VIP Class Notes (Ally)

Vocabulary

skincare: 护肤品
ie. I had to buy very expensive skincare when I lived in BJ.

capable: 有能力的
ie. He is a very capable person to be a CEO at twenty-five.

percentage: 百分比
ie. The percentage of beautiful girls on the streets is higher in Chengdu.

flights: 航班
ie. There are more flights to choose from in central cities such as Chengdu.

freight (train): 货物（拉货的火车）
ie. This is a freight train so there are no passengers.

fitted with：有什么什么配备的
ie. This house is fitted with lots of rooms and a swimming pool.

man（verb）：to look after/monitor
ie. Please man my station while I’m gone.

steward：server
ie. He is a steward for the owners of that big house.

resident pianist：常驻的钢琴家
ie. Only the best trains feature a resident pianist.

Q: How do you like Shanghai? What kind of city is SH? Would you recommend it to a newcomer like me?
A: I like SH, this city is not so dry like Beijing. It’s not so wet like my hometown. SH is a international city. I like SH not only because it is a modern city but also it’s a city can attractive by a lot of good people. And SH is the convenient city. In the past, if you want to go from Jingan Temple to my home Songjiang, it takes over two hours. But now, just less than one hour, you can get home. I would recommend it to a newcomer like you.
Edited: I like SH. This city is not too dry, unlike BJ. It is also not too wet , unlike my hometown. SH is an international city. I like SH not only because it is a modern city but also because it’s a city that/which can attract a lot of capable and interesting people. And SH is a convenient city. In the past, if you want to go from Jingan Temple to my home in Songjiang, it takes over two hours. But now, it takes just less than one hour.／In the past, it takes over two hours to get from Jingan Temple to my home in Songjiang but now, with the new metro line, it only takes less than one hour. So I would recommend it to a newcomer like you.

Q: Do you have another city in China or in the world that you like? Why?
A: Another city I like in China is Chengdu. Chengdu is also a convenient city and I think it’s a young city. When you walk on the road, you can see many young and fashion, beautiful girls. There are many good food in Chengdu, I really like eat spicy food, so Chengdu’s food is fit for me. I like Chengdu also because it’s a center city to travel. I like climbing hills and hiking so I think if I can live in Chengdu, it’s really good for me to often travel around.

Edited:Another city in China that I like is Chengdu. Chengdu is also a convenient city but unlike SH, I think it’s a young city. When you walk on the road, you can see many young and fashionable, beautiful girls./ There are many young and fashionable girls on the streets of Chengdu. There are also many good food in Chengdu, which is another reason why I like it there so much. I really like eating spicy food, so Chengdu’s food is a good fit for me. I like Chengdu also because it’s a central city for traveling. I like climbing hills and hiking so I think if I can live in Chengdu, it’s really good for me to often go hiking or mountain-climbing near the city.

Who doesn’t love a train? Since the invention of the first steam-powered locomotive in the UK in 1804, this powerful mode of transport has helped keep human progress on track. If they weren’t hauling freight in cars, they’d be pulling passengers in carriages. In the modern era, the iron horse is still chugging along under its own steam. And these days, many are attracted to it for its comfort, style and luxury.

In the UK, a new £150m fleet of Caledonian Sleepers has just been unveiled. These overnight trains provide an experience that will ‘transform travel between London and Scotland,’ says Ryan Flaherty of Serco, the company operating the rail service, in a BBC article. Indeed, the fleet features 40 sleeper carriages fitted with showers, a club car for dining and new engineering in the couplers to prevent shunting from waking resting passengers.

But it doesn’t stop there. All over the globe, luxury trains deliver comfort and opulence on rails to passengers looking to let off steam. Why not try a whistle-stop tour of India on The Maharajas’ Express? Taking 88 guests at a time on a four or eight-night trip, the train boasts restaurant cars, a bar and a lounge. If South Africa is more to your taste, you can travel for over 31 hours from Cape Town to Pretoria in a spacious cabinboasting five-star service on The Blue Train. Fancy South America? The Belmond Andean Explorer is its first sleeper train. They boast it is one of the highest train routes in the world. It can whisk you across Peru from Cusco, the Incan capital, to Arequipa, ‘the White City’. And of course, no mention of locomotive luxury would be complete without the famous Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the well-known setting of a popular murder mystery novel. Travelling across Europe to various destinations such as London, Paris and Venice, its art deco cabins are manned by stewards and feature a resident pianist.