Track 1-5-OL-3
Listen to a talk about a great city for a vacation.
Singapore is a great city for a vacation. There are a lot of interesting things to see. You can visit Chinatown and Little lndia, and go shopping on Orchard Road. Singapore also has many good restaurants. There are some great beaches for swimming near the city, and the parks are really beautiful. The city has very good public transportation - - you can take a bus, train, or subway. It’s a safe city, and there isn’t much crime. It’s also a clean city. There isn’t much pollution. The only problem is that Singapore is expensive. The population of Singapore is approximately 4.84 million. With a medley of Chinese, Indian and Malay influences and a tropical climate, tasty food, good shopping and a vibrant nightlife scene, this Garden City makes a great stopover or springboard into the region.
Track 1-5-OL-4
Listen again and fill in the chart with information you hear.
Track 1-5-OL-5
Now listen to a passage about cities to go to for vacation. Choosing a city
Istanbul is a very unusual city – one part is in Europe, and the other part is in Asia. About 9 million people live there. Visitors love Istanbul because it has many beautiful, old buildings, and the food is great. At night, the seafood restaurants are very popular. And everything in Istanbul is very affordable for visitors. Traffic is a problem in the city, because there are too many cars for the old streets. There are also subways, trains, and buses, and some people take boats to go between the European side and the Asian side. The weather is very good in summer, but in winter it’s sometimes very cold.
Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It’s near the mountains and the sea, and there are many great parks where you can walk, ride a bicycle, or just relax. The city has good public transportation, with buses and fast trains that go everywhere. There are about 600,000 people in Vancouver, but it’s a very clean city, and there’s not much pollution. Two bad points—prices there are very high, and the weather is not very good. Vancouver is famous for rain! But there are many good museums for those rainy days, and in the evening, the city has great restaurants and nightclubs to visit.
Track 1-5-OL-6
Listen again. Complete the chart with information about the cities.
Track 1-5-Ol-7
Now listen to a talk about the Best Cites to Live in. Read the sentences. Which city does each sentence describe? Sometimes both cities are possible.
Two magazines recently listed the best cities to live in. Here are two of the cities listed as ―the world’s best.‖ San Jose, Costa Rica. When people think of Costa Rica, they imagine rain forests, rivers, and beautiful beaches. These things are not in San Jose. But this city is still one of the world’s best. Why? Unlike other cities in Central and South America, San
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Jose has comfortable weather all year (15℃/60℉ to 26℃/79℉). Housing is affordable in San Jose. Also, many of the city’s older neighborhoods are very beautiful and have small hotels, art galleries and cafes. Beautiful volcanoes and mountains surround the city. You can visit them easily from San Jose. Minuses: there’s good public transportation, but traffic and air pollution are a problem in the city center.
Hong Kong, China. Why live in Hong Kong? Here are two good reasons. The city: this lively city -–once a small fishing village—is today an international business center. It is an interesting mix of East and West, old and new. Modern skyscrapers are next to small temples. Popular nightclubs are close to traditional teahouses. Busy crowds fill the streets at all hours of the day. But outside the city, there are parks for walking or relaxing. The food: Hong Kong is famous for its wonderful native dishes (try the dim sum). There’s also food from Europe, North America, and other parts of Asia. Minuses: This small city has a large population. How many people live in Hong Kong? Almost seven million! That’s why housing is often very expensive. Traffic and air pollution are also a problem.
Track 1-5-OL-8
Listen again. Do you want to live in Hong Kong or San Jose? Why or why not? What is important to you in a place to live? Put these items in order from 1(very important) to 4 (not so important). Explain your reasons.
Unit 5, Lesson B
Global viewpoints In my neighborhood
Natalie: In my neighborhood there is a pizza shop. Right next door to the pizza shop is a clothing store and across the street from the clothing store is a pharmacy.
Daniel: In my hometown I live across from the supermarket, there’s a post office down the road, there’s a bank, and I live very close to the train station.
Kevin: I live in a college town so my neighborhood has a lot of laundromats and pizza and Chinese restaurants.
Agnes: We have a bakery and a post office on the main street with a lot of little shops where you can find things for the kitchen and a lot of restaurants, too. To get to my favorite restaurant, you just have to go down my street, and take your first right. Go a couple of blocks, and then take your first left. And the restaurant is on your left on that street.
