Learn English Conversations PreIntermediate Level

[Music]

nature and the environment unit 1

Antarctica

Arctica is another name for the South

Pole it is also a continent a long time

ago

the South Pole was close to the equator

that was 500 million years ago it was

once joined to Australia then all the

land on earth started to move Antarctica

moved away from Australia and went south

dinosaur bones were once found at the

South Pole do you know why dinosaurs

lived there millions of years ago this

was before it moved away from the

equator about 98% of this continent is

frozen the rest is made up of rock the

South Pole has 87 percent of the world’s

ice but did you know that it gets very

little snow only about two inches of

snow falls each year

how many people live on your continent

no one lives in the South Pole only

animals like penguins live there

scientists and tourists visit there but

they don’t stay long do you want to

visit Antarctica it is the coldest

driest place on earth

Unit two a hiking trip

hi Anne did you sign up for the trip on

Saturday what trip is that I didn’t know

there was a trip on Saturday the hiking

club is going to Bear Mountain the bus

drops us off at the bottom and we’re

going to hike until we get to a cabin

halfway up the mountain that sounds

really great where can I sign up go and

see Jennifer she’ll help you sign up

what activity will we do when we get to

the cabin on the mountain well it takes

seven hours to hike to the cabin so it

will be late by the time we arrive after

we unpack we’ll start a campfire then we

can sing eat and tell stories around the

fire the following day we’ll leave it

done and hike to the top of the mountain

after we take pictures we’ll hike back

down if we have time we might go

swimming in the lake on the mountain

those sound like really fun activities

and I can’t wait to go

unit three save the Turtles

have you heard about the plan to save

Turtles in Mexico no what is the story

turtles are in danger of becoming

extinct around the world every year

thousands of turtles lay eggs on the

beach after the turtles lay their eggs

in the sand people come along and take

them I suppose the people like eating

turtle eggs

exactly turtles are beginning to stay

away from certain places now there are

fewer and fewer of them left there is a

new project in Mexico to save these eggs

then turtles will not become extinct I

think it’s a very good project is there

anything we can do to help I’m going to

call the environmental protection

hotline they might have some information

about the project to help save Turtles

in Mexico they might even have a

brochure let’s find the website on my

computer

oh here it is the address is WWN vro

calm there’s plenty of information here

great let’s see what we can do to help

save Turtles in Mexico Unit four hiking

in Iran

most people think that the Middle East

is only a desert this is far from true

last year I went hiking in Iran Iran has

many mountains you can find trees that

lose their leaves in winter if you’re

lucky you may see a yellow deer or a

brown bear two species that live there

the air is fresh and you can swim in

clear clean Lakes I definitely recommend

it there are so many birds to see it is

fun to go into the forest with

binoculars to look at birds seeing the

birds through binoculars makes them seem

much nearer than they actually are you

can write down all of the species that

you see you should learn about their

calls first

that means the sounds that each bird

makes sometimes it’s hard to see the

birds however you can identify them if

you happen to hear them I want to go

back to Iran again someday

it’s so beautiful that I want to see and

explore much more of it unit five Jane

Goodall

jane goodall went to africa when she was

26 years old she went there to research

chimpanzees at that time no other women

signed his work there alone at first

Jane studied the chimps from far away

the chimps were afraid of her they ran

away if she came close to them after

some time the chimps saw that she was

not going to hurt them they let her walk

near them soon she was living among them

she wanted to learn more and more about

them Jane did a lot of research on

chimps she discovered many new things

about them she learned that each chimp

has its own personality she saw that

they have feelings

Jane discovered that chimps have very

close families mothers and fathers take

good care of baby chimps an adult female

chimp

well sometimes adopt an orphan in 1977

Jane started an Institute to help

protect animals she wanted to help

animals all around the world today Mich

Institute runs programs in over 70

countries science and technology unit 6

flying cars

• this this newspaper article says that

some scientists are working on a new

kind of airplane people can use these

flying cars for short trips how

interesting the article says the first

flying car might be ready within the

next few years

that’s quite soon how would this flying

car work can anybody use one or is it

only for people who know how to fly

airplanes you don’t need to be an

airplane pilot to use a flying car the

article says there would be a computer

inside the car that would know where you

want to go the driver does not need to

control the car unless something goes

wrong does the article say how much a

flying car would cost it will probably

cost too much money we would not be able

to afford one true but wouldn’t it be

nice to fly over traffic jams instead of

sitting in the middle of them yes but

then we might end up with traffic jams

in the sky

unit seven the perfect gift

hello and welcome to robux how may I

help you I would like to buy my wife a

home appliance for her birthday

what sort of appliance are you looking

for sir I think a dishwasher might be

the perfect gift because it will help

with the housework

oh yes dishwashers are very useful this

one here is our most popular model how

does it work

it’s very simple first collect your

dirty dishes and scrape off the leftover

food into the garbage can then rinse the

dishes in the sink put glasses cups and

cutlery on the top rack plates bowls and

pots go facedown on the bottom rack then

fill this compartment with detergent and

close the door next choose the wash

cycle and finally press the start button

you’ll have sparkling clean dishes in 45

minutes that sounds easy to use I think

my wife will really like it how much

does it cost you’re lucky sir it’s on

sale this week for $400 great I’ll take

it

unit 8 acupuncture

acupuncture began in China thousands of

years ago it is a special way to treat

sick people

there are many acupuncture spots on the

human body small metal needles are put

into spots on the body each spot is

connected to a special body part or

system there are many spots for each

part an expert puts the needles into

these spots in a person’s body

these spots connect to the body system

that has a problem the needles do not go

deep people say that the needles do not

hurt we are not sure why acupuncture

works but studies have shown that it

works very well no one can explain why

doctors think that it helps the nerves

in the body some doctors use acupuncture

to treat people who cannot take medicine

people in Asia have been using this

special method for a long time at first

people outside Asia did not trust this

method they do not think that it would

help them now it has become very popular

around the world

unit 9 Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein is famous around the

