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© Copyright ESLTeenStuff.com. All rights reserved. Upper Intermediate (B2-C1) Unit 2: Lesson 2B

Objectives

In this lesson you are going to read, talk and write about travel experiences. You’ll also help two

friends decide on an itinerary for their trip across Asia.

After completing this lesson you should be able to:

Decide which things would be essential

on a trip to the wilderness and say why

you’d need them.

Suggest courses of action based on

information taken from short texts.

Summarize the main ideas in a text using

key phrases and reconstruct this.

Give an informative description of a

journey you’ve been on in speech and in

writing.

Upper Intermediate (B2-C1) Unit 2: Lesson 2B


Itineraries and adventures

A Language Review

Its name and location

When you were there

Who you were with

Geographical features

Special feature of the place

Any attractions you visited

The people you met and saw

Whether or not you’d go back

Florence…it’s the capital city of the

Tuscany region ... That’s in northern

Italy. Oh…and it’s on the River

Arno. I loved it. We…my parents

and my brother Sergio…we went

there on holiday two years ago. The

architecture was amazing…not

many modern buildings in the centre

of the city…everything has been

pretty much preserved for centuries.

…it was the birthplace of the Italian

Renaissance. Incredible!

Work with a partner.

Describe a city or region you have been to

and which impressed you a lot.

Use these ideas.

A Compare the example to what a student wrote

about Florence for a project entitled ‘Faraway

Places’. C

Florence-cultural capital

Population-380,000

Climate-sub-tropical

Main Industry-tourism

The place I have chosen to describe is the

capital city of the beautiful Tuscany region

of northern Italy. The city lies on the River

Arno and is surrounded by low-lying hills. It

is well-known as ‘the cradle of the

Renaissance’ and is characterised by its

splendid buildings, many of which date back

to the 14th century. Local policies have

meant that the architectural heritage of the

city is well-preserved…

Work as a class.

Discuss these ideas. D The main grammatical units used to give the two

texts their structure.

The type of vocabulary chosen in each text.

Any other differences you noticed.

Take notes on what your partner says.

Report to the class. B Example

Decide which places you heard about you’d

like to visit. E



B La Plus Belle

Read this extract from a magazine article.

See if your ideas were mentioned. C Before you start.

Work with a partner. Say what you can see in

these two photos. A

TWO LIVES-balancing the demands

Artist Jean-Luc Bellard, a native of Orly near

Paris, picked up sticks and moved to the wilds

of the Lot region of south-western France in

2007. He has had no regrets. He soon acquired

a crumbling 17th century house in the pristine

village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie at a fraction of

the price he’d have paid for the same space in

the capital and remodelled it into a cosy living

and work space which ensured the quiet and

virtually people free life he needed for his

work. He’s one of 60 or so artists permanently

residing in the village and his social life may

be sparse, but it does exist and relationships

with neighbours are cordial. Crucially for an

artist, people respect his privacy. Perfect you

might think. In the summer, however, the

region fills up with tourists, the main source of

Jean-Luc’s income. Somewhat annoying he

admits. Architecturally, Saint Cirq hasn’t

changed in centuries and there are strict rules

on development. No cars are allowed in the

village and it is kept scrupulously clean by the

mayor’s office…

Example

Compare the two places using these ideas. B geographic features

climate

approximate population

work and employment

cultural activities

tourism

transport

quality of life for inhabitants

OK then. In first one photo…there’s

a village on top of a hill…it looks

quite high…and there seems to be a

cliff above a river…whereas in the

second photo…

Would you like to live in a place like this?

What could make life difficult for its residents?



C Speaking: A weekend away

The advertised trip away is to a remote

wilderness region of your country but the

advert says very little about what you would

need to take with you.

B Work in small groups.

Decide these things.

Task preparation.

Read this notice which has been posted on

your school notice board. A

TRAVEL PARTNERS WANTED

FANCY A TRIP AWAY AT LOW COST?

If you’re into going into the wilds in

winter, enjoy the marvels of nature and

like being adventurous in the company of

people like yourself, read on!

Originally 6 of us were heading out for a

long weekend away next month but 3 have

dropped out because of study

commitments. We’re looking for people to

take their places. You don’t need to be an

experienced outdoors person, just

enthusiastic about spending time away

from it all. You’ll need to bring suitably

warm and weather-proof clothing but little

else, other than yourself.

Call Guy on this number:

967 8856858

a tent

a sleeping bag

a cooking stove

a torch

a map of the location

two pairs of shoes/

boots not including

the ones you’ll wear

to get there

extra shoelaces

a box of matches

cooking pots and

cutlery

medication and first

aid kit

toiletries

Which things in the list below would be essential.

Which things you could leave behind.

What else you would need to pack.

Compare

ideas as a

class. C Decide whether it is safe to go on this trip.

Say why.

Talk about how you would pack your items.



D Reading: The longest journey

Tell the class about your experiences. B Read this report from a newspaper. C

Work with a partner.

Find out these things. A

Alan Mackenzie (19), who was yesterday airlifted

to safety from the summit of Mount Rundle in

Banff National Park in Alberta is today recovering

in the town’s hospital after plunging around 50

metres down the spectacular peak. Mackenzie, a

geology student from Glasgow, Scotland had gone

out with a party of 12 of his fellows in search of

grizzlies, of which recent sightings had been

reported by local park rangers in the vicinity of the

upper slopes of the 3,000 metre range. His

mission? To take photographs of our dangerous

ursine cousins. He later admitted to climbing

without ropes and other safety equipment and

seemed blissfully unaware of the dangers posed

both by this neglect, or by his potentially quarry.

