Practice Listening English Exercises for B1 – Vacations

your own answers

1 b   2 a   3 b   4 a   5 b   6 b

Transcript

1

A:   What do you think I should do for vacation this summer?

B:   Well, you like the beach, and you love hanging out in the sun. Why don’t you go to the Caribbean? Or how about the Philippines? Some friends of mine stayed at a beach resort there last summer.

A:   Well, I’ve been to the Caribbean a couple of times, and I always enjoy it. But I’ve never been to the Philippines. I think that would be fun.

2

A:   I’m not sure where to go for vacation this year.

B:   Why don’t you go skiing? I had a great time at a ski resort in the mountains last winter. Or how about a jungle trip to the Malaysian National Forest? I did that a couple of years ago, and it was amazing.

A:   Well, I just bought some new ski equipment and I’m dying to try it. I have to say that I’m not too excited about the idea of a jungle trip. I don’t like bugs, and I bet there would be a lot of them.

3

A:   I’d like to do something really different for my vacation this year.

B:   How about a trip down the Nile River? You’ve never been to Egypt, right? Or maybe you could spend a week in the Australian outback.

A:   Hmm. They both sound interesting, but I guess I’d prefer the Australian trip. The Nile River might be just a little too exciting for me.

4

A:   I’d like to do something exciting this vacation. I don’t want to just lie around on a beach.

B:   How about whitewater rafting down the Colorado River? It takes you right through the Grand Canyon. That’s really exciting. Or you could go on a 10-day African safari. I’ve heard that’s a great trip.

A:   The safari trip would be fun sometime, but I only have one week. I think I’ll do the Grand Canyon trip. Thanks for the tip!

5

A:   Any ideas about where we should go for vacation?

B:   I’m thinking about a couple of trips. We could go to Southeast Asia. We’d go to Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. The other place I was thinking about going to is China.

A:   China! I’ve never been there. I hear it’s fascinating. I’ve already been to Thailand and Indonesia, so let’s go to China.

6

A:   I need help figuring out what to do for my vacation.

B:   Well, last year, my friends and I went on a two-week bus tour of Europe. We traveled in nice, comfortable motor coaches and stopped in different cities. We stayed in each city for a day or two, and all our hotel reservations were taken care of.

A:   Hmm, that could be fun, but sometimes I get sick when I ride in cars and buses.

B:   You could take a train trip across Russia. My sister did that a couple of years ago.

A:   Oh, I love trains. And I’ve never been to Russia.

The places the people will visit are:

1   Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong, Thailand

2   London, Oxford, Paris, Switzerland, Italy

3   Los Angeles, Denver, Washington, D.C., New York

1   Taipei: 3 days

      Seoul: 3 days

      Hong Kong: 2 days

      Thailand: 5 days

2   London: 1 week

     Oxford: 2 days

     Paris: 5 days

     Switzerland: 3 days

     Italy: 5 days

3   Los Angeles: 3 days

     Denver: 1 week

     Washington, D.C.: 2 days

     New York: 3 days

Transcript

1

I’m so excited about my trip to Asia. I’ve never been there before. First, I’m flying to Taipei from the U.S. I’ll be spending three days there, because I hear that there’s a lot to see and do. I’ll also be spending three days in Seoul. I hear the nightlife there is great. Then we go from there to Hong Kong. I’m planning to do lots of shopping there, so I hope two days is enough time to buy everything I need. I would really love to go to Beijing for a few days. But, unfortunately, this tour doesn’t go there. After Hong Kong, we’ll end up in Thailand for five days. So I guess I won’t be able to get to Tokyo or Malaysia on this trip. Oh well. I have to save a few places to visit on my next vacation.

2

Well, our trip starts off in London. We’ve got a week there. Then we’ll take the bus up to Oxford for two days to see friends. We also wanted to see Cambridge – I hear it’s beautiful – but we won’t have time this trip. Anyway, then we head to France. We have five days in Paris, which will give us time to see all of those museums. I wish we were going to spend a few days in Germany, too, but this trip doesn’t include it. But we do go to Switzerland for three days. I’m really looking forward to that. Then we end up in Italy for the last five days of the tour.

3

We start off in Los Angeles. We’re going to stay there for three days because we want to hit the beach and see the sights. We’re not going to go to San Francisco this time, because we’ve been there before. Then we’re off to Denver to visit my sister. We’re going to stay there for a week. I hope that’s enough time, because I haven’t seen her since last Christmas, and we have so much to talk about. We were thinking of going to Chicago after that, but we just don’t have time, so it’s straight on to Washington, D.C, and New York. We’ve got two days in Washington and three in New York. We’d really love to get up to Boston for a couple of days, but it probably won’t happen. Maybe next time.

1 a   2 a   3 c   4 a   5 b   6 a

1 d   2 f   3 e   4 a   5 b   6 c

Transcript

1

After graduation, I’m going to fly to Europe and spend a couple of weeks traveling on my own. I’ll be in Germany and France, mostly. There are so many things I want to see and do: museums, restaurants, clubs, cafes, all that stuff. I know my parents worry about me traveling alone, but I just prefer it that way. I guess it’s because I want to be free. On those group tours, everything is planned for you.

2

I’m taking a trip to New Zealand. I hear it’s really quiet down there, and the people are really friendly. I want to go to small towns that don’t get a lot of tourists. Then I can just check into a cheap hotel and do my own thing. I’m really looking forward to this trip. I guess it’s because I need to go somewhere quiet. The city where I like is so noisy, and the people are rude.

3

When I’m in London, I want to see as many plays and concerts as I can. I also want to go to all the big museums and art galleries there. I’m going to go dancing as often as I can, too. Basically, I want to see and do everything! I really want to make the most of the week I’ll be there. I guess it’s because I need some excitement. My life has been so boring this year.

4

I’m going to go to Thailand this winter. I don’t want to spend any time in Bangkok because I’ve been there before. This time, I just want to relax on a nice, quiet beach. I can swim and snorkel every day if I want to, but I don’t have to do anything. I just want to relax. I guess it’s because I’ve been so busy at work recently.

5

I’m spending a month in Mexico. It’s going to be great. I don’t want to spend any time in Mexico City, though. There are too many tourists there. Instead, I want to go to one of those small, old colonial towns. I guess it’s because I want to practice my Spanish. I studied the language for three years in college, and I think I’ll get to use it a lot more in a small town.

6

My friend and I are going to Australia. It’s perfect for us because Australia has a lot of cheap hotels for backpackers. They’re great places to meet other young people and travelers from all over the world. I’m really excited about this trip. I guess it’s because the beaches are great there. I heard the east coast of Australia has some of the best surfing in the world.

A:   Didn’t you go on vacation last month?

B:   Yeah, I did. Joe and I went to a great beach resort in the Caribbean.

A:   Wow! Did you do a lot of sightseeing?

B:   No. We mostly just relaxed on the beach.

A:   That sounds like fun. Did you do anything else?

B:   Not really, but we did go out to dinner every night.

A:   Were the restaurants good?

B:   They were great! And we went to a different one each night.