world he is famous for his work in

science many people think that he was

the greatest scientist of the 20th

century

Einstein was born in Germany in 1879 his

interest in science began when he was

very young

someone gave him a compass in 1884 young

Einstein was interested in how it worked

he wanted to learn science he wanted to

become a scientist

Einstein tried to enter a top Swiss

University at first he met with failure

he did not get a place but Einstein did

not give up easily he applied again to

the same University in the next year

this time he was successful

Einstein was a good student he graduated

from this famous University in 1896

as a scientist Einstein did important

work in the field of physics his work

was very good he received the Nobel

Prize for Physics in 1921 in 1933 he

went to live in the United States with

his wife

unit 10 the telescope

come and look at the telescope I got for

my birthday

that’s neat yeah now we can look at the

moon did you know that the moon is the

Earth’s only natural satellite no I

didn’t know that

I thought the moon was a planet well a

planet moves around the Sun but a

satellite moves around a planet oh I see

can you see other planets with your

telescope sure I can see two planets

close to Earth really well which planet

is closest to Earth life is the closest

planet to earth many scientists believe

that Mars once had rivers and oceans

just like Earth Mars has two moons

that’s cool

what is the other planet near Earth the

other planet near Earth is Venus but

Venus has no moons do you think people

will ever be able to visit Mars or Venus

maybe someday people will be able to

visit mine but not dienes because it’s

too hot

well at least we can see them with your

new telescope

Art and Culture

unit 11 the Mona Lisa

what are you looking at Barry this is a

copy of my favorite painting it’s the

Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci why in

fact your favorite tinking well there

are a few things that make the Mona Lisa

great first she has no eyebrows second

she has a really beautiful smile most of

all I like the soft colors of the

painting have you seen the Mona Lisa

before it is a very famous painting of

course I’ve seen the painting a few

times before but I never noticed that

her eyebrows are missing I wonder why

she has no eyebrows do you know why at

the time da Vinci painted it it was

fashionable for young Italian girls to

shave off their eyebrows every girl

wanted to be fashionable wow that’s

really interesting in what year was the

Mona Lisa painted I think it was painted

sometime between 1503 and 1512 funghi

once upon a time there was a poor kind

man named Barney he had a rich but

greedy brother one day Songyi asked his

brother to give him some grain seeds to

grow his greedy brother gave Barney some

poisoned seeds only one plant grew from

the poisoned seeds but Barney was very

happy he took good care of the plant

then one afternoon a bird came and stole

the plant funghi chased the bird into

the forest in the forest he saw two

monsters using a magic stick to turn

rocks into food hung he hid behind a big

rock and watched the monsters the

monsters ate a lot of food soon they

became very sleepy when the monsters had

fallen asleep

Songyi took their magic stick he became

very rich

Bonnie’s greedy brother went to the

forest to find a magic stick for himself

the angry monsters saw him they chased

him deep into the forest

the greedy brother was never seen again

unit 13 Friendship Day

friends are an important part of our

lives they help us in many ways do you

tell your friends that you are glad they

are your friends everyone should tell

their friends that they are special did

you know that there is now a special day

just for friends this day is called

national Friendship Day the first Sunday

in August was chosen to be national

Friendship Day in 1935 this holiday is

not as big as Christmas or New Year’s

Day however it is still a special day

people are usually too busy to visit

their friends often but this day is

different on this day people take time

to tell their friends how much they care

they write cards or send emails to their

friends they may also call their friends

no matter how busy they are people hug

their friends or spend time with them

there are many ways to show you care you

need not wait for a special day call

your friends right now

unit 14 an outdoor exhibit

do you like photographs what kind of

photos photos of plants and animals for

example or mountains and oceans the sort

of photographs a nature magazine would

publish that’s right of course I love

nature photos they are very beautiful

some of them are very colorful yes most

nature photos are so interesting

sometimes I buy Nature magazines just

for the photos me too

I like taking nature photos with my

camera but they are not very good my

