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Pontevedra, The (Mostly) Car-Free City 無車化的城市(上)
空中英語教室 20241115
Pontevedra朋提威德拉，是一個位於伊比利半島西北部，在河海邊緣，被群山環抱的西班牙城市，屬於加利西亞自治區，是朋提威德拉省的首府，也是一個經濟中心和旅遊勝地。 朋提威德拉以其城市規劃、行人專用區和歷史中心的魅力而聞名。
修正英文文法，保留中文部分，同時將簡體中文修改為繁體中文
Sure! Let’s continue with the next part of the script. Heres the continuation of the text:
Here is the corrected version of your text, with the grammar adjustments and simplified Chinese converted to traditional Chinese:
Hey friends, welcome back to Studio Classroom! Do you drive a car?
If you’re a kid, I hope you don’t drive a car. But today, we are talking about the advantages of not driving a car.
I’m John.
My name is Anne Marie.
And today is a great day to learn something new! Anne Marie, I’ve got a question for you.
Okay, do you rely on a car for transportation?
Oh, this is a great question. I did use to rely on a car for transportation, actually. Earlier this year, my family decided to go car-free. We live downtown Taipei, so it’s actually really convenient to get everywhere we need to go using public transportation or just walking. We found that we’ve saved a lot of money by getting rid of our car.
We did too.
It’s true, having a car can be useful, but sometimes going car-free is a better option. Today, we’re going to learn about how one Spanish city solves a lot of problems by trying to go car-free. But how did they do that? Well, let’s find out together in our reading.
Pontevedra: The Mostly Car-Free City
Restricting motor vehicles has brought new life to this Spanish city.
In 1999, the city of Pontevedra, Spain, faced numerous problems: polluted air, a struggling economy, congested streets, and the departure of young families. That year, Mayor Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores took office and proposed an unconventional solution—get rid of cars. Now, 24 years later, his "fewer cars, more city" campaign has transformed Pontevedra.
Hey everyone, welcome to Language Lab!
I’m Jack.
首先來看形容詞 "unconventional"。意思是非傳統的，或是不同尋常的。例如：
Facing a water shortage, some communities are exploring unconventional solutions like harvesting rainwater.
面對水資源短缺，一些社區正在探討傳統以外的解決方案，例如收集雨水。
The unconventional artist used everyday objects like bottle caps and metal to create stunning pieces of art.
這位不按常理出牌的藝術家利用瓶蓋和金屬等日常物品，創作出令人驚艷的藝術作品。
Judy’s unconventional study habits, which involved working in nature to get ideas, surprised her classmates but proved very effective.
茱莉不尋常的讀書習慣，如在大自然中散步來獲得靈感，讓她的同學們感到驚訝，但證明非常有效。
Okay, time for some Spanish!
You thought you were learning English, but no, today Pontevedra is the name of the city we’re talking about, Emory.
There’s an "r" sound that is hard to say, but we can say "Pontevedra," right?
That’s right! I’m going to pronounce it "Pontevedra." You can roll your "r" at the end there. That’s a sound that exists in the Spanish language. But actually, John, we are learning English today, so don’t worry if you can’t do it. Friends, I can’t do it either.
The title of this article today is "Pontevedra: The Mostly Car-Free City."
How does our article begin? Well, restricting motor vehicles has brought new life to this Spanish city.
Okay, first of all, what is "restricting"?
Well, it means to put a limit on something.
Are you ever restricting the things that you can or can’t do? Here’s an example of how you could use "restrict" in a sentence:
They restrict the use of cell phones in their home after 6 pm. People don’t get on their phones after dinner time.
But we also see another term here in this sentence we need to talk about, and that’s the idea of bringing new life to something.
If you bring new life to something, it means that it’s a period of time that is just beginning, or it means to make something more active or more interesting.
That’s right! And you can use it in different ways, like:
The plants brought new life to the empty room.
