My dream holiday would be...

My dream holiday would be...

 

1st Listening: 

Who...

1. wants to escape from other people?
2. wants to see animals in their natural habitat?
3. is interested in seeing underwater animals?
4. has postponed their dream holiday?
5. doesn't want to take many photographs?
6. thinks getting lost wouldn't necessarily be a problem?

2nd Listening: 

• Why does Neil mention having a terrible sense of direction?

A. He often gets lost when cycling.
B. He believes getting lost wouldn't be particularly problematic there.
C. He needs someone to guide him.

• What prevents Neil from taking the trip immediately?
• What is the main attraction of Thailand for Harry?
• What does Catherine dislike about some modern holidays?
• What does this suggest about her attitude towards tourism?

Challenge:

"Whose attitude?"

Match each statement to Neil, Harry or Catherine.

• This person values solitude.
• This person is primarily interested in observing wildlife.
• This person is attracted by the opportunity to see creatures they don't normally encounter.
• This person has had to postpone their plans because of personal responsibilities.
• This person would prefer to experience a destination without constantly documenting it.
• This person sees a potential problem as an advantage.

Your Opinion: 

• Which of the three holidays would you personally choose?
• What could make this holiday less enjoyable than expected?
• Would your choice change depending on who you were travelling with?

Useful vocabulary: 

• To some extent...
• It would largely depend on...
• Although..., I think...
• Having said that...
• I wouldn't necessarily... 
• Provided that... 

Neil
What I would really like to do is to ride my bike in the Arctic Circle in the summer in the north of Norway. And a couple of reasons for this: one is that the sun never sets, and I've got a terrible sense of direction, so it wouldn't really matter if I got lost, because it would be light all the time. And the second reason is that it looks like an incredibly beautiful landscape with not very many people around. So if I went to the Arctic Circle, cycling, I would feel really really relaxed because there are no people around and the landscape is beautiful. And the third thing is that this is what I was planning to do before the birth of my first child and it now means that I probably won't do this for another 20 years! If I didn't have children, I would go on this holiday this summer, straightaway, 'cause there would be nothing stopping me. But if my children were older, I could do it as a family holiday.

Harry
I'd really like to go to a tropical island. I'd love to go to some of the islands in Thailand and the reason I'd really like to go there is 'cause I'd like to go swimming, scuba diving, and see a lot of the marine life that they have there. Sharks, dolphins, turtles, that kind of thing. I think it would be really fantastic.

Catherine
If I could go anywhere in the world, I'd love to go to Africa on safari. I'd really love to visit the Maasai Mara and possibly Namibia, because I'd really love to see all the animals living in their natural environment. I'd like to sleep under the stars. I'd like to go on a holiday where people don't take lots of photographs because I prefer to just see the animals and not have to look at lots of clicking cameras all the time. So if I was on safari I would probably like to travel by jeep. I know you can travel by elephant but I don't like the idea of that.