photos are not good either

famous nature magazines only publish

very good photos that’s true people must

be very talented to get their photos

published yeah why are we suddenly

talking about photographs is there an

exhibit somewhere how did you guess

there is an outdoor exhibit going on

right now really yes nature photographs

from all over the world are on display

that sounds great I would love to see it

me too

would you like to go with me sure how

about Sunday morning okay it will be fun

to see all those photos

unit 15 people are different

there are more than six billion human

beings in the world each one is

different from all the others

no two people look exactly alike people

from one country may look the same in

general but they are not totally alike

most people in Vietnam have straight

black hair and black eyes but they all

look different people in America have

straight hair curly hair or wavy hair

their hair may be black brown yellow or

red some people have brown or gray eyes

some have blue or green eyes even people

in the same family look different from

each other

we all think differently we all like

different things we like different kinds

of food and different kinds of music we

also like different styles of clothing

wherever you are you are different from

everyone else nobody else looks just

like you nobody has your thoughts or

your talents there are more than six

billion people on earth but none of them

are exactly like you you are one of a

kind leisure and entertainment unit 16

karaoke

it’s nice to see you caring how have you

been I’ve been very well thank you

how are you Dan I’m fine thanks I went

to the movie Saturday night I wanted to

invite you but you weren’t home that’s

right I went karaoke singing with some

friends on Saturday night really I’ve

never sung karaoke what’s it like I had

never gone karaoke singing before either

but I had a great time

my friends were experienced karaoke

singers so they showed me what to do

did you have to sing in front of a lot

of strangers no the place we went to

rented out small private rooms nobody

else could hear us they even gave us

free sodas cool what kind of music did

they have they had hundreds of different

songs to choose from they had both new

songs and old songs they had songs in

English and songs and several other

languages too it was really fun I think

I’ll go karaoke singing next weekend

unit 17 watching TV

did you watch the latest episode of that

new reality show last night there are so

many of those reality shows these days

which one are you talking about it’s

called good fences and it’s all about

neighbors this reality show is the only

one I like because you’re right the

others are just silly I never watch

reality shows at all I prefer to watch

shows that teach me about something like

science and nature programs and travel

shows oh I like travel shows too my

favorite travel show is the one with

that chef from England

he travels cooks and eats all the time I

like that one too he really makes me

laugh he has a good sense of humor let’s

watch it together this week it’s on

Thursday at 8 o’clock right that’s right

but where shall we watch it well I have

a big-screen TV in a comfortable sofa ok

we’ll watch it at your place then and

I’ll bring some snacks see you then unit

18 have some fun

okay great we’ll meet you in an hour bye

who is that on the phone Jane that was

Amy she wants to meet us in front of her

apartment building in an hour why are we

meeting her there because her apartment

is close to the bus stop we’re going to

go downtown and watch a movie so hurry

up and get ready

oh I honestly don’t think I should watch

a movie tonight I’m studying for an

important test on Tuesday so I really

don’t have time to have fun you have

been studying for several days jo you

don’t need to study anymore you need to

have some fun because you’re too tired

to study anyway I don’t know maybe

you’re right

is it just a me and us going Lily it’s

coming along too

really I need time to take a shower and

get dressed don’t worry you have time it

will be fun to see Lily and fun to watch

a movie together I told you so unit 19

tickets to the game

you won’t believe this but I have some

great news I’ve got two tickets to the

baseball game next Saturday did I hear

you correctly you have two tickets to

the baseball game how did you get those

I thought it was impossible to get

tickets because they were all sold out

last month it was easy actually my

colleague and her husband have to go to

London that week so they’ll miss the

game

they offered me their tickets and of

course I was happy to accept you’re so

lucky

who are you going to take with you I was

thinking that maybe you would like to go

otherwise I might take my brother

instead don’t do that I would love to

watch the game with you I was just