植物為空蕩蕩的房間帶來了新氣象。
What brings new life to your life?
Well, first of all, it’s time to read some history.
In 1999, the city of Pontevedra, Spain, faced numerous challenges: polluted air, a struggling economy, congested streets, and the departure of young families. Oh, oh, there’s a word there, "congested."
That means crowded and hard to move through. You can use it in different ways.
Yeah, I’m specifically talking about the feeling that I get when I catch a cold. Your nose can get kind of congested, you know, the feeling, friends.
You’re stuffed up, and maybe there’s a lot of mucus in your nasal passages, and you can’t breathe very well.
That’s right! You talk like this when you’re congested.
It’s also interesting that families are leaving this polluted, struggling city. But there is hope.
That year, we read, Mayor Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores, I’m sorry, Miguel, if I’m saying your name wrong—he took office, that means he started working.
Right, to "take office," if you’re like a president, you take office.
And he proposed an unconventional solution.
Hmm, what’s his unconventional solution to these problems?
Get rid of cars.
What? Get rid of cars?
Yes, get rid of cars!
Don’t have any more cars in the city.
And we read here, now 24 years later, his "fewer cars, more city" campaign has transformed Pontevedra.
Oh, okay, I take that back. Miguel, maybe he was right!
But a campaign, by the way, is an organized course of action to achieve a goal. Sometimes there are political campaigns or even advertising campaigns.
Well friends, now it’s time for the next section of our reading together.
Pontevedra: The Mostly Car-Free City
For Pontevedra, the benefits of limiting motor vehicles have been immense.
Pedestrians now enjoy walking the streets, which has brought business to many local shops.
Since the city made these changes, carbon dioxide levels have been reduced by two-thirds.
And because the city is a more pleasant place to live, work, and attend school, families are moving to Pontevedra from the suburbs and from other parts of Spain.
接下來來看 "immense" 這個形容詞，意思是巨大的，無限的。例如：
After completing the difficult marathon, the athlete’s sense of satisfaction was immense.
在完成這場艱巨的馬拉松比賽後，該名運動員感到無比的滿足感。
The library boasts an immense collection of books, which draws people from all over the city.
這家圖書館擁有龐大的藏書量，吸引了來自全市各地的人們。
"Immense" 的副詞是 "immensely"，意思是非常，或是極其的。例如：
Feeling immensely grateful for their support, Olivia thanked her friends and family.
Olivia 非常感激家人和朋友的支持，她向他們表達了謝意。
Okay, what happens when you go car-free?
Well, we read: For Pontevedra, the benefits of limiting motor vehicles have been immense.
Or, huge, as we learned. And we get this word: pedestrians.
Pedestrians now enjoy walking the streets.
A pedestrian, by the way, is someone who walks, usually instead of traveling in a vehicle, like a car.
That’s right! Here’s an example of how you can use it in a sentence:
Pedestrians should have the right of way as far as traffic is concerned.
這意味著，如果有車輛、自行車和行人，行人應該先過馬路，不是車輛或自行車，這樣才安全。
But we also have this phrase, "to walk the streets." What does that mean?
Well, you can imagine what it means just by the words, right? Walking on the streets.
But this phrase actually means to walk around in a town or city, normally walking on the sidewalk. You’re looking around and kind of enjoying the area.
Yeah, when I go to a new city, this is something that I really enjoy doing. I like to take a little bit of time and just walk the streets to get familiar with the area.
So, because pedestrians are now walking the streets, this has brought more business to many local shops.
Since the city made these changes, carbon dioxide levels have been reduced by two-thirds. Wow!
What is carbon dioxide?
It’s a colorless, odorless gas that is produced by burning carbon or organic compounds, and also by breathing.
That’s right! You breathe in oxygen, you breathe out carbon dioxide.
Sometimes, you’ll see that "CO2" for you chemistry students out there. CO2 is what you breathe out.
