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Travel & Tourism: What to do next?

Travel & Tourism: What to do next?

In this week's Premier Skills English Podcast, Jack, Rich and Rowan are doing some sight-seeing and decide to visit a football museum and a castle. The language focus is on making suggestions and phrases we use when things fail to meet our expectations and when they exceed our expectations. In this week's task, we want you to tell us about a place you've visited that was better than you expected and a place you've visited that wasn't as good as you thought it would be. Don't forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess.

Transcript

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Travel & Tourism: What to do next?
Introduction

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan: My name’s Rowan

Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack: In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English. 

Rowan: Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich: This podcast is one in a series of podcasts that focuses on travel and tourism. Last week we spoke about the language we use when catching the underground in London.

Jack: In our roleplay this week, we’re on a business trip together and we have a free day. We decide to visit two places: a museum and a castle.

Rowan: In the podcast, you will learn phrases you can use to give suggestions.

Rich: You’ll learn words and phrases that you can use when things are worse than what you expected.

Jack: And you’ll learn words and phrases to talk about things that were better than expected. 

Rowan: And your task this week is to tell us about a place you visited that wasn’t as interesting as you thought it would be and a place you visited that was more interesting than you thought it would be.

Rich: If you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform, you should also check out our website.

Jack: On the Premier Skills English website, you’ll find 
the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language, and a task for you to complete with other listeners.

Rowan: Before we do the roleplays let’s look back at last week’s football phrase.

Last week’s Football Phrase 

Rich: OK, our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a language challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Rowan: When you know the answer, go to the Premier   Skills English website and write the word or phrase in the comments section for this podcast. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Jack: Thanks for all your answers last week. The first listener with the correct answer was Abdlrhmn from Egypt. Well done Abdlrhmn I think it’s the first time you have been first with the right answer!

Rich: And congratulations to these other listeners who also got the correct answer to our football phrase: MoBeckham and HSN from Turkey, Liubomyr from Ukraine, Emmanuel from France, Marco Zapien from Mexico, and Max Alex from Vietnam.

Rowan: If you didn’t hear last week’s football phrase the answer is at the end of this podcast but we’re going to give you one more chance to guess last week’s football phrase. Are you ready?

Jack: The phrase was to get off to a flier. This phrase means to start something very, very well. If a team scores in the first few minutes you might say they have got off to a flier or if a team wins the first six matches of a season you might say they have got off to a flier - they have had a really, really good start to the season.  

Rowan: Remember that the answer and our new football phrase is at the end of this podcast.

Rich: If you remember, our last podcast was all about catching the underground or The Tube in London. 

Jack: We asked you to tell us if you had ever used the Tube in London and to use the tube map to write some directions for other listeners.
 
Rowan: Vic from Mexico told us how to get to the British Museum from Royal Park Station.

Rich: HSN from Turkey told us how to get to Camden Market from Victoria Station. I think that’s the correct answer but you’ll have to tell me if I’m right, HSN.

Jack: Thanks for all your comments about the London Underground and for completing the tasks. If you haven’t heard this podcast and want to practise your map reading skills it’s called Travel and Tourism: The Tube and you can find it on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts.

Introduction to roleplay: 

Rowan: We have one roleplay for you this week which you will hear in three parts. The three of us are on a business trip at an undisclosed location.

Rich: We have a day off and are deciding what to do with our free time.

Jack: Before each part of the roleplay we want you to answer two questions. Here are your questions for the first part:

Rowan: Question one: Who is keenest to do something on their free day?

Rich: Question two: Why doesn’t Rowan want to go to the castle?

Roleplay 1 

Jack: So, what are we going to do tomorrow? A free day at last.

Rich: Why don’t we just hang around the hotel? Let’s stay here and have a lazy day by the pool.

Rowan: Yeah, I’m a bit frazzled after all these meetings this week. What about going down to the beach?

Jack: Come on guys! All work and no play makes Rich and Rowan really, really boring! Here look at these!

Rich: What are these?

