📙 Part 2: Describe a new development (e.g., a shopping mall) in your town or city

This episode's vocabulary

To loathe (verb) - hate someone or something.

Monstrosity (noun) - something that is very ugly and usually large.

Waterfront (noun) - a part of a town that is next to an area of water such as a river or the sea.

To stand/stick out like a sore thumb (idiom) - if someone or something stands/sticks out like a sore thumb, everyone notices them because they are very different from the people or things around them.

To put up (phrasal verb) - to build something.

Order (noun) - the state of working correctly or of being suitable for use.

Dull (adj.) - not interesting or exciting in any way.

To defeat (verb) - to win against someone in a fight, war, or competition.

Localized (adj.) - happening in or limited to a particular area.

Post hoc (adj.) - made or happening only after an event, not planned or decided before it happens.

Justification (noun) - a good reason or explanation for something.

Bizarre (adj.) - very strange and unusual.

For the sake of someone/for someone's sake - because of, or for the purpose of something.

Be the bee's knees (idiom) - to be excellent or of an extremely high standard.

Forefront (noun) - the most noticeable or important position.

Vast (adj.) - extremely big.

Manifestation (noun) - the appearance.

Avant-garde (adj.) - avant-garde ideas, styles, and methods are very original or modern in comparison to the period in which they happen.

Needless to say (idiom) - as you would expect; added to, or used to introduce, a remark giving information that is expected and not surprising.

In line with something (idiom) - similar to, or at the same level as something.

Indepth (phrase) - in a serious and detailed way.

Questions and Answers

M: Rory, bring us your story.

R: Oh, I could go on for days about how much I loathe the Victoria and Albert Museum monstrosity they've built in Dundee. It's not hard to miss since it dominates the waterfront area of most of the city. And stands out from the local architecture like a sore thumb, almost as soon as you come into the city from the south by road or on the train coming over the water. I don't remember exactly how long it took to complete, but I think it was put up in rather short order. Which is the only good thing I could say about it, to be honest with you. It's a dull white building that looks like an alien spaceship. Although the architect apparently wanted it to look like the cliffs of a town further up the road from Dundee. Which sort of defeats the purpose of having it designed this way in Dundee. I mean, if we are going down the localised design road, then wouldn't it make more sense to make it look like something closer to home? Literally closer to home, I mean. I think it's just a post hoc justification of why it looks so bizarre. It's just been done for the sake of it, really. However, this is entirely in keeping with how my hometown sees itself at times. Which is to say, a lot of the people who live there think it's the bee's knees and at the forefront of everything. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case for the vast majority of things and people in Dundee for about 100 years. So this museum is more like a visual manifestation of this need to appear avant-garde. When the place is anything but that. You can see the way it's been built next to an exploration ship, which is almost 100 years old. It makes for quite the contrast because one is just a bizarre image and the other is quite interesting. It's got a clear connection to the past and the area. Needless to say, I'm not a big fan of this development. Though, I'm not at all surprised by it. If I had been in charge, it would be a lot more pleasing to look at and more in line with how the city actually is. Rather than how people would like it to be.

M: And what about your friends? What do they think about this new development?

R: I haven't really spoken in depth with them about it, but I don't think they're impressed either, to be honest with you.