Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.
Preparation
Transcript
Dave: Jean, hi!
Jean: Hi, Dave. How are you?
Dave: Good, good.
Jean: Wait a second, I'm not calling you in Canada, right? You're back now, aren't you?
Dave: Yeah, I got back two days ago.
Jean: Oh good, phew. Because I wouldn't want to be calling you long distance without realising it and suddenly ...
Dave: You've spent a fortune on a long-distance call. No, I know, it's OK. I actually wouldn't answer the phone while I was over there if I saw the call was coming from England. But no worries, we're in the same country now.
Jean: Yeah. So, how was the trip? Did you meet your long-lost uncle?
Dave: I did, actually. It was very good. I flew to Toronto and stayed there for a few days. At first I was really worried about my accommodation because I kept reading these appalling stories about rental flats going all wrong.
Jean: Oh, was it one of those?
Dave: Yeah.
Jean: My friend had a disastrous experience in Barcelona with one of them. The place didn't look anything like the photos, and all the neighbours hated that there was a holiday flat in their building. Awkward situation. Urgh.
Dave: Right. So, as I was saying, I was really worried because I heard these stories. And at first I couldn't find the place. Turns out I was in the wrong building. It was next door, and on the top floor, and … wow. Jean, this place was fabulous! Really spacious, with these floor-to-ceiling windows and the most scenic views of the city. I could see the lake and the whole city skyline and skyscrapers from my bedroom. I had to pinch myself to prove I wasn't dreaming.
Jean: Sounds pretty cool. So, what's it like? The city, I mean. I've always wanted to go to Canada.
Dave: It's nice. I mean, it's another big, vibrant, modern city. But it's really clean, and there's lots of parks. One of the things I liked was the multiculturalism. We visited Chinatown, Little Italy, Greektown, Little India … umm, I can't remember the others but it was sort of a new area every three or four blocks, you know?
Jean: Hey, is it true that there's a whole part of the city that's underground? I read that somewhere about Toronto, or saw it on some TV show.
Dave: It's true! I asked about that. They call it the PATH. There's, like, almost 30 kilometres of restaurants, shops, cinemas and stuff all underground. In the middle of the downtown area.
Jean: Amazing!
Dave: Yeah, but actually once you're down there it's not that noticeable. There's actually a lot of natural light. I forgot we were underground. It's mostly useful to get out of the cold weather.
Jean: What temperature was it while you were there?
Dave: It was still only November, but it was getting cold. We had at least a day where it was less than zero. My uncle told me that in January and February it can go down to 20 below zero.
Jean: Oh, wow. I think I'd die!
Dave: Yeah, and the worst thing was what they call the 'wind-chill' factor. So they say the temperature is zero degrees, but minus eight with the wind chill. So it feels like minus eight. And my uncle said the wind-chill factor can go down to minus 40.
Jean: Stop it! You're making me feel cold just thinking about it. So, how was meeting your uncle? The famous Uncle George.
Dave: That was great too. He lives outside of Toronto, in a cottage by a lake. Really tranquil and unspoiled nature.
Jean: I'm dying to see photos. You want to meet up soon? Or are you too jet lagged still?
Dave: Yeah, I'm actually free tomorrow if you like.
Hello Moses Habarugira,
'Catching up' here means to find out what has been happening recently. You can catch up after a trip because you haven't seen someone for a while, for example. You can also use 'catch up' with 'on' and an object: catch up on the news, catch up on the latest football results etc.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
The last place I travelled to was to and old city in my Country named Colonia del Sacramento and I
Would recommend it to a friend because it has historical value as part of the history of our country.
Thanks for the episode.
Great site!
Last year, I visited Nis, a city in southern Serbia. The city has a very rich history, people are kind and love new friendships. Constantine the Great was born in the city. I think it was a nice experience.
Regrettably, due to some reasons I haven`t been going abroad for a long period of time. However, I would like to describe last location which I visited back in 2020. It was Italy. It is a magnificient country with unique culture, warm weather and exceptionally good cuisine. One thing that I liked the most was architecture of local buildings. The flat blocks have their own unrepeatable charm. You suddenly feel so cosy when you stroll and see kind and easy-going Italians. It seems like every Italian just came from a podium as their outfits are voguish and extremely stylish.
If you happen to come to Italy, try local wine and pasta. But don`t forget that every restaurant includes tax in your bill!
My last trip is to Dublin for academic presentation. This place is awesome! There are many parks. Also, the city is not very crowded. Most of people make sport like, running, driving bicycle. It rains very much so many green places are there. Everywhere is clean. I hope, I can be visite it again.
My biggest dream is to travel around the world but due to financial constraints, I guess, it will just be a dream unless I strike a lotto. Well, I am from the country called, "Land of the morning Sun." I get to travel in a beautiful country of Singapore due to a better job opportunity. I stayed in this country for about 12 years, which I can say has the most spectacular views and magnificent arrays of buildings.