge city";

"I live in Paris. It’s the capital city"; "I live in Shanghai. It’s a huge city";

"I live in a small town. It’s called Banbury"; "I live in Manarola, which is a tiny village

"I live in a small town. It’s called Banbury"; "I live in Manarola, which is a tiny village by the sea."

by the sea."

Better! You should always try to add more details when you speak.

很好！您要在說話時， 嘗試增加更多的細節。

那您呢？ 您住在哪裡？ 您可以造一兩句像那樣的句子嗎？

What about you? Where do you live? Can you make one or two sentences like this?

Pause the video and practice!

暫停影片來練習！

我們再繼續。我們要做出有更多 細節以及更有趣的回答。

Okay, let’s move on. We need to make ouranswers more detailed and interesting.

Part two: adding background and details.

第二部分：添加背景與細節。

Think about these questions:

想一想這些問題：

What’s your hometown famous for? Can you think of some words you could use to describe your hometown?

您的故鄉什麼東西很有名？您可以 想一些可以用於描述

故鄉的詞彙。您在那裡住了多久？

How long have you lived there?

Add these ideas to your answer to make it longer and more detailed. For example:

添加這些想法在您的回答裡，回答 會更長並有更多細節。

"I live in Paris, the capital city. It’s famous for its landmarks such as the Eiffel

"I live in Paris, the capital city. It’s famous for its landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower,

Notre Dame Cathedral or the Louvre. It’s also well-known for its food, of course!"

Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral or the Louvre. It’s also well-known for its food, of course!"

"I live in Shanghai. It’s a huge, bustling, international city. People from all over the

"I live in Shanghai. It’s a huge, bustling, international city.

People from all over the world live and work there."

world live and work there."

"I live in a small town called Banbury. I’ve been living there for about five years, since

"I live in a small town called Banbury. I’ve been living there for about five years,

since I finished university.

I finished university. It’s a pretty sleepy place, to be honest."

It’s a pretty sleepy place, to be honest."

我們來看看這些舉例裡一些在您 講話時能用上的

Let’s look at some useful vocabulary from these examples: Which you can use when you speak.

有用的單字。

We said:

我們說：

Paris is famous for its landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower.

"Paris is famous for its landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower."

Landmarks are famous places or buildings, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Sydney

地標是著名的地方或建築，像是巴黎的 艾菲爾鐵塔、雪梨歌劇院

Opera House or Christ the Redeemer in Rio.

或里約熱內盧的耶穌基督像。

Does your hometown have any famous landmarks? What are they called in English?

您的故鄉有任何著名的地標嗎？ 它們的英文怎麼說？

Next, we said:

接下來，我們說：

"Shanghai is a bustling city."

"Shanghai is a bustling city."

您知道這是什麼意思嗎？

那意思是有大量的活動。有很多人、 很多車流量、大量

Do you know what this means?

It means there’s a lot of activity.

There are lots of people, lots of traffic, lots of life and energy.

的生命和能量。

您的城市是繁華的還是寂靜的？如果 一個城鎮是寂靜的，那裡就沒有

Is your city bustling or sleepy? If a town is sleepy there’s not much activity and things are quiet.

太多的活動，並且都很平靜。

那您的故鄉呢？再看看 我們的問題：

What about your hometown. Look at our questions again:

您的故鄉什麼東西很有名？您可以 想一些能用來描述您的

What’s your hometown famous for? Can you think of some words you could use to describe your hometown?

故鄉的單字嗎？ 您住在那多久？

How long have you lived there?

您可以說說您的故鄉的什麼嗎？ 暫停影片並嘗試造兩三個句子。

What could you say about your hometown? Pause the video and try to make 2-3 sentences.

好了嗎？我們來看我們的下一個重點。

第三部分：說一下您喜歡 故鄉的什麼。

Okay? Let’s look at our next point.

Part three: Saying what you like about your hometown.

您的故鄉有什麼好的？ 您最喜歡它什麼？

What’s good about your hometown? What do you like most about it?

Different people like different things in a city or town.