joking I know you really want to go

where shall we meet on Saturday well the

game starts at nine o’clock in the

morning right yes shall we meet here at

8:30 a.m. on Saturday good idea I can’t

wait unit 20 wonder woman

comic-book heroes have been popular for

many years one hero has the strength of

100 men

this hero also has the speed of

lightning

this hero cannot be killed if you think

this hero is Superman you are wrong this

hero is Wonder Woman

a man called William Marston created

Wonder Woman in 1941 he was a graduate

of Harvard University he used a false

name on his comics he did not want his

colleagues to know that he wrote comics

the false name was Charles Moulton Mr

Marston wanted to make a strong female

hero for little girls

of course he hoped that little boys

would like Wonder Woman too Wonder Woman

was not very popular at first then World

War two began in 1941

Wonder Woman became a role model for

children around the world she was both

strong and beautiful she always tried to

do what was right today

she is still one of the most popular

heroes of all time school and family

unit 21 blood types

thanks for meeting me today professor I

don’t understand last week’s lecture on

blood types could you please explain it

to me

no problem Angela first let’s see what

you do understand can you tell me about

blood types there are four types of

blood a B a B and O good how was your

blood type determined you get your blood

type from both your parents your blood

type is a combination of genes from your

father and your mother that’s right

before the lecture I always thought that

all blood is the same why can’t two

different blood types mix in some ways

every person’s blood is the same but it

is very dangerous to mix two different

blood types your blood cells may begin

to stick together if you are given the

wrong type of blood in a hospital you

could die I see so that’s why blood

types must be matched in the hospital

and this must be done before blood is

given to anyone

exactly unit 22 the car ride

mom Danielle’s on my side of the car

again tell her to move over listen both

of you I’ve had enough of your nonsense

sit still be quiet and enjoy the scenery

mom is Toronto still far away it’s going

to take a long time to get there so read

your book I don’t like to read in the

car because it gives me a headache

can we put a CD in I suppose so but it

had better not be rap music that music

is awful and I can’t believe you

children actually listen to it oh please

can we play some rap music you might

like it mom well only if you promise

that there is no bad language in it

there isn’t any bad language I promise

alright I’ll play the CD but it will be

at the volume I choose thanks mom have I

ever told you about the songs I liked at

your age people listen to real music in

those days Oh mom rap is real music you

unit 23 the report

I finished my report on the French

Revolution last night how did you finish

it so fast I’m still trying to find

books about it there was something about

the French Revolution on TV last week I

wrote down the names of all the people

who were on the show what did you do max

I went to the library and looked for

their books it was very easy especially

because I already understood what they

wanted to say I guess I could have done

that but I missed the TV show why did

mr. Todd make us write about French

history anyway she’s a French language

teacher not a history teacher mr. Sartre

said that if we want to understand the

language we should understand the

culture I don’t know if I speak better

French but I know more about French

history now if the French Revolution had

never happened

French would be a very different

language you’re right

I’m going to talk to mr. side now I’ll

see you later

unit 24 home schools

are many kinds of schools for many kinds

of students one kind of school is the

home school home schools are exactly

that schools at home parents choose to

homeschool their children for many

reasons some people feel that public

schools are too dangerous some people

think that the level of education is too

low some parents do not approve of the

subjects their children learn in public

schools if parents choose to homeschool

their children they must be ready to

teach them well there are many benefits

to homeschooling

home schools are very small there are

just one or two students the students

mother or father is the teacher another

benefit is that students can study

interesting things some people think

that home schooling is not good for

students they believe public schools

teach children discipline they feel that

public schools give a sense of community

in the end parents must decide if

homeschooling is the right choice for

their children unit 25 Big Brother

so how does it feel to have a new baby

brother in the house it’s really

exciting but not as easy as I thought it

