Study Options
418 Canada's Main Cities
Mike compares Canada's three main cities.
- Transcript
- Vocabulary
 |
 |
Mike
|
Todd
|
Print Now
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.
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:
- She likes to eat fried food when she gets stressed out.
- His job is very high paced and stressful around the
holidays.
dynamic
Montreal has a strong French-Canadian influence, so that
just changes the dynamic of the city.
The 'dynamic' of a place is how it feels or how the different parts work together to make everything function. Notice the following:
- There is a big difference in the dynamics of a college
class and a high school class.
- The dynamic in the office really changed after he left.