But most importantly, we read:
And because the city is a more pleasant place to live, work, and attend school, families are moving back to Pontevedra from the suburbs and other parts of Spain.
Before we talk about this for a minute, I want to define what the suburbs are.
The suburbs are an outside district of a city, usually a residential area.
So you have your downtown area, and then you have the suburbs. A lot of times in big cities, many people don’t necessarily live downtown, they often work downtown.
That’s right! And then they live in the suburbs and commute to get into the downtown area.
Yeah, sometimes there’s more space in the suburbs, at least at first. You can maybe have a little house.
Sometimes we call the suburbs the "berbs." This is kind of a slang in English, but you might hear it. I say that I’m from the "berbs." When I grew up, I lived in the suburbs of Chicago. So we say, "Yeah, I’m from the berbs."
I think that’s a pretty regional thing too. I have heard other people from that area say the same thing.
Okay, so I’m from the Midwest. That’s kind of the middle part of the United States. Maybe that’s a very Midwest thing. What do you think about this, though, John?
I do find that now that I live in a big city, it’s not like how I grew up.
I grew up in the countryside. I am very concerned about traffic, especially when I’m walking around with my kids. I have three young kids, all under the age of five, and so when I’m walking places, I’m always scared that something or someone is going to run into them or hit them.
Yeah, as a young parent, it’s one of the most concerning things.
And even in a really safe city like where we live in Taipei, it can be really scary to have little kids.
Maybe one day, I’ll move to Pontevedra. It sounds like a great place to live!
We’re going to learn more about it right after today’s InfoCloud.
InfoCloud Segment:
Hello everyone, welcome to InfoCloud!
I heard your grandma was sick, Rex. Is she feeling better now?
Thanks for asking, Garrett. She has finally turned a corner, and she’s on the road to recovery.
That is great to hear! Now, when you say she turned a corner, you don’t mean she was walking around the hospital, do you?
No, no. But when you are walking and you turn a corner, you start heading in a totally different direction. So, we use the idea of going around a corner or changing directions to explain a situation that is changing or shifting. Sometimes in difficult situations, it can feel like your struggles will never end. "Turning a corner" might mean making a big change, but hopefully, the new direction takes you towards something better.
So, if we say something "turns the corner," we are speaking positively and saying things are starting to improve after a time of difficulty.
We can use this phrase in many different contexts. For example, in business, we could use it to talk about something like an increase in sales, and we often see the word "finally," which shows you have been waiting a long time for this change.
For example:
After months of low sales, our company has finally turned the corner.
在經過幾個月的銷售低迷後，我們公司終於迎來了轉機。
Give this phrase a try, and maybe your English will turn the corner too!
turn the corner 當一件事情的發展有了重大的突破，你可以用今天分享的用語 "turn the corner" 來形容。
"Turn the corner" 就是在轉角轉了一個彎改變方向。
Turn the corner 就可以用來形容一件事情正朝著完全不同的方向發展，通常是形容正向的改變。
例如：
After months of low sales, our company has finally turned the corner.
經過幾個月的業績低潮之後，我們公司終於翻身了。
意思就是業績變得非常好。
這就是今天的 InfoCloud，我們下次雲端見！
Pontevedra: The Mostly Car-Free City How did Pontevedra do it?
While not banning cars outright, they structured the city around pedestrians rather than vehicles. This involved widening sidewalks, narrowing streets, and rearranging them to make driving through the city impractical.
People can cross the city center on foot in less than 30 minutes, so most people choose to walk.
Most of Pontevedra’s traffic originated from drivers’ attempts to find on-street parking spaces.
So, Pontevedra replaced on-street parking with large free parking lots outside the city center but within walking distance of it.
Pontevedra also has underground parking garages where people can pay to park.
接下來看形容詞 "impractical"，意思是不切實際的。
例如：
Carter’s suggestion regarding how to handle the city’s traffic jams was considered very impractical.