would be because the baby cries

constantly I love my baby brother but I

don’t like all that noise I know when my

baby sister was born she cried and slept

all the time I had to help change

diapers and feed her I hope I never have

to change a diaper my mom and dad do a

good job of that

I learned how to heat the bottle to the

right temperature though having a new

baby around his hard work what do you

like most about your new brother he’s

really cute and everyone says he looks

like me but with darker hair smile a Q

of course he laughs when I tickle his

little feet when he grows up a bit I’ll

teach him how to ride a bicycle and we

can also play games together I’m going

to be the best big brother in the world

people and work unit 26 the new boss

you know Kim I think our new boss

doesn’t like me I don’t understand why

that’s not true Trevor why just this

morning I heard her say you’re a very

good employee

she said you work very hard every day

that’s news to me I wish you would say

it to me but she just criticizes

everything I do I think that you’re

being too sensitive do you really think

so

maybe I just need a vacation I haven’t

had one for years it’s not good to work

so hard Trevor I think a vacation is a

great idea how about you are you happy

at work these days yes I’m really

enjoying working for this new boss

that’s why I’m surprised that you think

she criticizes your work actually I

think she is helping you to improve your

work she’s just trying to help I didn’t

realize that now that I think about it

you’re right I feel much better

good let’s go for lunch unit 27 the

principal

how long have you been a school

principal mr. Shin I have been a school

principal for 18 years what made you get

involved in education when I was 12

years old

I read an article about how the human

brain works I studied very hard I tried

to use my brain well soon I began to get

interested in education I see

after college I became a teacher I was

given the position of principal 12 years

later do you ever wish that you had done

something else when I first started as a

principal I miss being a teacher I like

spending time with children and helping

them learn and grow however I knew that

I could do a lot of good as a principal

you have certainly done a lot of good

mr. Shin you started a special program

to send all the students in your school

to college I had been planning to do

that for some time I’m glad the program

is so successful unit 28 bill gates

look at this article I am reading it

says here that Microsoft made over

thirty six billion dollars in 2004 Wow

I wish I was Bill Gates the owner of

Microsoft is it just because of the

money of course you can donate a lot of

money to help other people

Bill Gates donates millions to charity

every year he also employs about 55,000

people in 85 different countries I heard

that he got interested in computers when

he was really young that’s right he

started programming computers when he

was 13 years old really yes then he

studied computers at Harvard University

he was a Harvard graduate this shows how

important education is to success

actually Bill Gates decided to drop out

of Harvard he was an excellent student

but he did not want to graduate why not

he had a dream he dreamed the computers

would be in every home and office in the

world I see he decided to follow his

dream yes he made the right decision

unit 29 Mark Twain

here is a story that Mark Twain the

famous author of Tom Sawyer and The

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn told one

afternoon years ago I was on a train

leaving New York there were too many

people and a sleeper train was full I

asked the young man at the ticket office

if I could have a room in the sleeper

section of the train he answered rudely

no I left feeling quite angry as I was

getting on the train

I saw a man watching me he watched me

for a few minutes then he spoke to the

conductor in a whisper immediately the

conductor came over to me can I help you

he asked do you want a place in the

sleeper section yes give me anything we

have two beds and chairs in a private

section the conductor made sure I was

comfortable then he said I’m so proud to

have you on this train sir Oh Who am I

I asked general McClellan unit 30 a

soccer star

soccer is a very popular teen sport

worldwide many people love to watch it

Hong myung-bo is a famous soccer player

he started playing soccer in 1990 he

played for the Pohang Steelers for six

years then he played for the Los Angeles

Galaxy he was the first Korean to play

for a major league soccer team in the

United States now he is a coach for the

South Korean soccer team

Kong is famous because he played soccer

well he played in more than 125

international games he also played in

four World Cups he played in the World

Cup in 1990 1994 1998 and 2002

[Music]

