Listening Exercises A2 – Touring a City

1.

This is very unusual, isn’t it? It’s by one of our most famous artists. Nowadays his works sell for over $25,000 each. But I really don’t understand how anybody would want to spend that much money on something like this. Do you?

2.

It’s okay. She’s quite friendly. She probably just wants something to eat. I’m sure she loves those peanuts in your bag.

3.

This is the best way to see the city, isn’t it? You can see everything in a day just by sitting and looking through the window. I always do this the first day I visit a new place.

4.

Oh, you have to try some of these. They are really delicious. They’re so sweet. They grow them very near here.

5.

This is an interesting old place. It was built over 200 years ago. It used to be the home of a very rich man. He lived here by himself until he died. Then his family have it to the city so that now everybody can enjoy it.

6.

I have to get some of these. I see them in all the souvenir shops. They’re really amazing. And they’re cheap, too. I think I’ll take some back as gifts for the people in my office.

1.

Good afternoon, and welcome to Hollywood, California. I hope you all enjoy today’s tour of the houses of the stars. Here we go! Now remember, you can buy photos of all the stars’ houses when the tour is over, so please don’t take any pictures during the tour, okay?

Up on the left is the gorgeous mansion where Marilyn Monroe lived. After she got married, she left this house and moved to New York to live with her husband, a famous American baseball player named Joe Di Maggio. Now, just around the corner you’ll see a bright yellow house. Can you see it? Up on the hill? This is where James Dean lived. Finally, do you se that big iron gate on the right? Well, this is the entrance to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s house. Unfortunately, you can’t see the house from here, and we’re not allowed to go inside the gate.

2.

We’re starting your tour by going up the tallest building in New York City: the Empire State Building. You can see the whole city from the top of this building. While you’re up there, don’t forget to look at the Statue of Liberty through the telescope, since we don’t visit it on this tour. Next, we’ll take the bus uptown to beautiful Central Park. I know the bus doesn’t sound very glamorous, but I promise you, it’s just as fast as taking a taxi. When we get to Central Park, we’ll visit the petting zoo and have a picnic lunch. Finally, we’ll walk to another famous place: Rockefeller Center. In the winter, people go there go ice skate on the famous outdoor rink. Of course, there won’t be any ice on a hot, summer day like today, but there’s a very nice photograph of the rink for sale at the gift shop.

3.

Welcome to Kathmandu, Nepal! As you all know, the country of Nepal has some really tall mountains, including the world’s tallest mountain, Mt. Everest. But here is the capital city, Kathmandu, the mountains are almost always covered by clouds. So I’m afraid we probably won’t be seeing Mt. Everest today. However, we are going to visit an exciting market in the center of town where you can buy all kinds of souvenirs, including beautiful wool sweaters at really great prices. As we go through the market, though, please don’t eat any of the food offered to you on the street. It looks delicious, but it might not be healthy. After visiting the market, we’ll take a taxi to Pashupati Temple. This is one of the most important temples for the people of India and Nepal. Unfortunately, because we do not belong to their religion, we won’t be able to go inside the temple. We can still look and touch the beautiful statues outside it, though!

4.

Welcome to Chicago! We’re standing in front of Wrigley Field, one of the most famous baseball stadium in the United States. There’s no game today, but there is one tomorrow, so you can buy tickets for it while we’re here. Next, we’re going to take a bus down to the Chicago Art Institute and spend a few hours looking at all the great paintings they have inside. Unfortunately, the museum’s most famous painting, Summer in the Park, is not on display today. It’s being cleaned. After the museum, we’ll take a boat ride down the Chicago River. As we float down the river, you’ll see the city’s great skyscrapers go right over your head. Finally, we’ll try some delicious Chicago style pizza at a very famous restaurant – about eighty years ago, the legendary gangster Al Capone used to eat there!

1.

A:   Have you taken a tour since you’ve been here?

B:   Yes, I went on one last weekend.

A:   What was it like?

B:   Well, we didn’t see a lot. We mainly went to a lot of shops. I would’ve preferred to see more of the museums and famous buildings. I’m not really interested in shopping. And the bus they took us in was so old and slow. They should put it in the museum!

A:   Really! Did you say anything to the guide about it?

B:   Well the problem was, he didn’t speak English very well. And he wasn’t really very friendly.

A:   That’s too bad!

B:   But, we did have a nice lunch on the tour, and the whole tour was very cheap so it wasn’t all bad. But I don’t think it was worth the time, or money, even though it was cheap.

2.

A:   What was your city tour like?

B:   Well, we saw lots of interesting places on the tour. I was totally exhausted at the end of it, but I’m really glad I took it. You should try it.

A:   Did you go by bus?

B:   Yes, we had a nice, comfortable bus, and a very helpful guide. You know how some guides talk all the time. This one didn’t. He gave us just enough information, but not too much.

A:   Where did they take you for lunch?

B:   Oh, some dirty little place near the center of town. I didn’t eat much because the food didn’t look very good to me.

A:   That’s too bad. Was the tour expensive?

B:   No. Not at all. It was very reasonable.

3.

A:   Did you just get back from the tour?

B:   Yeah. It was really good. We visited all the places of interest. I’m glad we took it.

A:   Did you take a bus or a van?

B:   We took a bus. There were only fifteen of us in it, so we had lots of room. It was a new clean one, so it was pretty comfortable.

A:   Did you have a guide?

B:   Oh, yes. She was great. A young student, I think. She really knew her stuff.

A:   How was lunch?

B:   Awful! We just had some fast food along the way.

A:   How much was the tour?

B:   Well, it was pretty expensive. That was the only problem. $100! I think they should’ve charged us about $50. But anyway, I think it’s definitely worth doing this tour.

4.

A:   So how was the tour?

B:   It was disappointing, actually.

A:   That’s too bad.

B:   Yeah, we didn’t get to see very much. It was too short. I wanted to see a lot more.

A:   Really.

B:   It wasn’t very comfortable wither. The bus wasn’t air conditioned, so it got very hot and stuffy after a while.

A:   Uh-huh.

B:   Anyway the guide was very helpful. He gave us some very interesting information and told a lot of jokes, so that was fun. And we had a really good lunch at a seafood restaurant.

A:   So was the tour worth it?

B:   Well it was only $15, which is pretty reasonable. But if you want to take a tour, you should try a different tour company.

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Transcript

Today’s bus tour will take us all over this great city. First, we’ll go to the art museum, which has an impressive collection of modern paintings. Before we leave, you’ll have a chance to buy some postcards and art books at the gift shop. Then we’ll take an elevator to the top of the city’s tallest building. You’ll have an amazing view of the entire city. Be sure to bring your cameras. Afterwards, we’ll have a light lunch at a restaurant near the river. The tour will end at the city mall, which is full of wonderful stores and little cafes. I highly recommend buying pottery and jewelry there. It is some of the finest in the world.

1 False   2 False   3 True   4 False   5 True

Transcript

A:   What did you do today?

B:   We took a wonderful tour of the city this morning. We visited a lot of different places-the city zoo, the waterfront, and a small history museum. I’m really tired now, but I’m glad I went. All the places we visited were interesting.

A:   Wow. That’s quite a tour! Was it expensive?

B:   No, it wasn’t.

A:   Did you eat on the trip?

B:   Yes, we did. Actually, the food was the only thing I really didn’t like. I wanted to go to a restaurant to try local food, but they took us to a fast-food restaurant.

A:   That’s too bad. Was the tour guide helpful?

B:   Yes, very. She told us about some great places to buy souvenirs and gave us really interesting historical information about all the places we visited.