Carter 解決城市交通堵塞的建議被認為非常不切實際。
It was so impractical for Emily to take a lot of clothes on her European trip, so she took clothes she could mix and match.
對 Emily 來說，去歐洲旅行帶很多衣服是不切實際的，所以她帶了可以混搭的衣服。
The teachers demand that his students memorize every country’s capital seemed impractical in the age of smartphones.
在智慧手機時代，老師要求學生記住每個國家的首都似乎不切實際。
再來看動詞 "originate"，意思是起源於或最早開始。
例如：
The tradition of celebrating birthdays with cake originated in ancient Greece.
用蛋糕慶祝生日的傳統源自於古希臘。
The concept of sustainable farming practices originated from the need to find ways to maintain food production for future generations.
永續農業實踐的概念源自於為子孫後代尋找維持糧食生產的方法。
Firefighters are still searching for the exact location where the apartment’s fire originated.
消防隊員還在尋找公寓起火的確切地點。
Okay, now the question that we’ve all been asking—how did Pontevedra do it?
A question like "how" asks about the method or way in which something is accomplished, right?
"How" is a very important question.
Yeah, and this is said in a very specific inflection. "How did he do it?" means that this person has accomplished something that you really admire, and you want to know how you can do it too.
For example, maybe you have a friend, and you always invite them out, but they never agree. Then your other friend asks them to go out, and you wonder, "How did you do it? You got him to go out with you!"
So, this question means you want to know the way someone accomplished something that you weren’t able to do.
So how did Pontevedra achieve all these benefits—better pollution, a better economy, families coming back?
Well, we read: "While not banning cars outright, they structured the city around pedestrians rather than vehicles."
Interesting!
So, outright is an interesting phrase. Not doing something outright means not doing it completely or fully.
If you do something outright, it means you do it wholly and completely.
So, what this sentence means is that Pontevedra didn’t completely ban cars. They just changed the structure of the city.
I see! So my parents didn’t ban TV watching outright, but they just never bought cable, so we didn’t really have TV.
That’s smart! That’s very similar to what my parents did as well.
Well, friends, this is really interesting, but what does it involve?
We read: "This involved widening sidewalks, narrowing streets, and rearranging them to make driving through the city impractical."
I see, so now more of the space is for walking and not for driving.
That’s right! We also have the word "rearranging" here. If you rearrange something, it means you reorder it or change the position of something.
So, they changed the position of things on the street.
That’s right! I often rearrange the books on my bookshelf to put them in a different pattern or order.
Okay, so the streets were rearranged, and now it is just impractical to drive through the city.
People can cross the city center on foot in less than 30 minutes, so most people choose to walk.
Yeah, and on foot just means walking, literally on your feet, but we use that to describe how you travel.
For example, you could say, "I hiked 100 miles on foot."
It was so difficult.
Pontevedra, though, sounds like a fun place to walk! Let’s read a little bit more about the original problem with traffic.
So, we read here:
"Most of Pontevedra’s traffic originated from drivers’ attempts to find on-street parking spaces."
This sounds like a familiar story to me!
This is one reason we got rid of our car, John—because of the parking situation.
Not necessarily that there isn’t enough parking in Taipei, but it’s just kind of expensive if you don’t own your own parking space.
So, Pontevedra replaced on-street parking with large free parking lots outside the city center, but still within walking distance of it.
That’s right! And Pontevedra also has underground parking garages where people can pay to park.
So, you can get your cars out of the way, and it’s just nicer to walk. You don’t have to look at a bunch of parked cars.
Fun Facts
Hello, fact friends! I am Detective Ernest Finder, and I have a fun walking fact for you today!
Did you know that someone who walks is called a pedestrian?
A pedestrian walks across the street, so lookout for pedestrians!
The ped part of pedestrian comes from an old word that means "foot."
Haha! That’s right!
Well, I hope you are a safe pedestrian today!
Ha-ha, and that’s today’s fun fact!
