外研版高中英语必修3Module2文化角Town Twinning中英对照

Town Twinning 友好城市

How are Oxford in the UK and Grenoble in France similar? 英国的牛津市和法国的格勒诺布尔市是怎样的相似？

Well, they’re both medium-sized towns of between 100,000 and 200,000 inhabitants.

嗯，这两个城市都是居住人口在10-20万之间的中等规模城市。

They both have universities and industries. 这两座城市都有大学和实业公司。

Tourism is important to both of them, and they are both close to some of the most beautiful countryside in the region.

旅游业对两个城市都很重要，而且这两个城市都靠近当地最漂亮的乡村。

But they share something else: they have a town twinning agreement.

但这两个城市还可以共享一些其他的东西：因为这两个城市有友好城市协议。

Town twinning is not a new idea, but it has become more popular in recent years because it’s now easier to find out about and visit other countries and towns.

友好城市不是一个新概念，但近些年来它越来越流行，因为它使得现在更容易找到和游览其他国家和城镇。

It’s an agreement between towns or cities of similar size and age, and which have similar features such as tourism, industry, culture and entertainment.

友好城市是乡镇或城市之间的一个协议，这些城镇之间有着相似的规模和历史，还有一些相似的特色，比如旅游业、工业、文化和娱乐。

Town twinning agreements encourage people from the two towns to visit each other. 友好城市协议鼓励两个城镇的人们互访。

There are visits and exchanges between schools, theatre groups and sports teams. 学校、戏剧团体和运动队之间的互访和交流。

Visitors from the foreign town usually stay in the private homes of the town they are visiting. 从国外来的参观者通常住在所参观城市的当地人家中。

There is usually a big party for the visitors.

通常会为参观者们准备个大宴会。

Town twinning agreements are perhaps most useful for students and people who want to practice speaking another language.

友好城市协议也许对学生和想练习说另外一种语言的人最有用。

This is because living with a foreign family for one or two weeks means that you have to speak their language, and as a result you improve fast.

这是因为在外国家庭住1、2周意味着你必须说他们的语言，你会快速进步。