Travel English Conversation | Sightseeing in a City – English Podcast for A2–B1 — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Hi and welcome to Make English Easy
2. 0:03Podcast and Real English. I'm Emma and
3. 0:07today I'm here with Alex. In this
4. 0:10podcast, you'll learn real natural
5. 0:12English through everyday conversations.
6. 0:15Listen, relax, and improve your English
7. 0:18step by step. Let's get started.
8. 0:20>> Before we begin, if you're enjoying our
9. 0:22lessons, please take a moment to
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14. 0:32create more free English lessons for
15. 0:34you.
16. 0:35>> Okay, so today's episode is all about
17. 0:38sightseeing English. We're going to talk
18. 0:41about visiting new places in a city.
19. 0:44>> That sounds great, Emma. I love
20. 0:45traveling and exploring new cities.
21. 0:48>> Me, too. So, by the end of this episode,
22. 0:51you will learn how to talk about
23. 0:53sightseeing, how to ask common tourist
24. 0:56questions, and how to describe the
25. 0:59places you visit. Ready, Alex?
26. 1:01>> Absolutely. Let's dive in.
27. 1:03>> Okay. So, let's start our main
28. 1:06conversation. Alex, have you been
29. 1:09anywhere interesting recently?
30. 1:11>> Yes, actually. A few months ago, I went
31. 1:13to Prague for a long weekend. It was my
32. 1:16first time there. Oh, I love Prague.
33. 1:18It's such a beautiful city. What did you
34. 1:21do there? Did you go sightseeing?
35. 1:23>> Of course, we spent most of our time in
36. 1:26the old town. The architecture is just
37. 1:28amazing. We walked across the famous
38. 1:30Charles Bridge, which was incredible.
39. 1:33>> Mhm. The bridge is stunning. Was it very
40. 1:36crowded?
41. 1:37>> Oh, yes. The market square and the
42. 1:39bridge were very crowded, especially in
43. 1:41the afternoon. But we also found some
44. 1:43quiet streets to explore. We also
45. 1:45visited the Prague Castle. It's a huge
46. 1:48complex with a cathedral and a palace,
47. 1:50>> right? Did you have to buy a ticket to
48. 1:53get in?
49. 1:54>> We did. We went to the ticket office
50. 1:55near the entrance. The admission wasn't
51. 1:57too expensive. We had to ask about the
52. 2:00opening hours because some parks were
53. 2:02closing early that day.
54. 2:03>> That's a good tip. Always check the
55. 2:05opening and closing times. Did you take
56. 2:08a tour? We decided against the guided
57. 2:10tour because we wanted to look around at
58. 2:12our own pace, but we did get an audio
59. 2:15guide which was really helpful to learn
60. 2:16about the history of the castle. The St.
61. 2:19Vitus Cathedral inside the castle
62. 2:21grounds was so impressive. It's a
63. 2:23historic and very important church.
64. 2:26>> Yeah, that makes sense. Sometimes an
65. 2:28audio guide is perfect. And what about
66. 2:31museums? Are you a fan of visiting a
67. 2:34museum or an art gallery when you
68. 2:36travel?
69. 2:36>> Definitely. We went to the National
70. 2:38Museum. It's a huge, beautiful building.
71. 2:41The entrance fee was reasonable. We
72. 2:43spent a few hours there just admiring
73. 2:45the collections. It was very
74. 2:47interesting. We also found a small
75. 2:49modern art gallery near our hotel, which
76. 2:52was a nice surprise.
77. 2:53>> That sounds lovely. Did you take a lot
78. 2:55of photos?
79. 2:56>> Oh, hundreds. I love to take pictures to
80. 2:59remember the trip. I had to ask, can I
81. 3:01take photos here a few times, especially
82. 3:04inside the museum and the cathedral?
83. 3:06Some places don't allow it, you know.
84. 3:08>> Exactly. It's always polite to ask. It
85. 3:11sounds like you had a wonderful trip.
86. 3:13Did you visit any parks or green spaces
87. 3:16like a botanical garden or a zoo?