hong-won to soccer awards in 2002 his

team won the award for the most

entertaining team in the World Cup

people thought it was fun to watch

Holmes team play soccer home also won

the adidas bronze ball award this award

was for his outstanding performance in

the game even though home did not play

in the final game he played well sports

and helped unit 31 keeping fit

we all need regular exercise to keep fed

but if we study all day we don’t have

time to run swim lift weights or play

basketball what can we do to stay in

shape one thing we could do is walk more

often walking is good exercise instead

of going to school by car or bus we

could walk during recess we could go

outside and stroll around before we go

back to class instead of taking the

elevator in buildings all the time we

could use the stairs another important

thing is to take breaks from studying if

we sit at our desks or in front of a

computer for a long time we should stand

up and stretch our arms and lengths once

each hour if we stand for a long time we

should sit down and stretch our backs

these are just a few ways we can stay

fit when we don’t have a lot of time to

exercise do you know some other ways

unit 32 stop yawning

stop yawning Jason I’m sorry miss teri I

can’t help it

you can you yawn because your lungs need

more oxygen when you need more oxygen

you open your mouth wide and take in a

lot of air what can I do to stop yawning

you should go outside into the fresh air

and breathe deeply then you won’t need

to yawn anymore your lungs will have

lots of oxygen we just came in from

recess so why am i yawning are you tired

being tired also makes you yawn this is

because your body needs rest

oxygen helps your body rest sleeping

rests your body and make you take long

deep breaths then why do I yawn when I

am bored miss teri

well Jason when you are bored you are

probably not breathing deeply enough the

best way to stop yawning from boredom

is to do something interesting if you

can’t do that try taking deep breaths

this will not stop the boredom but it

will help you stop yawning

unit 33 the gym

did you hear that a new gym opened on

one of the streets nearby that’s great

news I’ve gained some weight and I’d

like to lose it through exercise I need

to lose weight too and I’ve always

wanted to take yoga classes do you know

if the new gym offers yoga classes I’m

not sure I’m planning to go there on

Friday evening to look around do you

want to join me let me check my schedule

for this week I’m too busy on Friday so

can we go on Saturday afternoon instead

sure we can see what the new gym has to

offer and get some exercise too it’s fun

to work out in a gym with other people

we might even meet new people with

similar hobbies hold on let’s see what

the gym looks like first before we start

planning anything else let’s meet for

lunch at the West End cafe before we go

it might be the last good meal we’d

could plan unit 30 for a healthy

lifestyle

this burger is delicious do you want

some no thank you

I’m working out at a gym these days I

want to be healthy so I’ve also started

eating good fresh food you’re exercising

that’s fantastic

when did you start thinking about your

weight and staying in shape last month I

had a checkup my doctor told me that I

should be leading a much healthier

lifestyle now but I’m getting older now

I try to eat small regular meals instead

of one or two big meals a day I see what

types of food do you usually eat now

I eat lots of fruit and vegetables I try

to limit carbohydrates like bread rice

and pasta I also try not to eat sugary

foods old dear

I love sugary foods especially cakes

well trying to eat food that is good for

you you need to take care of yourself

you’re right

I should start thinking about a

healthier lifestyle but first I’m going

to finish my burger unit 35 a balanced

meal

I have lost seven pounds in one week

skipping breakfast really works I don’t

think that’s a good idea why not

people who skip breakfast eat more at

the next meal eating breakfast is very

important breakfast gives you energy for

the day well I eat one big meal a day at

dinnertime having one meal a day is not

good

you should have several small meals a

day you’ll have more energy that way

maybe you’re right I have been feeling

really tired lately

what do you usually eat I only eat

salads now salads alone may not be

nutritious enough so what should I eat

you need some protein in carbohydrates

it is important to eat a good variety of

food at each meal you should have

balanced meals make sure you eat cereals

fruits and vegetables and some bread or

