英語趣味課堂：住在島嶼上還是住在城市里-Living in the Island or in the City

Mark: It's funny when we lived in Ogasawara though, isn't it? There were so many positive things but there is also certain things we missed. But firstly, can you recall any of those really, really special positive things that felt when you lived there?

Sorie: It was just a very peaceful lifestyle, very connected to nature. The beaches were gorgeous. The weather was really nice. People were very warm, but yeah, after last year, that was the hardest for me. I started to miss so many things about living in mainland Japan.

Mark: What kind of things did you miss?

Sorie: I missed going to the movies, going to a café and sitting down and reading books and reading magazines, and all of that that comes with a big city, the cultural aspects of it.

What about you? What did you miss?

Mark: Yeah, those things like everything was so naturally confined, so you could—the entertainment, you knew what was going to happen. So when we came back to mainland Japan, they're so unpredictable, you could, as you say, go for a drive or take a train and stumble across some café or some restaurant that you've never seen before and go in and you're anonymous and they had a menu that you never seen before. And you could sit there and then read and enjoy that. And it was impossible to enjoy that in Ogasawara, to do such things. And there certainly wasn't any cinemas or anything like that or shopping centers or modern things.

Sorie: Would you like to go back?

Mark: I'd love to go back there because the community was so strong and so solid. And it felt—I wasn't born there and I'm not even Japanese but I felt completely like I was in my hometown every time I was there and totally accepted in the place and in the community.

But as we found out since we've left there, the world is huge and there's so many communities and so many places all over the world. And I could go back, but I could go to a new place equally. How about you?

Sorie: Personally, I found it too difficult to live so close to nature. I'd say that was a great experience but I wouldn't do it again.

Mark: You wouldn't like to live so close to nature anymore.

Sorie: In an island. Yeah, that's one of the things that made it so difficult. But overall, it was a wonderful experience and I recommend people to go there and see all the beautiful nature that Ogasawara has.

Mark: Such nice memories.

End of Transcript

重點詞匯：

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson!

connected to nature

We felt connected to nature.

When you are connected to nature, it is a part of your life. Notice the following:

In the countryside, I feel connected to nature.

You do not feel connected to nature in a big city.

aspect

I like the cultural aspects of it.

An aspect is one part of connected or similar things. Notice the following:

Stretching is one aspect of fitness people overlook.

Spending time with family is one aspect of a happy life.

unpredictable

They're so unpredictable.

If something is unpredictable, you are unsure how it will act in the future. Notice the following:

The future is unpredictable.

The market is very unpredictable. You do not know what it will do.

stumble across

We stumbled across a nice café.

When you stumble across something, you find it by accident. Notice the following:

I stumbled across some old photos in the attic.

We stumbled across a nice Thai restaurant.

anonymous

You go in and you're anonymous.

When you are anonymous, people do not know whe you are. Notice the following:

It is hard to be anonymous with social media these days.

In the city, it is easy to be anonymous.

totally accepted

I was totally accepted.

When you are totally accepted, people support you within their group. Notice the following:

I feel totally accepted at my new job.

As a foreigner, I was never totally accepted.