Talking About Architecture

Iktinos: I can't believe we're in one of the world's most famous structures. Look at this architecture!

Pinda: Yeah, great, another old building. I'm going to sit in that bay window and rest my feet while you walk around.

Iktinos: Come on, come with me. Just look at these columns and beams. They're over 2,000 years old!

Pinda: Right, they're old. Everything we've seen these past two weeks has been old. What's so special about this?

Iktinos: Are you trying to tell me that you don't think this dome is impressive? It's one of the largest in the world. Look at those cornices and skylights. I've never seen anything like them.

Pinda: This building has a good facade, with nice balance and symmetry, but I'm so tired of looking at the same style of building, one after another. Aren't we going to see anything else today?

Iktinos: We are seeing some of the most important monuments to human ingenuity.

Pinda: You're right, but I'm too tired to walk up and down all three stories. You go. I'll stay here on this balcony.

Iktinos: What are you going to do here?

Pinda: I'm going to think about how I'd remodel the building to bring it up to date.

Iktinos: You're hopeless!

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tro‧phy plural trophies [countable]

1 a large object such as a silver cup or plate that someone receives as a prize for winning a competition:

walls lined with banners and athletic trophies

Football League/Masters/Heisman etc Trophy (=the name given to a particular competition for which the prize is a trophy)

2 something that you keep to prove your success in something, especially in war or hunting:

A lion's head was among the trophies of his African trip.

3 trophy wife

informal a young beautiful woman who is married to a rich successful man who is much older than her - used to show disapproval

weight training [uncountable]

the activity of lifting specially shaped pieces of metal that weigh an exact amount, as a form of exercise:

He does weight training at the gym twice a week.

pick‧le

1 [countable] American English a cucumber preserved in vinegar or salt water, or a piece of this [= gherkin British English]

2 [uncountable and countable] British English a thick cold sauce that is made from pieces of vegetables preserved in vinegar. It is usually eaten with cold meat or cheese:

cheese and pickle sandwiches

a selection of cold meats and pickles

3 be in a (pretty) pickle

old-fashioned to be in a very difficult situation and not know what to do

mas‧seuse [countable]

1a woman who gives massages

2 a prostitute

snake [countable]

1 an animal with a long thin body and no legs, that often has a poisonous bite:

A snake slithered across our path.

a poisonous/venomous snake

2 also snake in the grass informal someone who cannot be trusted