rice you also need milk and dairy

products and some meat you’ll be

healthier you’ll have more energy you’ll

even look better travel and transport

unit 36 across Canada

I’m so excited I just got back from the

travel agency travel agency where are

you going I’m planning to go to Canada

on vacation Canada how exciting how long

are you going for I’m going for a month

I want to see as much as I can you are

so lucky what places are you going to

visit first I’ll spend a few days in

Vancouver then I’ll take a train through

the Rocky Mountains

oh you’re riding through the Rockies

that’s really exciting then I’ll fly to

Toronto and take a bus to Niagara Falls

did you know that you can actually take

a boat under that huge waterfall

it’s called Maid of the Mist wow that’s

an amazing thing to do you’re so lucky

well I hope I don’t get seasick I’ll

finish my trip in Nova Scotia I want to

eat lobster for dinner every night and

I’d like to bike around some small

fishing villages to have a great time

and take lots of pictures unit 37 a trip

to Europe

where are you going on vacation this

year Andre I’m going to Europe with my

parents we’re going to take a tour of

France Italy and Germany oh that will be

such fun how long will you be gone three

weeks we’re going in the summer so I

won’t miss any school what will you do

there

we’re going to visit historical sites

like the Colosseum in Rome will also see

famous museums like the Louvre in Paris

and of course we’re going to the top of

the Eiffel Tower

how will you travel from one country to

another

there’s a famous train that goes all

over Europe it’s called the Euro rail I

wish I could go with you my family is

going to the seashore again just like

last year I’d like to go somewhere I’ve

never been

don’t worry Julie I will take lots of

pictures and I’ll buy you a souvenir

thank you I’ll collect some seashells

from the beach for you thanks unit 38

New Mexico

hi I haven’t seen you for two whole

weeks where did you go on your vacation

I visited my cousin in New Mexico I had

a great time Mexico I thought you went

to the US I did New Mexico is a state in

the southwestern US it’s between Texas

and Arizona guess what a lot of

Americans don’t know that do Mexico is a

state the license plates on cars in New

Mexico also say USA this is so that

people don’t get confused and think the

driver is from Mexico that’s funny

so tell me what you did in New Mexico my

favorite part was visiting Carlsbad

Caverns there are 30 miles of caves in

one cave we had to wear hats with lights

on them so we could see in the dike

sometimes we had to crawl through very

narrow tunnels on our hands and knees

weren’t you scared no it was a lot of

fun I’m going to visit my cousin again

next year you should come with me

unit 39 a good way to travel

traveling is a good hobby if you have

very little money backpacking is a good

way to travel many students like to

backpack they can travel cheaply they

can travel to many places these

travelers carry their belongings in

large backpacks they are called

backpackers backpackers take buses or

trains to save money they camp outdoors

to sleep if they stay in a city they may

go to a hostel a hostel is like a hotel

hotels are not cheap hostels are very

cheap travelers often share rooms at

hostels there are only a few toilets and

babs people share them two hostels are a

good place to meet other travelers you

can make friends they can tell you about

fun things to do in the area many

hostels have kitchens these kitchens

have stoves

some have toasters you can buy your food

from a store then you can cook at the

hostel this is cheaper than eating out

just remember to clean up when you are

done

unit 40 a train announcement

welcome on board the TGV 740 we are now

leaving parents we will arrive in

Marseilles at 3 p.m. we offer free

beverages in each car please have as

much coffee - your soft drinks as you

wish there is a restaurant on the train

you may purchase a meal there during the

trip the restaurant is in car Levin we

will make two stops on this trip we will

pick up passengers in provence and dijon

passengers changing trains can ask the

attendant for a free timetable this will

help you with your onward trip please

note that smoking is only permitted in

cars fifteen and twenty three newspapers

are given to all passengers mobile

phones and the internet may be used in

cars 18 and 25 if you need assistance

please press the button near your seat

to contact a cabin attendant please sit

back relax and enjoy the trip we are

pleased to have you onboard we look

forward to serving you again in the

future