在一個城市或城鎮裡的不同的人 會喜歡不同的事情。我們

Let’s look at some example sentences which express positive feelings:

來看一些形容正面觀感的句子.

"I love living in Paris. It’s got such a rich culture and there’s always something interesting going on."

"I love living in Paris. It’s got such a rich culture

"Shanghai’s a great place to live. It’s a real 24-hour city and you can meet people from all over the world."

"Living in Banbury suits me. It’s a quiet place

and it’s small enough that you can get to know your neighbours and have a sense of community."

What’s important for you?

Do you want to live somewhere with a rich culture and a sense of history,

or do you prefer more modern, international cities?

and there’s always something interesting going on."

Would you rather live somewhere larger and more energetic,

or somewhere smaller and more peaceful?

Think about these ideas. You’ll need them in a minute!

"Shanghai’s a great place to live. It’s a real 24-hour city and you can meet people

Let’s look at some useful language from our examples:

"I love living in _______"; "_______’s a great place to live"; "Living in _______ suits me."

Of course, you can change these to say what you want to:

"I quite like living in _______"; "I really like living in ________";

"I suppose I don’t mind living in ________."

We also saw some useful phrases in our examples:

"It’s got such a rich culture"; "There’s always something interesting going on";

"It’s a real 24-hour city"; "You can meet people from all over the world";

from all over the world."

"It’s small enough that you can get to know your neighbours"

"Living in Banbury suits me. It’s a quiet place and it’s small enough that you can

and have a sense of community

What does that last phrase mean?

If you have a sense of community,

it means people know their neighbours and feel like they belong to a wider community.

get to know your neighbours and have a sense of community."

Smaller towns and villages often have a better sense of community,

什麼對您來說是重要的？您想生活在 擁有豐富文化和歷史感的

perhaps because people have more time to talk to each other and do things together.

地方，還是您更喜歡現代化的國際 城市？您願意住在更大、

更充滿活力的地方，還是居住 在更小、更寧靜的地方？

您需要在一分鐘內考慮一下這些想法。

What about your hometown? Could you use any of these phrases to describe where you live?

我們來看一下我們的舉例裡 一些有用的說法：

"I love living in _______"; "_______’s a great place to live"; "Living in _______ suits

me."

當然，您可以改變這些 來說您想說的：

"I quite like living in _______"; "I really like living in ________";

"I suppose I don’t mind living in ________."

我們在例句裡也看到了一些有用的片語：

"It’s got such a rich culture"; "There’s always something interesting going on"; "It’s

a real 24-hour city"; "You can meet people from all over the world"; "It’s small enough

that you can get to know your neighbours"; "You have a sense of community."

Next, what if you don’t like something about your hometown?

最後一個片語是什麼意思？

如果您有社區意識，那意味著人們認識 他們的鄰居並感到像是他們

屬於一個比較大的社區。比較小的 城鎮和農村通常有更好的

社區意識，可能是因為 人們有更多的時間

一起閒聊和做事情。

您的故鄉呢？您可以用這些片語裡的任何 一些來描述您生活的地方嗎？

接下來，如果您不喜歡您的 故鄉的某些東西呢?

第四部分：說一些您不喜歡的。

Part four: saying what you dislike.

我們來看一些表達負面觀感的事例：

Let’s look at some examples which express negative feelings:

"Paris is great, but the cost of living is really high. That can be quite stressful because

"Paris is great, but the cost of living is really high. That can be quite stressful

because you’re always thinking about money and how to make ends meet."

you’re always thinking about money and how to make ends meet."

"Shanghai’s an exciting place, but it’s really crowded and it can be exhausting to

"Shanghai’s an exciting place, but it’s really crowded

and it can be exhausting to live there.

live there. Air quality can be an issue, particularly in the summer."

Air quality can be an issue, particularly in the summer."

"Banbury’s nice, but sometimes I find it a bit boring. There’s not much nightlife

"Banbury’s nice, but sometimes I find it a bit boring.

and sometimes it feels a bit cut off from the wider world."

There’s not much nightlife

and sometimes it feels a bit cut off from the wider world."

在談論您不喜歡您的故鄉的 事情時，您可以用形容詞

When talking about things you don’t like about your hometown.

