專欄教學｜And the world's most expensive city is... 世界排行中，十大生活環境最昂貴的城市－看CNN學英文

當我們在台灣不斷的抱怨民生消費高漲，房價高漲，痛苦指數破表的同時，讓我們來看看其他國家的人民是怎麼過活的呢? 其實相較下來，在台灣的生活消費已經算是便宜的了，在國外，如果要用台幣100以下解決一餐，幾乎是不可能的事情，跟加拿大比起來，台幣100就等於加幣3塊錢而已，頂多只能夠買一條土司或是買最基本的pizza。營養上，不可能像台灣的便當一樣那麼的均衡又豐盛。而且，像是台灣的7-11早餐39元這樣的價格，在國外是不可能的事情。雖然相較之下，台灣的消費比較便宜，不過，相對的，我們的收入也是遠遠不及歐美國家。另外，如果再考量到稅收等因素的話，住哪裡比較貴就很難說了，因為像加拿大的income tax就幾乎要佔你收入的三分之一了。現在讓我們來看看這個世界上消費最昂貴的城市前十名有哪些吧!

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/11/travel/tripadvisor-expensive-cities/

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

▪ London named most expensive city destination in TripAdvisor survey
▪ Evening out and overnight stay in four-star hotel costs average of $523 in English capital
▪ Weekend in Hanoi can be cheaper than a meal out in Stockholm

TripAdvisor 是一個旅遊評論網站，在國外算是蠻有公信力的，很多人會公開分享旅遊中的飯店好壞。
Evening out 的意思是指晚上外出的活動，這當然包含了去夜店、吃晚餐等。
Meal out 就是外出用餐。

10. Sydney

A weekend break in Sydney is relatively cheaper than it was last year -- the city dropped four places on this year's TripAdvisor survey of the world's most expensive holiday cities.

Weekend break 就是指周末時外出放鬆的小旅遊
Four places 這邊的places不是指地方，而是在說名次，first place就是第一名

9. Toronto

Could high prices in Toronto finally be a reason for the rest of the world to get upset with Canadians? Probably not. As always, they're by no means the worst offenders.

Get upset with 是對…感到反感或是厭煩，如果你討厭一個人或是一個東西的時候，就可以說 I am getting upset with John because he is always late.
By no means 是 “絕不” 的意思，在這裡是在說就算Toronto這個地方消費那麼高，也不會讓其他國家的人對加拿大人反感，因為他們 “絕不” 是糟糕的壞人，也就是說，普遍的人都認為加拿大人都很友善。

8. Helsinki

Regularly named one of the world's best cities to live in, Helsinki is ruined only by the sound of tourists grumbling about their hotel bills.

Ruin 是破壞，或是毀壞的意思
Grumble是抱怨或是碎碎念的意思，在這裡是指sound of tourist也就是觀光客常常會抱怨這裡的住宿太貴

7. Copenhagen

With Danish restaurants charging top dollar for seaweed foraged from shorelines, imagine what actual food costs in Copenhagen.

Top dollar是指昂貴的價格
Foraged是覓食的意思，這裡是指這些昂貴的餐廳會那麼貴都是因為他們直接在海岸邊打撈海帶等海產，新鮮食材直接烹調，現撈現吃。

6. Zurich

Good thing you set up that secret Swiss bank account all those years ago. You'll need to dip into it to enjoy a weekend in Zurich.

Dip into 就是指 “動用” ，在這裡是動用你在瑞士帳號的存款，才能夠在蘇黎士好好的享受一個周末

5. Oslo, Norway

It helps that winter gets so cold in Oslo. Why else would anyone pay $52 for a three-kilometer cab ride?

在國外除了用Taxi稱呼計程車之外，大部分的人都會說cab。招計程車通常會說grab a cab

4. Stockholm

For the price of an evening meal for two in Stockholm, visitors could be living it up in Hanoi. They might struggle to find a decent plate of pickled herring though.

Living it up 的意思是可以在一個地方過著高檔又有品質的生活
Struggle 是奮力或努力的掙扎著
Decent 是指很不錯的，還不到高檔貨，不過算是中上的品質
Pickled 是指醃製過後的，在國外通常會用醋來醃製黃瓜或是魚肉

3. New York

No wonder the Yankees paid Masahiro Tanaka $155 million to play baseball in New York. Views like this one don't come cheap.

在美國紐約的消費也是非常的高，要不然怎麼會有錢以美金155 million聘請Masahiro到洋基隊呢?

2. Paris

Paris visitors might be tempted to splutter over their cocktails when they get the check. Or at least they would if they could afford to spill a single drop.

Be tempted 受到引誘; 動心。當我們在選購物品的時候，如果一時心動買了下去，就可以說 I got tempted when I saw the beautiful bag so I decided to buy it.
Splutter over 就是spit out; 驚嚇到噴出口

1. London

Views over the river are about the only thing you won't be charged for in the English capital. TripAdvisor says a weekend city break in London will set you back about $523.