Listening Exercises B1 – Travel

1   a holiday by the seaside

2   a city break

3   a skiing holiday

4   an activity holiday

5   a camping holiday

6   a cruise

1: beach, swimming, sea, sand castles

2: museums, cathedrals, sightseeing

3: cable car, mountain, zooming, scenery

4: mountainbike, canoeing, horse, exciting

5: outdoors, tent, fishing

6: deck, out to sea

Transcript

(2 = American; 3 = American; 4 = Brazilian; 5 = Canadian; 6 = French)

1   Oh, my ideal holiday is … you know … relaxing on the beach, swimming. And the kids love playing in the sea, making sand castles, of course!

2   I really like looking around museums, going to cathedrals and that kind of thing. Hopping on a sightseeing bus. You know, just exploring.

3   Oh, it’s the best. Catching the cable car to the top of the mountain and then zooming down with all the fantastic scenery in front of you … You can’t beat it.

4   I need lots of things to do … Fun things, like mountainbike riding – that’s my favourite – or canoeing, and I like horse-riding too. Holidays are for doing exciting things.

5   I love being outdoors, you know, like waking up in a tent and then going fishing all day.

6   It’s great because you just sit on the deck and relax, look out to sea and wait for the world to come to you!

a   Per room per night

b   Vancouver to Lake Louise – 9 hours, Lake Louise to Jasper – 4 hours, Jasper to Calgary – 5 hours

c   Jasper National Park: you can play golf, go hiking and go boating.

     Calgary: you can go shopping, and visit museums and Calgary Tower.

Transcript

(Travel agent = South African)

Travel agent:     Hello. Take a seat. How can I help?

Simon:     We’re thinking of going to Canada, Vancouver and then to Calgary.

Jenny:     Yes, flying to Vancouver on June the 12th.

Travel agent:     OK. How many nights?

Jenny:     Just eight. Coming back on the 20th, from Calgary.

Travel agent:     OK … just a moment … Yes, with Air Canada, that’ll be £780 per person, including all taxes.

Jenny:     Oh, that’s better than we thought!

Simon:     Hmm! We were thinking three nights in Vancouver first. Somewhere rather nice?

Travel agent:     We have a special on at the moment with the Metropolitan. It’s a lovely hotel, four stars … You can see it here. That’s, um … £140 a night.

Jenny:     Per person?

Travel agent:     No, that’s for the room. All these are per room per night, without breakfast.

Simon:     Oh, yes. It certainly looks very nice.

Travel agent:     It is! I stayed there last year. And you should definitely hire a car – it’s only £30 per day for a small car – and drive to Lake Louise.

Jenny:     Oh, yes. We want to go there.

Travel agent:     I recommend you stay at the Emerald Lake Lodge. It’s a perfect place to explore from.

Simon:     That sounds good.

Travel agent:     Let me see … that’ll be £150 per night. It’s worth spending two nights there.

Simon:     Two nights?

Travel agent:     Yes, it’s a nine-hour drive from Vancouver, so two nights is best. And then you can drive to Jasper – that’s four hours. Two nights at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge will be £250 per night. It’s expensive, but it’s well worth going there. A beautiful place.

Simon:     Look, a log cabin!

Travel agent:     Yes. You get your own cabin.

Jenny:     And there’s plenty to do in Jasper National Park, is there?

Travel agent:     Sure. You can play golf, go hiking … and boating if you fancy that. Then you’ve got a five-hour drive to Calgary. A final night somewhere like the Westin will save money – just £74. There’s enough for a day – shopping, museums and Calgary Tower, of course. You can drop your car off at the airport and fly back at ten in the evening.

Simon:     Well, that’s the kind of thing we were thinking of, isn’t it, dear?

Jenny:     Yes, it is. Can you print out those details and we’ll take a brochure?

a range   b insurance   c excess   d one-way   e mileage  

f child car seats   g accident   h documents

Transcripts

(Speaker = American)

a   What range of cars do you have?

b   Is insurance included?

c   Do I have to pay an excess if I have an accident?

d   Can I hire a car one-way?

e   Is there a mileage limit?

f   Do you provide child car seats?

g   Is accident cover included?

h   What documents do I need?

a 2   b 4   c 7   d 3   e 1   f 8   g 5   h 6

Transcript

(Speaker = German)

1   If you average more than 250 miles per day, then there’s a charge of €10 per mile.

2   We have all kinds: small, compact, mid-sized and full-sized.

3   Sure. There’s an extra charge of €30 for all one-way hires.

4   Yes, full cover is provided for every named driver.

5   Yes, all that’s covered. There’s a 24-hour emergency number to call if you need assistance.

6   You need a valid driver’s licence or an international licence with a passport

7   Yes, you have to pay the first €900 of any claim.

8   Yes. They’re free of charge. We’ll fit them for you in the back seat.

a 89   b Compact   c €99   d Intermediate   e 139   f 169

a   For a week.

b   It’s too small.

c   It’s not automatic.

d   €125

e   It’s a special offer.

Transcript

(Laura = Italian; assistant = Irish)

Laura:     I’d like to hire a car for a week, from next Monday.

Assistant:     Certainly. What class of car would you like to have?

Laura:     Em, well. What have you got?

Assistant:     Our Economy car is a two-door Polo. That’s 89 euro for a week.

Laura:     Hmm. That’s too small. We are four. Do you have anything else?

Assistant:     Next up is a Compact car. A Ford Fiesta. The rate for that is 99 euro.

Laura:     Is that an automatic?

Assistant:     No, it’s manual.

Laura:     I want an automatic, really. What automatics have you got?

Assistant:     We have a Toyota Corolla. Let me see … that’s 139 euro for the week.

Laura:     Wow. That’s a big increase.

Assistant:     Yes, well, it’s a bigger car. it’s an Intermediate class. All our full-sized cars are automatic, too, but they’re 169 euro.

Laura:     Oh, I see.

Assistant:     Actually, we have a special offer on at the moment. I think we have an automatic Corolla … Yes, for 125 euro.

Laura:     OK. That’s the one!