Jack: Leaflets and flyers of all the things we could do tomorrow. I fancy this one: Listen to what it says: journey back in time to the middle ages and watch brave knights prove their honour in combat in medieval jousting. That’s at the castle at the top of the hill. Unmissable according to this.

Rowan: I’m not so sure. Brave knights? More like middle-aged men playing dress-up and posing on horses. Also, have you seen the size of that hill?

Jack: I’m sure there’s a bus. It says that it’s a must. We have to go. When we go home everyone will say did you go to the castle. I can’t say no - the hill was too big and we couldn’t be bothered.

Rich: OK, what else have you got here. Sight-seeing tours on the bus - that says it’s a must as well. Sit on a bus with 100 other people as it stands in a traffic jam for three hours. 

Rowan: What about this one? It says we should go to a ceramic workshop and learn how to make our own bowl - we even get to paint it - wow.

Rich: Couldn’t we just stay here?

Jack: No, we can’t. There’s also this one I suppose.

Rowan: Give it here. National football museum? The world’s biggest and best football museum! An absolute must-see for all football fans - see the world’s finest collection of football silverware, get your photo taken with football greats and test your football skills in our penalty shoot-out challenge.

Rich: Why didn’t you tell us about this? We just have to go.

Jack: All right, all right, We’ll go there on one condition - we go to the castle after.

Language focus 1: Making suggestions

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: Who is keenest to do something on their free day?

Jack: There is no doubt that the correct answer is me. I really wanted to do something - to get and about. Rich and Rowan just wanted to lay around all day either at the side of the pool or at the beach.

Rowan: But we did cheer up when we heard there was a football museum to visit.

Rich: Our second question was:  Why doesn’t Rowan want to go to the castle?

Jack: Well, first of all, she didn’t want to walk to the top of the hill and she also thought the people dressed up as knights at the castle wouldn’t be very convincing.

Rowan: Yes, I thought they would be middle aged men on horses rather than mean fighting machines. 

Rich: OK, let’s look at some language. In the part of the roleplay you just heard the three of us were deciding what to do the next day. We all made some suggestions.

Rowan: Listen to this part of the roleplay again. Can you hear any phrases that are often used to make suggestions? 

Jack: So, what are we going to do tomorrow? A free day at last.

Rich: Why don’t we just hang around the hotel? Let’s stay here and have a lazy day by the pool.

Rowan: Yeah, I’m a bit frazzled after all these meetings this week. What about going down to the beach?

Jack: Many phrases which we use for suggestions are questions - we’ll look at a few of these in a minute but probably the most common phrase for making suggestions is used as a statement rather than a question. The phrase I’m thinking of is ‘let’s.

Rich: In the clip you just heard, I said ‘Let’s stay here and have a lazy day by the pool’. 

Rowan: The full form of let’s is ‘let us’ but I hardly ever hear anyone using it. Let’s is always followed by the infinitive without to. Let’s hear some examples, Jack.

Jack: ‘Let’s’. ‘It’s late. Let’s go home’, ‘Let’s go to the beach tomorrow’, ‘Let’s not do anything tomorrow’.

Rich: Many suggestions are usually in the form of questions. In the clip you heard a minute ago you might have heard: Why don’t we just hang around the hotel? And What about going to the beach?

Jack: Why don’t we is a common phrase to make a suggestion. It is always followed by the infinitive without to: Why don’t we go to the beach tomorrow? or It’s late. Why don’t we go home?

Rowan: You use ‘shall we’ in a similar way. ‘Shall we go to the beach tomorrow?’ 

Jack: Rich also uses couldn’t later in the roleplay. He says ‘Couldn’t we just stay here?’. 

Rich: This is a bit more complicated. Here I’m expecting the answer to be no and I’m asking why I can’t.

Rowan: You may also have heard ‘What about’. I said ‘What about going down to the beach?’

Jack: What about and how about are phrases which are used to make suggestions but the grammar is a little different. When we use these phrases they are followed by the -ing form. Listen:

Rich: What about going to the beach? How about going to the shops?

Jack: Let’s move on and look at something different.

Rowan: In the roleplay, we were looking at lots of leaflets about the different things we could do. Have a listen to this section again and think about how Jack reports what is said in the leaflet.