Wrap-Up
Okay, friends, it’s time to think about today’s lesson. We, of course, have more to talk about tomorrow, but for now, let’s discuss it.
Ann Marie, what are some advantages to having fewer cars in a city, and what are some disadvantages?
Well, I don’t know about a city as a whole, but I can speak about my own experience.
It definitely saved my family money by not having a car and not having to pay for parking.
However, when we want to take day trips, like to the beach or to E-lon or places like that, now we have to get on a train or pay for an Uber to get outside of the city.
So that’s a little bit inconvenient.
Yeah, that’s a good point.
Well, friends, there’s a lot more to learn about Pontevedra and going car-free.
Join us tomorrow for that!
I’m John.
I’m Ann Marie.
And we’ll see you next time right here on Studio Classroom!
Pontevedra, The (Mostly) Car-Free City 無車化的城市(下) 空中英語教室 20241116
修正英文文法，保留中文部分，同時將簡體中文修改為繁體中文
Here is the revised version of your text, with corrected grammar and all simplified Chinese converted to traditional Chinese:
Hey friends,
Welcome back to Studio Classroom! I’m John.
My name is Ann Marie.
We’re so glad to have you here today, friends,
because today is a great day to learn something new.
It is! Did you know there’s a city called Pontevedra,
and they are trying to go car-free? Yesterday,
we learned about the mostly car-free city of Pontevedra.
We learned a lot of interesting things about how
they’re changing their streets
and the way pedestrians can walk.
I’m excited to learn more!
Me too! We are going to learn more about what this city
did to make it work. Let’s get into our first reading right now.
Pontevedra: The Mostly Car-Free City
Pontevedra’s approach shows the advantages of limiting motor vehicles in urban centers,
but the model may not be directly transferable to other cities.
Pontevedra’s center dates back to the Middle Ages, a time when walking was the norm基準；規範.
This means that restrictions on motor vehicles returned the city center to its original design.
Pontevedra is also small and compact, whereas in a larger city, where walking across the city center might take an hour or more, different approaches would be needed.
However, larger cities could still designate pedestrian-only areas and encourage people to park and walk part of the way to their destinations.
Hello, everyone!
Welcome to Language Lab!
I’m Jack.
我們先來看 transferable 這個形容詞，意思是可轉移的。
Although tax laws differ between countries, some basic principles, like income reporting, are transferable, making it easier to file taxes while abroad.
雖然各國的稅法不同，但基本的原則，像是收入申報，是可以轉移的，這使得在國外報稅更容易。
或者：
The credits Ava earned while attending her local junior college were all transferable to the university she transferred to.
Ava在當地專科學校所獲得的學分都可以轉移到她轉入的大学。
或者：
The company emphasized the transferable nature of customer service skills, noting their value in various job roles.
該公司強調客戶服務技能的可轉移性，指出它們在各種工作角色中的價值。
再來看 compact 這個形容詞，請注意哦，重音是在第二個音節念 compact，意思是小型的、小巧的。
譬如：
The hiker got out his compact water bottle and took a quick drink before he continued up the mountain.
徒步旅行者拿出他的小型水瓶，喝了一口水後繼續上山。
Compact 當動詞則是指壓緊、壓縮，重音也在第二個音節。
我們來看一個例句：
As winter approached, animals like rabbits compacted their dens with leaves and grass to create a warm shelter for the cold months.
隨著冬天的來臨，兔子等動物用樹葉和草把它們的巢穴壓緊，為寒冷的幾個月創造一個溫暖的遮蔽所。
Compact 如果當名詞的話，重音就要放在第一音節，念作 compact，意思是混合。
譬如：
Rachel took out her compact to check if her makeup looked okay before she entered the room.
Rachel在進入房間之前拿出粉盒檢查一下自己的妝容。
Okay, we learned about Pontevedra’s unique approach.
Pontevedra’s approach shows
the advantages of limiting motor vehicles in urban centers,
but the model may not be directly transferable to other cities.
