📙 Part 2: Describe a city that you think is very interesting

This episode's vocabulary

Landmark (noun) - a building or place that is easily recognized, especially one that you can use to judge where you are.

To encompass (verb) - to include different types of things.

Myriad (noun) - a very large number of something.

Ornate (adj.) - having a lot of complicated decoration.

Skyscraper (noun) - a very tall modern building, usually in a city.

Fast-paced (adj.) - happening very quickly.

Diverse (adj.) - including many different types of people or things.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory here is going to describe a city that he thinks is interesting. He's going to say where the city is, what it's famous for, why it's interesting, and Rory is going to explain how he feels about the city. Rory, are you excited?

R: I'm very excited to talk about my favorite city.

M: Yeah, bring it on, come on.

R: Well, how could I not speak about Moscow? Which is the capital city of Russia, more specifically, is located in the center of the European part of the country. Far from any coastal areas, though, it still gets plenty of water from the river of Moscow that runs through it, and it's where it gets its name from, or at least that's part of it anyway, I think it would be easier to talk about what it isn't famous for, rather than what it is. It's got just about everything. An interesting past, major landmarks, access to all kinds of shops, which sell everything from international brands to local goods and services. The architecture also encompasses a myriad of styles from the ornate Czarist era buildings to the Soviet period with influences of socialist realism. Right up to the modern skyscrapers of the Moscow City, which is the financial heart of the area. And I think it's also the financial heart of the country. Actually, I used to teach one of the chief architects for the buildings there, she made it sound incredibly impressive, I definitely couldn't do anything like that. I find it fascinating that all this can exist in one place. And it's really unusual for someone like me, who is like, I'm from such a small country, we only have about 6 million people. But in Moscow, there are 15 million, and you can almost feel it when you live there. Despite that, it's not all fast-paced, there are massive parks, which basically have their own ecosystems, and you can get lost in there and forget that you're surrounded by a major world capital. It's all very impressive. And all of this is supported by a very diverse and well developed infrastructure, from the, well, from the massive road network to the metro system, which is really well organized and runs underneath the city. So in a nutshell, I love Moscow, especially the people there. They're all wildly different and you could never get bored of it. I can't imagine living anywhere else like it. And I look forward to going back one day.

M: And what about your friends? Do they find this city interesting?

R: Yes, because they live there.

M: Hey, come back, Rory! Come to Moscow! When are you coming back already?

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