Is "super coral" the key to saving the world's reefs?

Click HERE for a BBC article and a subtitled video on the world's first large-scale coral reef restauration.

Mark speaking about England

Click HERE to listen to Mark talking about places to go to in England. Choose  the right option (a, b or c) for each question. 0 is the example. Then check the KEY  and the TRANSCRIPT below.

0.	Mark is…
□ a)	Scottish
X b)	English
□ c)	Irish

1.	Mark doesn’t like London because…
□ a)	it’s too busy.
□ b)	it’s too expensive.
□ c)	it’s both too busy and too expensive.

1.	Mark doesn’t like London because…
□ a)	it’s too busy.
□ b)	it’s too expensive.
□ c)	it’s both too busy and too expensive.

2.	Which of these famous places in London is mentioned by Mark?
□ a)	Trafalgar Square
□ b)	St. Paul’s Cathedral
□ c)	Picadilly Circus

3.	Mark recommends to spend ___________ in London.
□ a)	a week
□ b)	a weekend
□ c)	one or two days

4.	Mark’s favourite place in England is in…
□ a)	the north of England.
□ b)	the north-east of England.
□ c)	the north of Scotland.

5.	There are about _________ lakes in the Lake District.
□ a)	twenty or thirty
□ b)	two or three
□ c)	twelve or thirteen

6.	A famous ___________ was born in the Lake District.
□ a)	Painter
□ b)	writer
□ c)	Actor

7.	To spend the night in the Lake District…
□ a)	you can stay in a hotel or in a pub, but you cannot camp
□ b)	there are no hotels, so you have to stay in a bed-and-breakfast
□ c)	you can stay in a bed-and-breakfast or you can camp

8.	You can visit the area…
□ a)	by train or by bus
□ b)	by bus or by car
□ c)	by train or by car

9.	Mark also recommends to visit…
□ a)	Glasgow, York and Oxford.
□ b)	York, Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon
□ c)	Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge

KEY

1.    C

2.    A

3.    C

4.    A

5.    A

6.    B

7.    C

8.    B

9.    B

TRANSCRIPT

Todd: OK, Mark, we've been talking about places that you've traveled, things that you have

done. What about people that go to your country, England? Can you recommend three or four

good places to go to in England?

Mark: Right. Well, obviously, most people should visit London. Personally, I don't like London.

It's too busy and too expensive.

Todd: But, wait a minute, you're saying that people should visit it but you don't like it. Why?

Mark: They should visit it because you have to go once to see all the famous places such a Big

Ben, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, just to say you've been, but if you arrive in London,

I'd say spend maybe one or two days there and then move and you can move to cheaper

places. My favorite place in England is in the North of England. It's called the Lake District.

Todd: The Lake District.

Mark: Yeah, it is very, very beautiful.

Todd: So, I take it there's many lakes.

Mark: That's right. There's got to be about twenty or thirty lakes up there and the scenery's

beautiful. Famous for Peter Rabbit. Do you know Peter Rabbit?

Todd: Yeah, the fairy tale.

Mark: That's right. The children's character. Yeah. The writer, Beatrice Potter, she was born in

the Lake District, so that's how she got her inspiration.

Todd: So if you go the Lake District, now are you talking about camping or do you stay in a like

a bed-and-breakfast, or?

Mark: Yeah, you can stay in a bed-and-breakfast. You can camp. You can stay in pubs or inns,

or there are many hotels. It's very organized for the tourists in the Lake District. Yeah, and it's

not such a big area, so you can travel around there by bus, or by car pretty easy. Yeah.

Todd: OK, so that's two. Anymore?

Mark: Actually, I've never been but I'd probably recommend Scotland, but I've never been. But

Edinburgh Castle is very famous. Also, York. The city of York, in Yorkshire is very beautiful as

well. That was famous for the Vikings in the olden days, so it has a beautiful big cathedral and

all the old viking walls, so if you like history then England is a beautiful place to visit. There are

many places. You have Stratford-upon-Avon for Shakespeare, Oxford which is a famous

university city, so if you like history then England is great.

Todd: OK, well, sounds good. Thanks, Mark.

ASKING FOR & GIVING DIRECTIONS

Click HERE for a YOUTUBE video with useful expressions to use when asking for or giving directions

Click HERE for lots of other expressions you may use.

Dogs on holiday

 

Click  HERE You are going to hear a vet talking about taking dogs on holiday. Fill in the missing information in the numbered space.Then check the KEY below.

TAKING YOUR DOG ON HOLIDAY   Change of scene Taking your dog on holiday is not that (1)__________. Dogs like a change of scene as much as their owners do. Cost There are a lot of hotels where dogs can stay free of charge, although some do charge a small (2) __________. Type of holiday Choose your holiday with care. If you are going to be out a lot visiting (3)__________ , your dog might be happier in a kennel. If you want to take your dog sailing, go ashore often so the dog can get enough (4) __________ . Things to take Don’t forget to take a water bowl, some dog food and your dog’s favourite (5)__________ with you. You should also bring a blanket for the dog to sleep on and some rags to clean up muddy paw marks on beds and (6)___________ A final word of advice If your holiday destination is far from home, take your dog on shorter car (7)__________ first, then gradually build up to longer and longer trips.

KEY

NUMBERS	WORDS
1	difficult
2	fee
3	museums
4	exercise
5	toys
6	carpet
7	journeys

WATER TOWERS

Click  HERE    for a BBC article on climate change and "water towers"

FAMILY HOLIDAY HOME

Click HERE

Listen to a woman talking about a house during a family holiday. Fill in the gaps with one or two correct words. Gap 0 is an example. Then check the KEY and the TRANSCRIPT below.

Ex.0		The woman took this photo during a family holiday on the west (0) COAST of Scotland.
·       She was staying just  (1)______________________ of a town called Oban, which is about  (2) ______________________ north of Glasgow. ·       They were staying in a self-catering (3) ______________________ ,   a great little house it was with fantastic kitchen and very (4) ______________________ . ·       She doesn’t like having to .look for restaurants all the time, she thinks it’s not a good way to spend your (5) ______________________ . ·       They were on holiday and they’d been spending time just, (6) ______________________ and walking along the (7) ______________________ ·       One particular day they (8) ______________________ a boat. Most of the photos she took that day were of them and this house caught her eye because it was so remote and so (9) ______________________

KEY

1. South

2. two hours

3. cottage

4. comfortable

5. holiday time

6. relaxing

7. beaches

8. rented

9.  alone

TRANSCRIPT

I took this photo during a family holiday we had on the coast, um, the west coast of Scotland. We were staying just south of a town called Oban, which is about two hours north of Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city. And I think it was, oh, probably about eight years ago. Eight or nine.

We were staying in a self-catering cottage, a great little house it was, with a fantastic kitchen, and very comfortable .

Yes, we don't like having to look for restaurants all the time, it's not a good way to spend your holiday time. With self-catering, you can cook and eat when you want and what you want. And anyway, eating in a restaurant with a family of four people is, you know, it's very expensive in the UK.

Anyway, we were on holiday and we'd been spending time just, you know, relaxing and walking along the beaches, visiting the local villages and pubs and, yes, just relaxing, and on this particular day we had rented a boat. There was just me, my husband and our two children, and they were about ten and twelve at that time.

And most of the photos I took that day were of us and the children trying to drive the boat and things like that, but I also took photos of the coast, the beaches, which are incredibly beautiful, and this house caught my eye, you know?, it drew my attention, because it's so remote, so, well, alone and, well, that quite appealed to me at the time. I liked it. But,that´s what I like about it. It's good to be alone sometimes, you know, yes. Don't you agree?