Jack: Leaflets and flyers of all the things we could do tomorrow. I fancy this one: Listen to what it says: journey back in time to the middle ages and watch brave knights prove their honour in combat in medieval jousting. That’s at the castle at the top of the hill. Unmissable according to this. 

Rich: When we want to talk about what is in a text like a newspaper, online article or leaflet the most common verb to use is say.

Rowan: Jack refers to the leaflet by saying ‘it says’. The leaflet says this, the article says this.

Jack: Another way to refer to something you have read or what a person has said is to use the phrase ‘according to’.

Rich: Jack said that according to the article the castle was unmissable.

Rowan: According to is a very useful phrase that allows us to talk about what something or someone else says. Here are some examples:

Jack: According to my mate Bob, Lionel Messi is going to be signing for Manchester City this summer.

Rich: According to my phone it’s going to rain all day tomorrow.

Rowan: He’s missed sixteen matches already this season according to these statistics.

Jack: The leaflet said that the castle was unmissable - you mustn’t miss the opportunity to visit it.

Rich: We used a few similar words and phrases to this in the roleplay. You may have heard us say things like it’s a must, it’s an absolute must-see and we have to see it.

Rowan: We’ll look at these phrases in more detail on the website where you can check your understanding of all this language in the activities we have for you there.

...

Jack: Let’s move on to the second part of our roleplay. We’ve just been to the football museum and we’re talking about whether we liked it or not.

Rich:  Here are two questions we want you to answer as you listen.

Rowan: Question one: Did we like the football museum?

Jack: Question two: What did Rich win a prize for? 

Roleplay 2 

Jack: That didn’t take as long as I thought. In and out in under two hours.

Rowan: Yes, it was a bit disappointing - didn’t really live up to expectations, did it?

Rich: I thought we’d be in there most of the morning although the trophy room was good and I enjoyed having my photo taken with the cup.

Jack: I thought the leaflet said there’d be a replica of the World Cup so no it wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.

Rich: Yeah, it didn’t really live up to the hype of that leaflet, did it? What did it say: The world’s biggest and best football museum! It was nowhere near as good as the football museum I’ve been to in Manchester. I don’t know what all the fuss was about.

Rowan: Oh, yeah. I’ve been there - it was brilliant. I remember having my photo taken with Alex Ferguson and the FA Cup.

Jack: Alex Ferguson. Really?

Rowan: It wasn’t really him but the photo looked really realistic. 

Rich: Yeah, at this museum, the pictures with famous footballers and managers weren’t as good as the ones in Manchester.

Rowan: Look at this! Statues of Diego Maradona and Pele with me in the middle.

Jack: It doesn’t look anything like them. 

Rowan: And the penalty challenge ... that was downright pathetic. I was expecting some kind of virtual reality challenge - kicking the winning penalty past Hugo Lloris or David De Gea.

Rich: Yeah, it was just us practising our penalty kicks. At least I won!

Jack: But when that guy gave you a medal for winning; that was excruciating!

Rich: Yes, it was pretty embarrassing and the medal is utter rubbish. What do you think it’s made of?

Rowan: Cardboard probably. Ah well, you live and learn - off to the castle then? It’s a pretty low bar but I’m sure it’ll be better than here.

Jack: It’ll be awesome. Wait and see!

Language Focus 2: Not meeting expectations

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: Did we like the football museum?

Jack: The answer is no - none of us did. The football museum didn’t meet our expectations.

Rich: We’ll look at some phrases connected to meeting expectations in a minute but first let’s look at what to meet expectations means.

Rowan: To meet expectations means for something to be as good as what you had thought or hoped something would be.

Rich: I thought or I expected that the football museum would be really interesting. We then visited it and it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be.

Jack: The football museum didn’t meet our expectations. It was rubbish. In the roleplay we said it didn’t live up to our expectations - this means the same thing.

Rowan: Our second question was: What did Rich win a prize for?

Rich: I won a prize for winning a penalty shootout. I’ve got nerves of steel!