Interesting! Okay,
the advantages of something, right, Emory?
That means favorable conditions,
something good that makes something work better.
Here’s an example of how you could use that in a sentence:
There are many advantages to waking up early.
If you wake up early,
there’s a lot of good things about that.
But we also see another really key word in this sentence,
and that is the word approach. Approach
is the way that you deal with a problem.
So what they’re saying here is that this city
is specifically dealing with a problem
with a certain model in a certain way,
and while that way works for their city,
it might not be able to transfer to other cities.
I see. So,
let’s learn a little bit more about this specific city in Europe.
We read:
Pontevedra’s center dates back to the Middle Ages. Wow!
A time when walking was the norm.
And this means that restrictions on motor vehicles
returned the city center to its original design.
Okay, "dating back to" something means its about history, right?
Yeah, so what this means is
that something has existed since this particular time
or that it started at this time in the past.
I see. So it dated all the way back to the Middle Ages.
Maybe some of you history students know this phrase.
The Middle Ages was a time in Europe
between the year 500 AD and the 1500s—about a thousand years, right?
In the middle of recent European history.
Okay, so we also see another great term in this sentence: the norm.
What this means is something
that is usual, typical, standard, or normal.
So norm here is just short for normal.
So what we’re saying here is that in the Middle Ages,
a lot of people walked. That was what was normal to do.
It was the thing to do.
But this means that restrictions on motor vehicles
returned the city to the original design,
the way it used to be. That’s pretty cool and not easy to do!
Finally, we read about Pontevedra.
It’s a unique city.
Pontevedra is also small and compact,
whereas in a larger city,
where walking across the city center
might take an hour or more,
different approaches would be needed.
Yeah, I don’t think New York is going to go car-free anytime soon.
Definitely not. However,
larger cities could still designate
pedestrian-only areas and encourage people to park
and walk part of their way to their destination.
Yeah! A destination is where you’re trying to go
or where you’re trying to get to. You see this word
a lot when you’re using Google Maps.
You put your destination in,
or in the Uber app too, you put the destination
into the app so that the driver knows where you need to go.
Yeah! So you could say,
"My destination today is to go to school."
And then
my next destination is to go to the soccer field to play.
There’s another word that’s kind of like destination,
and that is the word destiny.
Destiny means the destination of your whole life.
What is your destiny?
Well, we’ll learn more about Pontevedra’s destiny
in the next section of our reading.
Pontevedra: The Mostly Car-Free City
Pontevedra’s restrictions on automobiles were controversial
at first since car owners saw
the changes as making their lives less convenient.
But as residents experienced life with fewer cars,
the majority of them liked it.
The changes were gradual,
which gave people time to adjust to the new way of life.
Mayor Lorez, who spearheaded
the efforts, is one of the longest-serving mayors in Spain.
接下來，讓我們來看 controversial 這個形容詞，意思是有爭議的。
譬如：
The scientists ideas on the origins of the universe were extremely controversial.
這位科學家的宇宙起源觀點極具爭議性。
或者：
Despite the controversial ending to the popular book series, fans continued to talk about the author’s choice for years.
儘管這部暢銷書系列的結局備受爭議，多年間粉絲們仍然在討論作者的選擇。
或者：
The athlete’s controversial victory raised many questions about fair play in professional sports.
這名運動員備受爭議的勝利引發了許多關於職業比賽公平競爭的問題。
Now, the big question: Did people want and like these changes?
What do we read? Well, let’s find out here:
Pontevedra’s restrictions on automobiles were controversial at first,
because car owners saw
the changes as making their lives less convenient.
Okay, well, we have this term here: car owners.
And this just means people who own cars.
We use this with a lot of different things as well, right?
You could talk about pet owners,
you could talk about homeowners.
This is just a way to put people into categories.
Thats right!
It has to be someone that the car belongs to, usually.
They bought the car, right?
