Speaking Sample 2: Farming
Have you visited a farm?
Bạn đã bao giờ tới thăm một nông trại chưa?
Funnily enough, for a city boy I have spent a fair amount of time on farms. My
hometown is in the countryside, so I am no stranger to the bucolic lifestyle. I
actually used to live on a farm when I was studying in the States, and on all of my
trips abroad I always make it a point to visit some sort of farms, whether it be an
orchard, a strawberry farm or a vineyard.
a fair amount of something: một lượng lớn
to be no stranger to something: không còn lạ lẫm gì với điều gì đó, đã quen với
việc gì đó
make it a point to do something: nhất quyết, bắt buộc, quyết tâm phải làm gì đó
What kind of farm do you like?
Bạn thích nông trại như thế nào?
I had the best of times driving through the Australian wine country, visiting a
smorgasbord of vineyards . Oftentimes, when people think a farm, they usually
conjure up images of a wet and kind of dirty place that reeks of animal feces, but
not all farms are created equal. The vineyards that I visited were picturesque
and they were very pleasant to be in.
a smorgasbord of: đa dạng (= a variety of)
conjure up (images): nảy ra trong đầu (hình ảnh)
not all + Ns + to be created equal: không phải cái gì sinh ra cũng giống nhau
picturesque (adj) đẹp như tranh
Did you do farm work when you were young?
Khi còn nhỏ bạn có làm việc trên một nông trại không?
Not when I was a child - I was spoilt rotten as a kid and never had to lift a finger
to do anything around the house, let alone farm work. But as I was alluded to
earlier, I used to live on a farm when I was a student in the States, so activities like
feeding the animals, stacking hay, watering plants were all part of my day-to-day
routine. And I gotta say I actually quite enjoyed them.
To be spoilt rotten (adj) được cưng chiều hết mực
Lift a finger to do something (v): động tay động chân vào làm gì đó
Day-to-day routine (n) lịch trình mỗi ngày, hoạt động hang ngày
Do you think farming is important?
Bạn có nghĩ việc làm nông nghiệp là quan trọng không?
Absolutely. Farming is still the backbone of many economies. For example like
Vietnam - our major agricultural exports like coffee, rice and seafood still
constitute a sizable part of our economy. Even in countries where farming only
accounts for a tiny fraction of the GDP, agriculture is still important because well,
we all gotta eat.
the backbone of: xương sống (nền tảng) của điều gì đó
a sizable part of: một phần đáng kể của điều gì đó
a tiny fraction of: một phần rất nhỏ của điều gì đó