Rowan: Let’s look at some more phrases we can use when something doesn’t meet or live up to our expectations. Listen to a section of the roleplay again. Listen out for three phrases that mean the same as not living up to expectations.

Jack: I thought the leaflet said there’d be a replica of the World Cup so no it wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.

Rich: Yeah, it didn’t really live up to the hype of that leaflet, did it? What did it say: The world’s biggest and best football museum! It was nowhere near as good as the football museum I’ve been to in Manchester. I don’t know what all the fuss was about.

Rowan: If you heard the phrases ‘it wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be’, ‘it didn’t really live up to the hype’ and ‘I didn’t know what all the fuss was about’ your listening and vocabulary skills are really, really good.

Jack: All three of these phrases can be used when something isn’t as good as we thought or hoped it would be. 

Rowan: Listen to some examples of the phrases being used in different situations. 

Rich: I don’t know why everyone is talking about the new iPhone. It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be - it does more or less the same things as my old phone.

Jack: That top of the table clash didn’t really live up to all the hype, did it? A goalless draw with no shots on target.

Rowan: I’ve just heard their new album and it’s nowhere near as good as their first album. I don’t know what all the fuss was about. 

Rich: When we left the football museum we complained about it a lot. Have a listen to this part of the roleplay again:

Jack: But when that guy gave you a medal for winning; that was excruciating!

Rich: Yes, it was pretty embarrassing and the medal is utter rubbish. What do you think it’s made of?

Rowan: Cardboard probably. Ah well, you live and learn - off to the castle then? It’s a pretty low bar but I’m sure it’ll be better than here.

Jack: I described the situation when Rich was given a medal for winning the penalty shootout as excruciating.

Rich: Excruciating has a number of meanings; it can mean extremely painful, extremely strong and extremely boring but in this situation, it means extremely embarrassing.

Rowan: The idea of an adult being given a little toy medal for winning a pretend penalty shootout was really embarrassing - it was excruciating.

Rich: Yes, I described the medal as utter rubbish. The word utter is used in a similar way to complete or total. The medal was complete rubbish - utter rubbish - it wasn’t worth anything.

Jack: Listen to a few other examples of utter being used:

Rowan: Saturday night, a bowl of ice-cream and my favourite TV series is utter bliss.

Rowan: There was utter chaos when the power went off in the prison.

Rowan: Why did I need to go to that meeting? It was a complete and utter waste of time.

Rich: Remember you can check your understanding of all this vocabulary on the Premier Skills English website.

Rowan: Let’s move on to the final part of our roleplay. We’ve just finished our visit to the castle.

Rich:  Here are two questions we want you to answer as you listen.

Jack: Question one: Did we like the castle?

Rowan: Question two: What was Jack really good at?

Roleplay 3

Rich: I have to say, Jack. That was really enjoyable. It was so much better than I thought it would be.

Rowan: I agree - it was much better than I expected. What a lovely place and well worth that walk up the hill. The views from up here just blow me away.

Jack: I did tell you it’d be good but I thought they went the extra mile today. There were loads of extra activities.

Rich: How bad was I with those bow and arrows? 

Rowan: Yeah, you were pretty awful, Rich. You couldn’t hit a barn door with a banjo.

Jack: It’s all in the technique, guys. You know I auditioned for Robin Hood once.

Rowan: No, you never. Shut up! The falconry display was brilliant, too. Getting to see birds of prey close up like that is really special.

Rich: And the jousting was much better than I thought it was going to be.

Rowan: It wasn’t just middle-aged men on horses, was it? They really went for it. I thought someone was going to get hurt. Those lances they have are massive.

Rich: Yeah, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d call up Jack to have a go! Above and beyond the call of duty that Jack.

Rowan: It was hilarious! When they sat you on the horse - you should have seen your face!

Jack: I was petrified. It’s really high when you’re up there.

Rich: I thought they were just going to give you the lance. I bet you were relieved when he jumped on the horse with you.

Jack: Not sure I was relieved exactly. 

Rowan: And when the horse started galloping you were clinging on for dear life.

Rich: It was so good. Let’s go back tomorrow.

Jack: Yeah and you can go on the horse this time!

