Illusions of Pastoral Peace

更新：2023-11-22

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[00:01.44]Lesson 41
[00:03.49]Illusions of pastoral peace
[00:12.95]What particular anxiety spoils the country dweller's visit to the theatre?
[00:20.29]The quiet life of the country has never appealed to me.
[00:24.44]City born and city bred,
[00:26.40]I have always regarded the country as something you look at through a train window or something you occasionally visit during the weekend.
[00:34.69]Most of my friends live in the city, yet they always go into raptures at the mere mention of the country.
[00:41.40]Though they extol the virtues of the peaceful life,
[00:45.01]only one of them has ever gone to live in the country and he was back in town within six months.
[00:51.36]Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life.
[00:57.27]He is forever talking about the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living.
[01:06.90]Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cockcrow, the twittering of birds at dawn,
[01:14.67]the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures.
[01:19.76]This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture.
[01:24.45]My friend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of the TV--virtually the only form of entertainment.
[01:33.82]He says nothing about the poor selection of goods in the shops,
[01:37.62]or about those unfortunate people who have to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work.
[01:44.84]Why people are prepared to tolerate a four hour journey each day for the dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond me.
[01:53.72]They could be saved so much misery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.
[02:01.06]If you can do without the few pastoral pleasures of the country, you will find the city can provide you with the best that life can offer.
[02:09.17]You never have to travel miles to see your friends.
[02:12.21]They invariably live nearby
[02:14.72]and are always available for an informal chat or an evening's entertainment.
[02:20.08]Some of my acquaintances in the country come up to town once or twice a year to visit the theatre as a special treat.
[02:27.47]For them this is a major operation which involves considerable planning.
[02:33.18]As the play draws to its close, they wonder whether they will ever catch that last train home.
[02:39.66]The city dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort.
[02:43.86]The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away.
[02:49.55]Shopping, too, is always a pleasure.
[02:52.40]There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best.
[02:57.42]Country people run wild when they go shopping in the city and stagger home loaded with as many of the exotic items as they can carry.
[03:05.99]Nor is the city without its moments of beauty.
[03:08.80]There is something comforting about the warm glow shed by advertisements on cold wet winter nights.
[03:15.45]Few things could be more impressive than the peace that descends on deserted city streets at weekends
[03:21.79]when the thousands that travel to work every day are tucked away in their homes in the country.
[03:27.64]It has always been a mystery to me why city dwellers, who appreciate all these things,
[03:33.52]obstinately pretend that they would prefer to live in the country.