Bear-watching is an increasingly sought after

pastime for visitors to the splendours of our parks

but extreme care needs to be taken. Miraculously,

Mackenzie survived his fall, thanks to a lone pine

tree onto which he held for dear life while

dangling above a rocky avalanche he’d

inadvertently started. Marooned for 6 hours on a

crevice he was later airlifted to safety by helicopter

and later apologised to authorities. He is making a

full recovery.

Example

their longest journey so far

the distance travelled

the time it took

places they passed through

what they saw

interesting experiences

My longest journey was four days

on a greyhound bus…from Calgary

in Canada to Los Angeles,

California. That was when I was at

university… during my summer

holidays… I went with two friends

from my course. The shortest

distance is about 2,000 kilometres

but we went via Vancouver on

Canada’s west coast… we

travelled through the Rocky

Mountains which took over 24

hours. It was great travelling by

bus… if a bit tiring… you got to see

some amazing country… and

wildlife from time to time … I

remember seeing a grizzly bear in

the mountains…it ran right across

the road!

Choose some key phrases from the text.

Summarise its content in your own words. D



E Writing: Crossing Asia by train

Listvyanka sits on the shores of Lake Baikal, Asia’s

largest lake and one of the world’s deepest. The

area offers tourists a large variety of activities from

boat trips, diving and jet-skiing, ice-mountain-biking

and ice sculpting. This is a great spot to go hiking on

the Great Baikal Trail.

Read these extracts from tourist guides. A

Work in small groups.

Create an itinerary for the friends.

Justify your choices.

Take notes and report to the class.

B

We’re planning a holiday across Asia by

train! We’re heading out of Moscow …really

looking forward to the journey…but it’s a long

one. Fourteen days in early spring to get to

Vladivostok or Beijing …but we’re still not

sure where to stop off on the way or which

way to go.

Beijing has long been the political, cultural and

economic capital of China. Enjoy ancient palaces

and monuments and all the benefits of a busy

modern city. There are plenty of opportunities for

shopping, eating and enjoying the exciting nightlife.

Take a guided tour of the Forbidden city, go

shopping at your favourite stores and enjoy a

wander round the landscaped parks. All in a few

days!

We highly recommend a visit to the city of Irkutsk the

most popular spot to stop off on a Trans-Siberian

trip. Lake Baikal and its natural wonders is only 70

kilometres away. Beautiful Siberian timber buildings

with new restaurants, cafés and night time

destinations dominate the skyline and the city has

become a much sought after tourist destination over

recent years. The city also has a range of

fascinating museums to visit.

Mongolia’s capital Ulan Bator has a long and

fascinating history. Its people are known for their

hospitality and openness and you’ll find a warm

welcome to this fascinating culture. The world’s

chilliest capital is a thriving tourist centre and offers

a huge range of cuisines, as well great economical

shopping opportunities including its wonderful

cashmere products.

Spend a few days in hilly Vladivostok, one of the

most visually stunning cities in Russia. Situated in a

series of beautiful bays, the city is surrounded by

fabulous green forests which seem untouched by

civilisation. It also boasts unique architecture and is

famous for its many monuments, statues and

museums.


Read Ekaterina’s entry on a travel blog written

just after her return to the US after an Asian

trip. A


F Writing: A review of a trip

FIND OUT ABOUT LANGUAGE

Clauses, sentences and phrases

The basic unit of grammar in English is the clause.

These can stand alone or can be combined to form longer sentences.

The sleeping quarters were spacious and really quite luxurious.

This example can be reconstructed as two sentences.

The sleeping quarters were spacious.

The sleeping quarters were quite luxurious.

Clauses are in turn made up of phrases.

The sleeping quarters (noun phrase)were (verb phrase) spacious. (adjective phrase)

Every clause has, minimally, a verb phrase and a noun phrase.

Phrases can be made up of one or more words in length and consist of a head (the most important word) and one or more dependents.

really, quite (dependents) luxurious (head)

I’ve just got back from the journey of my life.

It’s the greatest travel adventure you could

possibly hope to experience. Two weeks

crossing Asia on the legendary Trans-

Siberian Railway with my best friend

Antonina. The sleeping quarters were

spacious and really quite luxurious, the

catering surprisingly good and the tour

guides polite and professional. The trip itself

was very well-organized and the destinations

extremely interesting. We followed the

itinerary suggested by our classmates and

spent two nights in Listvyanka on the shores

of Lake Baikal, three in Irkutsk, and spent

almost a week in Vladivostok, which was

absolutely stunning. I’m a bit of a nature

freak so this was really a pleasant surprise.

Incredibly beautiful. It reminded me a lot of

San Francisco. The hotels in our stop-offs

were all clean, tidy and well-run. The journey

itself was incredible, the route spectacular

and the wilderness areas we passed through

truly amazing.

Write a review of a trip you’ve been on or one

you would like to go on.

Use Ekaterina’s entry as a model. B


Today you…


Summing up

Read a notice and decided on some things you

could take with you on a trip to a wild part of your

country. You then decided on whether to go on this

trip and gave reasons for your decision.

Described a journey you’ve been on and read a text

about an adventure which went wrong.

Helped a pair of friends decide on an itinerary for

their trip across Asia and read a diary entry written

by one of the friends.

Prepared to write a description of a journey of your

own.

Homework Idea Write your review if you haven’t done so yet.

Carry out some research on a destination which

you might like to visit.

Work out an itinerary for your trip.

Present your ideas in the next lesson.

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