Exercise 1
THE SILK ROAD
More than 2,000 years ago, China began looking for new places in Europe to sell products such as silk. Different routes opened and these routes were called the ‘Silk Road’. It was a difficult journey and could take six months on foot. Today, companies such as Hewlett Packard use the ‘New Silk Road’ to transport laptops between China and Germany by train – and it only takes 13 days! The Old Silk Road is also very popular now with tourists – more than 50 million tourists visit Xi’an, the city at the start of the Old Silk Road, every year.
TRAVEL BLOG
MY BEST TRIP EVER!! MURAT AKAN
It really was a great trip and I can remember so many amazing things that we did. For example, when we were in Kyrgyzstan, we saw some very exciting competitions with horses. We didn’t understand them, but it was a lot of fun! We didn’t normally travel much more than 300 kilometres a day – and sometimes less – but one day we travelled 500! I slept well that night! We stayed in hotels, but we didn’t use luxury hotels because they were too expensive. There was only one thing we didn’t like – going from one country to another. The border police checked everything again and again and it took a long time – six hours one day!
MY DREAM JOURNEY ON THE SILK ROAD INGRID LEIDENROTH
This was my dream holiday!! It wasn’t a fast way to travel, but there was a lot to see and a lot of time to think! Before we left, we packed our bags very carefully because we didn’t want to take anything that we didn’t need (too heavy!). Some days we travelled about 80 kilometres, but other days – when we were tired – we didn’t go very far at all. And sometimes, when we were very tired, we didn’t want to cycle and we got lifts on trucks. We didn’t plan our trip very carefully, and we often changed our plans. We slept in tents next to the road and watched the stars for hours. The best thing about travelling this way is that you can meet the people who live there. They were interested in us and wanted to find out about our trip. We even saw inside a traditional home – a yurt – and had dinner with the family!
A. Read The Silk Road and answer the questions.
1 Which journey in maps 1-3 does it describe?
2 Was it always a tourist route?
B. Read the blogs. Who do you think said each sentence after their trip, Murat (M) or Ingrid (I)?
1 I saw some unusual sports on my trip.
2 We made sure our bags were light.
3 Sometimes we didn’t want to get on our bikes.
4 The places we stayed in were usually two-star.
5 I needed to show my passport a lot.
6 We loved seeing where people lived.
Answer
A
1 The text describes the journey in map 1.
2 No, it wasn’t always a tourist route.
B
1 M 2 I 3 I 4 M 5 M 6 I
Exercise 2
METROS AROUND THE WORLD
Dubai
The Dubai Metro opened in 2009. It’s 76 kilometres long and there are no drivers. The metro goes above ground in many places, so you can see the city really well. Of course it has air conditioning (it needs it because the temperature in Dubai can sometimes be above 40°C!).
Moscow
If you visit Moscow, go on the Moscow Metro. It opened in 1935 and the stations are very beautiful, with statues and lamps. Eight million people use it every day so it can get very crowded. There are police at the stations so it’s very safe, even at night.
London
The London Underground – the ‘Tube’ – was the first underground (or metro) in the world. It opened in 1863. It now has 270 stations and you can go nearly everywhere in London. It’s not cheap and the trains are often full, but it’s unusual because it’s very deep under the ground (50 metres in some places). One station, Hampstead, has 320 steps!
Our reviews
‘Amazing’ ✪✪✪✪✪
The stations are really fantastic. I went from one station to the next and took lots of photos. And the trains are also good. It’s a fast and comfortable way to see the city.
‘Loved it!’
It was clean and never late so we didn’t wait at all. The air conditioning was great and the seats were comfortable – you can really relax. I preferred it to a taxi and it was a cool way to travel when it was hot outside.
‘Good but expensive’
It’s a fast way to get around such a big city but it’s quite expensive. Also, it’s sometimes very crowded and uncomfortable – a few times we couldn’t even get on the train. And you have to be careful because the platforms aren’t very wide so there’s not much space!
‘Difficult to find your way’
We don’t speak Russian and there’s nothing in English at the stations, so it’s not easy to know where to go. But it’s very cheap – you can go across the city for 30 roubles.