88. 3:19>> We didn't make it to the zoo, but we
89. 3:21took a long walk through a beautiful
90. 3:22park on a hill overlooking the city. We
91. 3:25even saw a small version of the Eiffel
92. 3:27Tower there, a famous monument called
93. 3:29the Petrin Tower. The view was
94. 3:31incredible.
95. 3:32>> That sounds perfect. Any funny moments
96. 3:35like getting lost? I always get lost
97. 3:38when I'm trying to find my way around a
98. 3:40new city.
99. 3:41>> Well, we were looking for a famous old
100. 3:43church and I asked someone, "Excuse me,
101. 3:46how can I get to St. Nicholas Church and
102. 3:48they gave me perfect directions to a
103. 3:50different St. Nicholas church on the
104. 3:52other side of the city. We walked for 30
105. 3:55minutes in the wrong direction."
106. 3:57>> Oh no, that happens. But sometimes
107. 4:00getting lost is part of the adventure,
108. 4:02right? You discover new things.
109. 4:05>> Exactly. We found a great little cafe
110. 4:07that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. It
111. 4:10was a great trip. Very popular city for
112. 4:12a reason. And the ancient buildings are
113. 4:14just amazing to see.
114. 4:16>> That sounds like a classic travel
115. 4:17experience. It reminds me of a trip I
116. 4:20took to Paris a couple of years ago.
117. 4:22Have you ever been? Great story, Alex.
118. 4:25Now, for our listeners, we are going to
119. 4:27repeat a part of that conversation a
120. 4:29little more slowly. Listen carefully. We
121. 4:32spent most of our time in the old town.
122. 4:35We walked across the famous Charles
123. 4:37Bridge.
124. 4:38>> Was it very crowded?
125. 4:39>> Oh, yes. The market square and the
126. 4:41bridge were very crowded. We also
127. 4:44visited the Prague Castle. It's a huge
128. 4:46complex with a cathedral and a palace.
129. 4:49>> Did you have to buy a ticket to get in?
130. 4:51>> We did. We went to the ticket office
131. 4:53near the entrance. The admission wasn't
132. 4:55too expensive. We had to ask about the
133. 4:58opening hours.
134. 4:59>> Did you take a guided tour? We decided
135. 5:01against a guided tour, but we did get an
136. 5:04audio guide. It was really helpful to
137. 5:06learn about the history.
138. 5:07>> Okay, great. Now, let's talk about some
139. 5:10of the useful phrases and questions we
140. 5:12used in our conversation. This will help
141. 5:14you when you travel. Alex, let's start
142. 5:16with questions for finding your way.
143. 5:19>> Sure. The most important question is
144. 5:21probably where is. You can use this for
145. 5:24anything. Where is the museum or where
146. 5:27is the nearest train station?
147. 5:28>> That's a great one. You also used how
148. 5:31can I get to, which is another excellent
149. 5:33option. How can I get to the city
150. 5:35center?
151. 5:36>> Exactly. And if someone gives you
152. 5:38directions, it's good to ask, is it far
153. 5:40from here? This helps you know if you
154. 5:42can walk or if you need to take a bus.
155. 5:45>> Perfect. Now, what about at the ticket
156. 5:47office? Let's talk about phrases for
157. 5:49tickets and visiting.
158. 5:51>> Well, first you need to know the price.
159. 5:53You can ask, "How much is the ticket?"
160. 5:55or "How much is the entrance fee?"
161. 5:57>> Right? and to buy them. It's more polite
162. 6:00to say, "I'd like two tickets, please."
163. 6:03Or, "Can I have two tickets, please?"
164. 6:05instead of, "I want." I'd like is just a
165. 6:08softer, more polite way to ask for
166. 6:10something.
167. 6:11>> That's a very common mistake for
168. 6:13learners, but a really good one to fix.
169. 6:15I'd like is perfect. You also need to
170. 6:18know when the place is open. So, you can
171. 6:20ask, "What time does it open?" or "What
172. 6:23time does it close?"
173. 6:24>> And sometimes you might want to know
174. 6:26about tours. Is there a guided tour? Is
175. 6:28a simple, clear question.
176. 6:30>> Yes. And finally, about taking pictures.
