英語口語對話（中級）Lesson 3: Balcony Gardening

Dialogue:
Vanessa: Hey Nick, guess where I spend my vacation last summer – in Crete!! Nick: Wow, lucky you, it must have been a blast!
Vanessa: It sure was! It was just gorgeous, especially all the flowers on my hotel balcony.
Nick: Why? What was so special about it?
Vanessa: Oh, it was just … beautiful! There were so many different flowers and plants on it that it looked like… I don’t know how to describe it to you… like the Garden of Eden in miniature maybe? There were lots of flowers we don’t have here like jasmine, which smells great.
Nick: Wow, sounds wonderful! Balcony gardening is just getting started here in Toronto.
Vanessa: Now, here’s Lisa live from Toronto on line one to tell us more about balcony gardening.
Vanessa: Hi, Lisa.
Nick: Hi there, Lisa.
Lisa: Hi. Balcony gardening is one of the latest trends in TO. Tony, here, is going to tell us about how he has turned his balcony into a small lush sanctuary.
Tony: Hi all. Well, because of the weather in Canada balcony gardening is probably not as easy as it might be in Greece. For starters my condo is way up on the 24th floor with a balcony facing north – strike one. Strike two is the fact we’re so high up, so there’s less moisture in the atmosphere. But even though my balcony is very small, I’ve still managed to create a pretty impressive garden. All you need is patience and a green thumb.
Lisa: You certainly seem to have both Tony. Back to you Vanessa and Nick.

Now answer the following question…
What are Vanessa, Lisa, Tony and Nick talking about? They’re talking about balcony gardening in Greece and in Toronto.
Now listen again to the dialogue in parts. After each part there will be 3 to 4 questions on the details...
Part 1
Vanessa: Hey Nick, guess where I spend my vacation last summer – in Crete!! Nick: Wow, lucky you, it must have been a blast!
Vanessa: It sure was! It was just gorgeous, especially all the flowers on my hotel balcony.
Nick: Why? What was so special about it?
Vanessa: Oh, it was just … beautiful! There were so many different flowers and plants on it that it looked like… I don’t know how to describe it to you… like the Garden of Eden in miniature maybe? There were lots of flowers we don’t have here like jasmine, which smells great.
Nick: Wow, sounds wonderful! Balcony gardening is just getting started here in Toronto.
Vanessa: Now, here’s Lisa live from Toronto on line one to tell us more about balcony gardening.
Now answer some questions…
1. Nick says: “Wow, lucky you, it must have been a blast!” What does “blast” mean? The word “blast” is used to describe an exciting experience or event.
2. What does Nick express when he says: “Wow, sounds wonderful!” He expresses his surprise and pleasure.
3. Why does Nick ask Vanessa: “What was so special about it?”

Because he wants to find out more about Vanessa’s hotel balcony on Crete. Back at the radio studio again; Vanessa and Nick are talking to Lisa and Tony live from his condo in Toronto…
Part 2
Vanessa: Hi, Lisa.
Nick: Hi there, Lisa.
Lisa: Hi. Balcony gardening is one of the latest trends in TO. Tony, here, is going to tell us about how he has turned his balcony into a small lush sanctuary.
Tony: Hi all. Well, because of the weather in Canada balcony gardening is probably not as easy as it might be in Greece. For starters my condo is way up on the 24th floor with a balcony facing north – strike one. Strike two is the fact we’re so high up, so there’s less moisture in the atmosphere. But even though my balcony is very small, I’ve still managed to create a pretty impressive garden. All you need is patience and a green thumb. Lisa: You certainly seem to have both Tony. Back to you Vanessa and Nick.
Now answer some questions…
1. Tony says: “…my condo is way up on the 24th floor…” What does “way up” mean? Way up means high up.
2. Tony says: “But even though my balcony is very small, I’ve still managed to create a pretty impressive garden.” What do you think “impressive” means? When something is impressive it is so nice or beautiful that you admire it.
3. What does Tony mean when he says: “All you need is patience and a green thumb.”? He means you need nothing else except patience and a talent for gardening.

GLOSSARY
1.Blast (noun): an exciting or enjoyable experience or event, often a party.
e.g. You should have come with us last night, we had a real blast!
2.Lush (adjective): (1) (of places, furniture, decoration, etc.) expensive and luxurious. E.g. a lush carpet (2) A lush area has a lot of green, healthy plants, grass and trees. E.g. lush green valleys
3.Moisture (noun): water in very small drops. Most plants need moisture in order to grow. E.g. Cactuses do not need a lot of moisture. That is why they are found in dry climates.
4.Pretty (adverb): informally pretty is used to mean “quite.”
E.g. The house has four bedrooms, so it's pretty big.
5.Sanctuary (noun): a safe place, one that offers protection, peace and quiet.
E.g. If I want some peace and quiet, I take sanctuary in my study.
6.Trend (noun): a change in a situation or in the way people see or do things.
E.g. The trend at the moment is towards a more natural and less made-up look. 7.Turn into (verb): to change something into something else.
E.g. Peter turned his basement into a pool room.
8.Way up (prepositional phrase): high up.
e.g. Can you see that plane, way up there?