You can use adjectives like, 'stressful', 'crowded', 'boring'.

像是：“stressful”、“crowded”、“boring”。

您可以用片語來做出更有趣的回答。 我們在我們的舉例裡看到了

You can make your answer more interesting by using phrases.

We saw some useful ones in our examples:

一些有用的：

"The cost of living is really high"; "You’re always thinking about how to make ends meet."

"The cost of living is really high"; "

You’re always thinking about how to make ends meet."

意思是：您總是在想要怎樣支付 您的日常生活費用。

Meaning: you’re always thinking about how to pay for your basic living costs.

"It can be exhausting to live there"; "Air quality can be an issue"; "There’s not much

"It can be exhausting to live there";

"Air quality can be an issue"; "

There’s not much nightlife"; "

nightlife"; "It feels a bit cut off from the wider world." 意思是： 您覺得

It feels a bit cut off from the wider world."

Meaning: you feel like you’re far away from people, culture and activity.

您像是與人群、文化和活動相距遙遠。

您可以用這些片語裡的任何 一些來描述您生活的地方嗎？

Could you use any of these phrases to describe your hometown?

記得您也可以改變片語來配合 您的看法。例如：

Remember that you can also change the phrases to fit your ideas. For example:

"Traffic can be an issue"; "There’s not much for young people to do"; "It can be very

"Traffic can be an issue";

"There’s not much for young people to do";

"It can be very stressful to live here."

stressful to live here."

好了，那您呢？嘗試造三四個句子。說一下您 喜歡或不喜歡故鄉的什麼。

Okay, what about you? Try to make 3-4 sentences. Say what you like and dislike about your hometown.

Use the key words and phrases from parts 3 and 4.

使用第三部分和第四部分裡的 關鍵單字和片語。

Go on, pause the video and practice!

繼續，暫停影片並做練習！

Okay? We have one more thing to do:

好了嗎？我們要多做一件事：

Part five: describing how it’s changed over time.

第五部分：描述它是怎麼隨著 時間的遷移變化的。

您的故鄉十年前、二十年前或五十年前 是怎樣的？它怎樣改變的？

What was your hometown like ten, twenty or fifty years ago?

How has it changed?

How has it changed over time?

它是怎麼隨著 時間遷移變化的。

Some places change very fast; other places never seem to change at all!

一些地方變得很快；其他的地方 看起來從未有任何改變！

Talking about changes can add interesting and useful information to your description.

談論改變可以給您的描述裡添加 有趣和有用的資訊。

Let’s look:

"Paris has changed a lot in the last twenty years.

我們看一下：

It’s much more international and much more expensive than it used to be.

"Paris has changed a lot in the last twenty years. It’s much more international and

much more expensive than it used to be. However, the soul of the city is still there. Paris

However, the soul of the city is still there.

Paris will always be Paris!"

will always be Paris!"

"Shanghai is almost unrecognisable compared to twenty or thirty years ago. The city has

"Shanghai is almost unrecognisable compared to twenty or thirty years ago.

The city has expanded so much, both physically and economically.

expanded so much, both physically and economically. It’s amazing when you see old photos of

It’s amazing when you see old photos of the city;

the city; things are so different now!"

things are so different now!"

"Banbury hasn’t changed much as a place in the last twenty years, but the mix of people

"Banbury hasn’t changed much as a place in the last twenty years,

but the mix of people is a bit different nowadays.

is a bit different nowadays. The population used to be older and mostly English, whereas

The population used to be older and mostly English,

whereas now there are more young people living here, including many people from other parts of Europe."

now there are more young people living here, including many people from other parts of

Europe."

Again, these examples contain a lot of useful language you can use to talk about your hometown.

同樣，這些舉例包含大量的您能用來 談論故鄉的有用說法。

For example:

例如：

"________ has changed a lot in the last twenty years"; "________ is almost unrecognisable

"________ has changed a lot in the last twenty years";

compared to twenty years ago"; ________ hasn’t changed much as a place in the last twenty

"________ is almost unrecognisable compared to twenty years ago"

years."

