Multicultural Toronto

Hello and welcome to the second article in the series ‘Postcards from Toronto '. These articles are written to help you learn about life in Toronto and teach you some useful expressions for written and spoken English.

One of the best things about living in Toronto, in my opinion, is the number of people from different countries who live here. For example, last week I took the subway to the "Eaton Centre" to do some shopping. During my journey ? which lasted around ten minutes ? I heard people conversing in English, French, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Russian, Chinese, German, Italian and two other languages I did not recognize. No wonder Toronto is often called the most multicultural city in the world.

For me, the best part of living in such a multicultural city is the number and variety of restaurants. I love eating out, and Toronto is a great place to do it. Everywhere you go in the city there are great restaurants and cafes serving delicious food at reasonable prices. Some neighbourhoods tend to have certain types of restaurants: for example, Korean and Japanese restaurants in Korea Town ; and of course Greek restaurants in "Greektown". However, almost all Toronto neighbourhoods have a great diversity of restaurants.

I live in midtown Toronto near Yonge and St Clair (the intersection of Yonge Street and St Clair Avenue ). Within five minutes walk of my apartment there are the following restaurants: six Italian bistros; six pubs; four Japanese restaurants; four cafes; three French restaurants; two Thai restaurants; two Canadian-style diners; two pizza joints; two Chinese restaurants; one Asian fusion restaurant; a Vietnamese place; one Middle Eastern restaurant; numerous coffee shops, sandwich bars and fast food chains; and probably five or six other eateries I've forgotten. In other words, if I decide to go out for dinner, I have well over 30 choices. I could eat out at a different restaurant every day for a month, and never go to the same place twice. Most other Toronto neighbourhoods have the same tremendous variety of restaurants.

As I mentioned, eating out in Toronto tends to be fairly cheap. At most restaurants, starters cost $4 to $8, main courses cost between $10 and $20 each, and desserts are usually $5 or $6. So, a two-course meal with a couple of drinks would probably cost around 25 bucks per person. However, there are two hidden costs to dining out in Toronto , both of which add about 15% to your total bill: taxes, and tips.

In Japan , you are not expected to give a tip when you eat out, but in Canada people feel it is very rude if you do not leave something for your waiter or waitress. A helpful hint is to look at how much tax you have to pay and leave the same amount as your tip. Tipping is sometimes annoying, especially if you received poor service, but it is just one of those customs you become used to.

Vocabulary Challenge
Answer these questions to find useful expressions for spoken English.

1.? Which phrase in paragraph three means the same as "in my opinion" used in paragraph two?
2.? Which phrase in paragraph three means "not expensive"?
3.? In the fourth paragraph, which word describes part of a city?
4.? Which adjective, also in paragraph four, means "amazing" ?
5.? In paragraph five, which adverb means the same as "quite" ?
6.? Also in the fifth paragraph, what is a common slang word for dollars?
7.? In the final paragraph, which phrase describes something that is useful?
8.? Also in the last paragraph, which plural noun means "behaviours that are typical of one place" ?

answers

Bonus Challenge
In paragraph four there are over ten different words, all of which are common in spoken English, to describe a place to eat or drink. Can you find all of them?