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Vocabulary Quiz
second • slow down • compared to
centralized • crosses over
  1. Apartments in locations are very expensive here.
  2. These antelope are the fastest land animal in the world.
  3. him I have very little experience in this area.
  4. The path my street close to the lake.
  5. Most people when they get older.
Comprehension Quiz
Answer the following questions about the interview.
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294 Melbourne
Aaron talks about Melbourne.

  • Transcript
  • Audio Notes

second biggest

Melbourne is the second biggest city in Australia.

We put the word 'second' in front of a superlative like 'biggest' to show that we are not talking about the biggest city, but the one that is closest in size or number to the biggest. 'Second' can be used with any superlative. Notice the following:

  1. This is the second tallest apartment in the city.
  2. What is the second biggest animal on earth.

slow down

Melbourne is a busy city, but then it slows down as you move away from it.

If something 'slows down' it becomes less fast or decreases in speed. Notice the following:

  1. The activity in the city really slows down on Sundays.
  2. The doctor told him that he needs to slow down and try to relax more.

compared to

A decent house in Melbourne would cost about 250,000 Australian dollars, which I guess isn't so bad compared to Japanese prices.

Use the phrase 'compared to' to show similarities or differences between two things. Notice the following:

  1. Most cities are small compared to Tokyo.
  2. Compared to my brother and sister I'm old.


The trains in Melbourne are very centralized, so they all run into the city through major train stops.

If something is 'centralized' it means that things are very close to each other.  In a city, this would mean that everything you need would be very near to you. Notice the following:

  1. The city is huge, but the area where I live is centralized.
  2. We want to have the convention in a centralized location.

cross over

The trains in Melbourne run back out to the suburbs on a big loop, so they never cross over each other.

If one train route 'crosses over' another it means that they have an intersection or a place where they come together. Notice the following:

  1. This road crosses over Washington Avenue in two blocks.
  2. Where does this road cross over the river?