在您的故鄉，哪一些句子描述的是真實的？ 您可以添加細節解釋為什麼嗎？

; ________ hasn’t changed much as a place in the last twenty years."

Which of these sentences is true for your hometown? Can you add details to explain why?

For example:

"It’s much more ________ than it used to be"; "The city has ________ so much"; "

例如：

"It’s much more ________ than it used to be"; "The city has ________ so much"; "The

The________ is a bit different nowadays."

________ is a bit different nowadays."

Now, you’ve seen a lot of useful language you can use to talk about your hometown.

現在，您看到了大量的您能用來談論 故鄉的有用說法。我們來

把所有東西都放在一起，來練習 做出一個更長的回答。

Let’s put everything together and practice making a longer answer.

Part six: review.

第六部分：複習。

您記得我們談論的所有重點嗎？ 我們談到了：

Do you remember all the points we talked about? We covered:

Introducing your hometown, adding background and details, talking about what you like or dislike about it,

介紹您的故鄉、添加背景和細節、 談論您喜歡什麼或不喜歡

什麼、談論它是怎樣隨著 時間遷移改變的。

talking about how it’s changed over time.

追隨這些重點您可以做出長的、有細節 的回答來描述您的故鄉。

Follow these points and you can make a long, detailed answer to describe your hometown.

For example:

例如：

"I live in St Petersburg.

"I live in St Petersburg. It’s the second largest city in Russia, and it’s a beautiful

It’s the second largest city in Russia,

and it’s a beautiful place to live.

I’ve lived here all my life and I can’t imagine living anywhere else!

place to live. I’ve lived here all my life and I can’t imagine living anywhere else!

It has such a rich culture, I think partly because the city’s history is a mix of European

It has such a rich culture,

I think partly because the city’s history is a mix of European and Russian influences.

and Russian influences. I think that’s why I like it here—it’s a unique place. Traffic

I think that’s why I like it here—it’s a unique place.

Traffic can be an issue in the city centre, but public transport is very good.

can be an issue in the city centre, but public transport is very good. The city hasn’t

The city hasn’t changed much in the last twenty years,

changed much in the last twenty years, although there are certainly more and more tourists

although there are certainly more and more tourists these days!"

these days!"

您能做出一個像這樣的回答嗎？首先 我們來多做一個例子。我會

Could you make an answer like this?

Let’s do one more example first.

I’ll tell you about my hometown:

告訴您我的故鄉：

"I’m from Denver, the capital of Colorado. It’s near the Rocky Mountains, so the surrounding

"I’m from Denver, the capital of Colorado.

It’s near the Rocky Mountains, so the surrounding area is quite beautiful.

area is quite beautiful. I’ve been living here for about three years. I really like

I’ve been living here for about three years.

I really like Denver because it’s a young city with lots of energy,

Denver because it’s a young city with lots of energy, but if you need a break it’s

but if you need a break it’s easy to drive to the mountains and find a quiet place to relax.

easy to drive to the mountains and find a quiet place to relax. The only real disadvantage

The only real disadvantage is that winter can be seriously cold!

is that winter can be seriously cold! Denver’s changed quite a lot in the last twenty years—many

Denver’s changed quite a lot in the last twenty years

Many people are moving here to work.

people are moving here to work. Unfortunately, the cost of living has also gone up quite

Unfortunately, the cost of living has also gone up quite a lot."

a lot."

好的，現在改輪到您了！談論您的 故鄉，做一個像這樣的

Okay, now it’s definitely your turn! Talk about your hometown. Make a longer answer

like these ones.

更長的回答。

If you want, you can post your answer in the video comments. We’ll give you feedback

如果您願意，您可以在影片的留言板 發表您的回答。我們會用您的

on your English.

英文給您回饋意見。

That’s the end of the lesson. I hope you learned something useful!

本節課到此結束。我希望您學到 一些有用的東西！

If you want to see more of our free English lessons, check out our website: Oxford Online

如果您想看更多的我們的免費 英文課程，訪問我們的網站：

English dot com.

Oxford Online English dot com.

Thanks for watching, and see you next time!

感謝觀看，下次見！