Someone who is driving a car might not be the car owner
if they are renting or something like that.
So, car owners saw that their lives became less convenient.
It’s not as easy to do things.
But there’s something that happens here:
As residents experienced life with fewer cars,
what happened? The majority of them liked it!
So, it took them a while to get used to it,
but then once they experienced how life could be without a car,
most people did like it.
The changes were gradual, though.
What does gradual mean?
It means slowly, over time.
Okay, not all at once.
Yeah, and this is a word that we use in a lot of different ways.
For example:
You should make gradual changes to improve your habits.
It’s hard to make big changes to your habits all at once.
Do a little bit over time.
That’s right! So, people,
these gradual changes gave them time to adjust to the new way of life.
It’s really important to give people some time.
And the guy who made it happen—
Mayor Lorez, who spearheaded the efforts—
is one of the longest-serving mayors in Spain.
A mayor! You see them in movies and shows a lot, right?
Yeah, you do.
So, the mayor is the head of a city,
and they’re elected by the public.
So, it’s the people who live in that city
who choose the mayor in an election.
That’s right! Last year,
the mayor came to visit our studio here. That was a lot of fun!
Actually, that’s right!
So, Mayor Lorez is really cool.
It’s great that he’s spearheading the efforts.
And to spearhead something means to lead it, right?
That’s right! That’s the simplest definition of this word:
To spearhead something means to lead it.
He’s leading the efforts.
He’s spearheading the efforts.
And it sounds like he’s pretty successful
because he is one of the longest-serving mayors in Spain.
That means he has held this office for a long time!
Well, friends,
there’s a lot more to learn about this really interesting city.
We’ll do that right
after our InfoCloud!
InfoCloud Segment
Hello, friends!
Welcome to InfoCloud!
Hi Garrett!
You seem really excited about something. What’s up?
Hey Rex!
I just drove past my old university,
and it is looking good! The renovations
really breathed some new life into the campus.
That phrase, "breathe new life into something", is an interesting term.
Let’s talk about it!
Today Sure to Breathe New Life Into Something
"Breathe new life into something" means to revitalize or rejuvenate something that has become dull, outdated, or stagnant. It’s like giving something a fresh start or making it exciting again. The idea of breathing life into something comes from the Bible: we need to breathe to live. So, God created people by breathing into the first man, Adam. The phrase is a beautiful way of saying that something was dead or dying but has been brought back to life.
Exactly! We usually hear the phrase when talking about businesses or properties that have been updated or improved to make them more appealing. For example:
"The new manager breathes new life into the company with her innovative ideas."
"I see, so if a town renovates its old buildings and parts, you might say the renovation project breathes new life into the town."
Can it be used in different contexts too?
Absolutely! For instance, "You could say the band breathed new life into the classic hit with their modern rendition."
breathe new life into something 很多時候我們都需要將一些老舊的事物更新，讓它們有一些新的面貌。
你可以用 "breathe new life into something" 來形容這樣的轉變。
Bring new life into something 字面上就是將新的生命注入到一樣東西，意思就是讓一件老舊的事情有新的活力。
例如：
"The manager breathed new life into the company with his fresh ideas."
那位經理的創意讓這個公司有了新的能量。
Breathe new life into something 是源自於聖經經文，上帝將一口氣吹進亞當，讓他有了生命。
這就是今天的 INFO Cloud，
我們下次云端見。
Pontevedra: The Mostly Car-Free City Many cities are now structured around automobiles, which makes it difficult to conceive of limiting them. But Pontevedra shows that it is possible and that the rewards are great. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for excessive traffic, Pontevedra’s "fewer cars, more city" approach offers a promising model.
最後來看動詞 "conceive"，意思是構思想出。
For example:
"Through the complex plot with multiple characters and storylines that was conceived by the writer, readers were kept interested until the very end of the book."
作者所構思的多種角色和故事線的複雜情節，讓讀者從頭到尾都保持興趣。
Or:
"The lost child conceived a growing fear of every sound that he heard in the dark forest."