177. 6:33As I said in our chat, it's always best
178. 6:35to ask, "Can I take photos here?"
179. 6:38>> Great advice. And what about describing
180. 6:40places? We used words like historic,
181. 6:43beautiful, crowded, and impressive.
182. 6:46>> Right? So, historic means something is
183. 6:49old and important in history, like a
184. 6:51historic castle. Ancient means very very
185. 6:55old, like the ancient pyramids.
186. 6:57>> That's a good distinction. And
187. 6:59impressive is a great word. If something
188. 7:01is impressive, it makes you feel
189. 7:03admiration. It makes you say, "Wow, the
190. 7:06cathedral Alex saw was impressive."
191. 7:09>> Exactly. And you can talk about the
192. 7:11atmosphere. A place can be crowded with
193. 7:13lots of people or it can be quiet and
194. 7:16peaceful.
195. 7:17>> Okay. Now, it's time for some speaking
196. 7:19practice. This is called shadowing. I
197. 7:22will say a phrase and then Alex will
198. 7:24repeat it. After Alex, there will be a
199. 7:26pause so you can repeat the phrase out
200. 7:29loud. Ready? Let's begin. Where is the
201. 7:32museum?
202. 7:33>> Where is the museum?
203. 7:34>> How much is the ticket?
204. 7:36>> How much is the ticket?
205. 7:38>> I'd like two tickets, please.
206. 7:40>> I'd like two tickets, please.
207. 7:42>> What time does it open?
208. 7:43>> What time does it open?
209. 7:45>> Can I take photos here?
210. 7:47>> Can I take photos here?
211. 7:49>> This view is beautiful. This view is
212. 7:51beautiful.
213. 7:53>> Excellent work. Repeating phrases is one
214. 7:56of the best ways to improve your
215. 7:57speaking confidence. All right, before
216. 8:00we finish, let's do a quick key
217. 8:02vocabulary review. We'll say a word and
218. 8:05use it in a sentence. First up,
219. 8:08monument.
220. 8:09>> A monument is a structure built to
221. 8:11remember a person or event. For example,
222. 8:14the Lincoln Memorial is a famous
223. 8:16monument in Washington, DC.
224. 8:18>> Great example. Next, museum.
225. 8:22>> A museum is a place where you can see
226. 8:24art, history, or science collections. I
227. 8:27like to visit the art museum this
228. 8:28weekend.
229. 8:29>> Perfect. How about guided tour?
230. 8:33>> A guided tour is when a tour guide shows
231. 8:35you around a place and tells you about
232. 8:37it. We took a guided tour of the old
233. 8:39castle.
234. 8:40>> Excellent. And entrance fee?
235. 8:44>> The entrance fee is the money you pay to
236. 8:45get into a place. The entrance fee for
237. 8:48the zoo was $10 for adults.
238. 8:50>> And finally, the word crowded.
239. 8:53>> Crowded means full of people. The main
240. 8:56square was too crowded, so we went to a
241. 8:58smaller street.
242. 8:59>> And that brings us to the end of our
243. 9:02episode today. You learned lots of
244. 9:04useful vocabulary and phrases for
245. 9:06sightseeing. You learned how to ask for
246. 9:09directions and tickets, and how to
247. 9:11describe the places you see on your
248. 9:13travels. To help you remember
249. 9:15everything, we've created a free PDF
250. 9:18with all the key vocabulary phrases and
251. 9:21some extra exercises. You can find the
252. 9:23link in the pinned comment below this
253. 9:26video.
254. 9:26>> That's right. And for your task this
255. 9:28week, we have a question for you.
256. 9:30>> Yes. Please write in the comments, what
257. 9:33city would you like to visit and what
258. 9:35would you like to see there? We love
259. 9:38reading your answers and it's great
260. 9:39practice for you. And if you found this
261. 9:41lesson helpful, please give it a like
262. 9:43and subscribe to Make English Easy for
263. 9:45more lessons. Don't forget to check out
264. 9:47our other episodes in the playlist.
265. 9:49>> Thanks so much for listening. Keep
266. 9:52practicing and we'll see you in the next
267. 9:54episode. Bye for how.