Toronto
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Marika
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Todd
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Todd: Hey, Marika! What is your home town?
Marika: My hometown is Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Todd: OK, and how many people live there?
Marika: About 4 million people.
Todd: Oh really?
Marika: Mm-hm. It's the biggest city in Canada.
Todd: Really. What is the best thing about it?
Marika: The best thing about Toronto is that it's a very multi-cultural city, and there is a really big mix of different people and there is lots of different things going on and lots of different cultural events and different restaurants and it's really interesting to meet all the different people.
Todd: What is the worst thing about it?
Marika: The worst thing about it is that I grew up there so I don't think it's as exciting as it probably is.
Todd: Oh, really.
Marika: Like sometimes I just get bored there because I'm used to it. Is that a bad thing?
Todd: No
Marika: That's weird. Let me say that again. What's the worst thing about it, OK, can I say the worst thing about it?
Todd: Yeah
Marika: One more time?
Todd: Sure
Marika: The worst thing about Toronto is that it's expanding and a lot of the farmland that is outside of Toronto is now being developed into condominiums and suburbs and it's really good farmland but now it's just being turned into suburbs which is really bad I think.
multi-cultural
Toronto is a very multi-cultural city.
A 'multi-cultural city' has people from all different cultural background or ethnicity, basically people from many different parts of the world. Notice the following:
- I am living in a house with people from all over the world. It's a multi-cultural experience.
- Was your high school really multi-cultural?
grow up
I grew up in Toronto.
The place where you 'grow up' is where you live from when you are a child to an adult, or where you spend most of your childhood. Notice the following:
- She grew up in a big city, but now she lives in a small town.
- Did you grow up close to here?
bored
I just get bored in Toronto because I'm used to it.
To be 'bored' is to want to do something and have nothing interesting to do. You can also feel bored if you are doing something that is not interesting. Notice the following:
- There are so many new things to see that you will never feel bored.
- He always felt tired and bored in math class.
develop
Farmland outside of Toronto is now being developed.
To 'develop' an area of land is build house, building, stores, schools, and streets on it. To make it a place where people can live. Notice the following:
- He bought a piece of land to develop into a neighborhood.
- They developed this part of the city really fast. A few years ago there were almost no houses out here.
condominiums
Farmland is being developed into condominiums.
A 'condominium' is like an apartment house. It is bigger than an apartment and usually has two or more floors and a separate entrance, but it is attached to another condominium. This word is frequently shortened to "condo." Notice the following:
- After her husband died she moved into a condominium because she didn't need a lot of space.
- They have a vacation condominium on the beach.
Vocabulary Quiz
developed • condo
Howard is a motorcycle enthusiast. He talks about his bike and hitting the road.
Keith answers the questions, "What would you do with a million dollars?"