這個迷路的小孩聽到黑暗森林裡的每一個聲音，都讓他越來越害怕。
The adjective form of "conceive" is "conceivable," which means "可想到的".
For example:
"Given the advancements in technology, it’s conceivable that humans might one day travel to Mars."
鑒於科技的進步，可以想像人類有朝一日可能會旅行到火星。
Alright, well, the problem or situation were in: we have a world full of cars, right?
We read: "Many cities are now structured around automobiles." Automobiles is just a fancy word for cars, right?
That’s right. And this makes it difficult to conceive of limiting them. But Pontevedra shows that it is possible and that the rewards are great.
I think with any big change, the most important place to start is to imagine something different.
Imagine how life would be if we did things a different way.
So here, the point is that a lot of cities might feel like this is not something we can do. But I think imagining the positives is a good place to start.
Yeah, that’s right! You have to have that vision.
Finally, we read:
"While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for excessive traffic, Pontevedra’s fewer cars, more city approach offers a promising model."
Okay, we’ve got a lot of really fun phrases in there.
The first is "one-size-fits-all", with all those little hyphens in there.
One-size-fits-all means suitable for all situations, right?
That’s right! And here, the hyphens are there because it is used as an adjective. So, there are hyphens between all of those words.
A lot of times, you’ll see one-size-fits-all on articles of clothing, such as hats.
For example: "That hat will probably fit anybody, no matter how big or small their head is. It is one-size-fits-all."
But we also see this word excessive, right?
This adjective describes traffic. What does that mean?
Well, it literally just means "too much." You could say, "Oh, there was an excessive amount of pizza on the table; we couldn’t eat it all."
That’s right!
So we see here: "Pontevedra’s fewer cars, more city approach offers a promising model."
Two more words to look at at the end here, friends:
What does it mean if something is promising?
Okay, well, you know if you make a promise, it means that you say you’re going to do something. But if something is promising, it means that it is showing signs of future success.
Sometimes, a student can be really promising, right?
Yeah! Like, for example, "He’s showing signs of being a promising musician." He’s young now, he might not have all the talent, but you can see how he would be successful in the future.
And there’s one more word here: model. It’s a promising model. What’s a model?
Well, in this case, a model is a thing used as an example that other people can follow or imitate.
I see! So you could say, "The picture shows a model of a flying robot."
Sometimes, a model isn’t the final thing, or it’s an example like that.
That’s right!
Alright, friends, we’ve had a lot of fun with this article today, and we have something else fun coming up. Right now, it’s time for today’s Fun Fact!
Fun Fact Segment
Shame
Oh, hello, fact friends!
I’m Detective Ernest Finder, and I have a fun automobile fact for you today!
Did you know that the automobile was invented in 1885?
That’s a long time ago!
But did you know that the foot was created a long time before 1885?
That’s right, the foot is the original automobile! Ha ha!
And that is today’s fun fact!
Alright, Pontevedra taught me something new today. How about you?
Definitely! It seems like having a city that has fewer cars could be beneficial in a lot of ways.
That leads us to our Talk About It question:
You should say this out loud!
If you’re by yourself watching this, make sure you practice speaking out loud, okay?
How could Pontevedra’s method for limiting cars be adapted to work in your city?
How could it be changed and work in your city, Emory?
Well, I live in Taipei, and I’m just thinking about these pedestrian zones. Maybe not the whole city needs to go car-free, but certain parts of the city could cater to pedestrians, so people can walk to and from different places. Maybe that could work in Taipei.
Yeah, we have some of those in certain areas where there are night markets. Maybe we need more!
Well, friends, there’s always a lot to talk about when we’re talking about cities in English. Make sure you practice speaking some of these vocab words with your friends!
For now, I’m John.
I’m Ann Marie.
And we’ll see you next time, right here on Studio Classroom.
Bye-bye!
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