Cities and towns
Gian: I am from a small town in the state of North Dakota. My town has very little crime, almost no pollution, and the cost of living is very low.
Miyuki: Tokyo is a very expensive city. Food’s very expensive. Transportation cost is probably one of the biggest problems. But the subway systems are extremely organized, so it’s not that difficult to get around.
Dave: Mexico City is a big, scary city with a lot of people and a lot of pollution. And it can be very intimidating, but I love it.
Dayanne: The cost of living in Sao Paulo is very high, but I love it. I would like to live in the countryside where it is quiet with not too many people and the cost of living is not so high.
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City Living.
You can’t miss it!
Tara: Hi! We’re back! Anybody home?
Sun-hee: (pointing to note) Hey, what’s that?
Tara: Oh, it’s a note from Claudia. (reading note) ―Hi girls! There’s a cool new restaurant near my office. Let’s have dinner there tonight-- my treat! The name is Giovanni’s, and it’s on West Houston Street between MacDougal and Sullivan. You can’t miss it! Claudia. P.S. The traffic is terrible down there. Take the subway and walk.‖ Sun-hee: Oh, it sounds like fun. Let’s go!
Tara: Yeah, let’s.
Sun-hee: All right. Do you want to get the note out?
Tara: OK. Let’s see. I don’t have Claudia’s note! I forgot it!
Sun-hee: Don’t worry about it. Claudia said, ―You can’t miss it.‖ We can find it. Come on. Tara: Where is it?
Sun-hee: I don’t know, and it’s raining. (sees man) Let’s ask him. Excuse us. We’re looking for a restaurant called Giovanni’s. Do you know where it is?
Man: Hmm . . . Giovanni’s. I know the name. What street is it on? Sun-hee: I think it’s on West Houston Street.
Man: Oh yeah, yeah, Giovanni’s. It’s on West Houston between MacDougal and Sullivan Street, right?
Tara: That’s right! (to Sun-hee) That was in the note! (to man) So, can you give us directions?
Man: Yeah, sure. It’s pretty close. You walk two blocks down this street. You turn left at the gym on the corner.
Sun-hee: OK. . . .
Man: Then you walk one more block, and there’s a big nightclub called Up Close. It’s on the corner of West Houston and MacDougal. Tara: Nightclub called Up Close.
Man: That’s it. Turn right on West Houston. Walk about 200 meters. It’s in the middle of the block, on the right. You can’t miss it. Good luck.
Tara: OK, great! Thanks! (to Sun-hee) Did you understand that?
Sun-hee: Umm . . . sort of. But we’re late! Come on. Let’s go.
Tara: Oh my gosh! I don’t believe it! This is the same street we were on five minutes ago! Sun-hee: Forget it. We’re lost. And I’m hungry! Tara: Me too. Let’s take a taxi. (to street) Taxi!
Sun-hee: I can’t believe it. The restaurant was right across the street from the subway station.
Tara: Well, like Claudia said, ―You can’t miss it.‖
Track 1-5-OL-9
Listen to the story summary. Fill in the blanks with what you hear.
Sun-hee and Tara come home and find a note from Claudia. Claudia wants them to meet her at a restaurant called Giovanni’s. She gives Sun-hee and Tara directions to the
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restaurant, but Tara forgets Claudia’s note. They ask a man for direction, but they don’t understand them. They finally take a taxi to the restaurant. When they get there, they are surprised. The restaurant is right across the street from the subway station!
Unit 6
Optional Listening 1
A housing problem
Mr. Jenner: Come in!
Graciela: Mr. Jenner?
Mr. Jenner: Oh, hi, Graciela. Please, come in.
Graciela: Thanks a lot.
Mr. Jenner: So, how’re you doing?
Graciela: Uh, okay.
Mr. Jenner: Really? Are you doing well in your classes?
Graciela: Yes, I am.
Mr. Jenner: Well … what’s wrong?
Graciela: It’s my housing …
Mr. Jenner: Uh-huh …
Graciela: I like the house, and my host family is very nice. But the house is far from school. It’s a 45-minute bus ride to come here every day. And all my friends live on campus.
Mr. Jenner: I understand. Let’s see … there’s a room in the school dormitory.
Graciela: Okay …
Mr. Jenner: But you share the room with another student.
Graciela: Sounds good!
Optional Listening 2
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