A. Read Metros around the world. Match the cities with pictures a–c.
B. Which metro … ?
1 is very old
2 is very new
3 has good views
4 looks nice
5 has trains with no drivers
6 do you think is the best
C. Read Our reviews and answer the questions.
• Which metro do you think each review is about?
• Which words tell you the answer?
Answer
A
a Moscow b London c Dubai
B
1 London is old. (It opened in 1863.)
2 Dubai is new. (The Dubai Metro opened in 2009.)
3 Dubai has good views. (… you can see the city really well.)
4 Moscow is famous for its stations. (Many tourists go to see these wonderful stations.)
5 Dubai has trains with no drivers. (… there are no drivers.)
6 Students’ own answers
C
‘Amazing’: Moscow − stations, fantastic
‘Loved it!’: Dubai − air conditioning, cool, hot
‘Good but expensive’: London − not cheap, crowded
‘Difficult to find your way’: Moscow − Russian, roubles
Exercise 3
Dubai
Dear Mr and Mrs Conway
My name is Ahmed Al Mansouri and I come from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Thank you for offering to be my homestay family when I’m in Sydney.
I am 23 years old and study biology at university. I live with my family in Dubai. My father is a businessman and my mother is a doctor. I’ve got one brother and one sister. They’re university students too.
In my free time, I like playing football (I think you say ‘soccer’ in Australia!) and meeting my friends. I like watching different kinds of sports with them.
While I’m in Sydney, I really want to study hard and improve my English because I want to become a marine biologist after I finish university. I’d really like to work in a country like Australia.
I’m looking forward to meeting you when I arrive.
Best wishes
Ahmed
A. Ahmed decided to stay with the Conways. Read his email to them. Tick (✓) the main reason he writes to them.
1 to ask about their house
2 to tell them about all the sports he likes
3 to tell them about himself
4 to explain how much he wants to study
B. Read the email again. Number the information in the order you find it.
…… his future plans
…… his hobbies
…… his family’s jobs
…… his hometown
Answer
A
3 ✓ to tell them about himself
B
1 his hometown
2 his family’s jobs
3 his hobbies
4 his future plans
Exercise 4
Lost in the mountains!
1 Tom Roberts hated living in the city. He thought it was noisy and crowded, and his apartment was so expensive, he spent most of his money on it.
2 All week at work he thought about the weekends, when he could get away to the countryside. On Fridays, he packed his tent and some food and water, and caught a bus to the mountains. That was where he felt really happy. He didn’t mind camping, even in winter – he just took a very warm sleeping bag!
3 One weekend, he set off as usual. He followed a path into a forest. He enjoyed the silence and the clean, fresh air. He thought about his job and the city where he lived. He decided that he wanted a new job, away from the city. But what job could he do in the countryside? He thought about all of this, and he didn’t think about where he was going.
4 Then he stopped. He felt cold. It was dark. And he had no idea where he was.
5 He tried to walk in a straight line. He was sure he must come to a road soon! Three days later, he was still walking. By now, he was hungry, dirty and afraid. He started to think that he could never get out of the mountains. Then he heard a strange noise. The noise got louder and louder until at last he saw a helicopter in the air above him.
6 Tom knew this was his last chance. He took off his red shirt, climbed onto a large rock, and waved it. When the helicopter flew closer, he knew he was safe at last.
A. Read the text. Are the sentences true or false?
1 Tom loved going to the mountains.
2 He didn’t go to the mountains very often.
3 This time he didn’t know how to get home.
B. Complete the sentences about the text with the words in the box.
|
cost – find – heard – slept – thought – used – walked – went |
1 Tom’s apartment ……cost…… a lot of money.
2 At the weekend he ……………… to the mountains.
3 When he walked in the mountains, he ……………… in a tent.
4 He ……………… a lot about his job in the city.
5 On the second day, he tried to ……………… a road.
6 For three days, he ……………… in a straight line.
7 He knew the helicopter was there because he ……………… it.
8 He ……………… his shirt to help the pilot see him.
C. Write a short story about a journey with a problem. Think about these questions:
• Why was the person on the journey?
• What was the problem?
• What happened in the end?
Answer
A
True: 1, 3; False: 2
B
2 went 3 slept 4 thought 5 find 6 walked 7 heard 8 used