Language Focus 3: Exceeding Expectations

Rowan: Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: Did we like the castle?

Jack: The answer is yes - all of us did. We liked the views, we enjoyed the activities and Rich and Rowan especially enjoyed laughing at me on a horse.

Rich: Our second question was: What was Jack good at?

Rowan: Well, he wasn’t very good on the horse. I’m not sure if he’s ridden a horse before but he was very good with a bow and arrow - as good as Robin Hood.

Jack: Thank you very much. OK, let’s look at some language. The castle was much more interesting than the football museum. I knew it was going to be good.

Rich: But I thought it was going to be boring so it exceeded my expectations. 

Rowan: Yes, mine too. In this section, we’re looking at some phrases that are used to describe things that exceed expectations.

Jack: Listen to this part of the roleplay again. Can you hear any phrases that are used to say things exceeded or surpassed expectations?

Rich: I have to say, Jack. That was really enjoyable. It was so much better than I thought it would be.

Rowan: I agree - it was much better than I expected. What a lovely place and well worth that walk up the hill. The views from up here just blow me away.

Jack: I did tell you it’d be good but I thought they went the extra mile today. There were loads of extra activities.

Rich: The first thing to notice is that we don’t use the words expectation or exceed at all in the roleplay. This would be far too formal for a conversation between friends.

Rowan: Rich said the castle was much better than he thought it would be.

Jack: Rowan did use the verb ‘expect’. She said it was much better than I expected. 

Rich: You may also have heard two idioms that can be used to describe something that is much better than expected or something that is amazing.

Rowan: I said the views at the top of the hill blew me away. To blow someone away is used when something or someone impresses or amazes you. The views were amazing - they impressed me - they blew me away - they took my breath away.

Jack: I said the staff at the castle went the extra mile. To go the extra mile is another expression which can be used for someone that does more than expected.

Rich: It’s usually used to describe people who do things for someone else. It’s nice when people go the extra mile to help you and get you what you want.

Jack: Let’s listen to one last section from the roleplay. Can you hear any other expressions that are used to talk about exceeding expectations or doing more than you hoped?

Rowan: It wasn’t just middle-aged men on horses, was it? They really went for it. I thought someone was going to get hurt. Those lances they have are massive.

Rich: Yeah, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d call up Jack to have a go! Above and beyond the call of duty that Jack.

Rowan: It was hilarious! When they sat you on the horse - you should have seen your face!

Jack: We’re going to look at two more idioms connected to exceeding expectations. Rich said never in his wildest dreams did he think they would ask me to get on a horse.

Rich: The idiom here is never in my wildest dreams. It’s used to describe a situation that is far better than hoped for or imagined. It often describes something you never thought possible.

Rowan: Rich never thought Jack would be asked to get on the horse. He enjoyed it a lot - basically, he was laughing at Jack.

Jack: The other idiom was above and beyond the call of duty. This phrase is usually rather formal but again is used to describe someone doing more than expected.

Rich: OK, we’ve looked at lots of difficult phrases today and you can study them all in more detail on the Premier Skills English website where we have activities for you to have a go at and the transcript to listen to.

TASK

Rich: In this week’s task, we want you to tell us about two different places you’ve been to.

Rowan: First, we want you to tell us about a place you visited that wasn’t as interesting as you thought it would be.

Jack: In the roleplay, we thought the football museum was going to be fantastic but it was disappointing - it didn’t live up to our expectations.

Rich: We want you to tell us about a place that didn’t live up to your hopes or expectations.

Rowan: We then want you to tell us about a place you visited that was more interesting than you thought it would be.

Jack: In the roleplay, Rich and Rowan thought the castle would be boring but it was much better than they thought it would be and they had a great time. The castle exceeded their expectations.

Rich:  We want you to tell us about a place that exceeded your expectations - a place that was much more interesting than you thought it would be.

Rowan: Try to use some of the language we have introduced in this week’s podcast when you write your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website

Football Phrase

Rich: It’s time for this week’s football phrase. Have you got one Rowan?

Rowan: I have. This week’s football phrase is ******** *****. The phrase this week is a person whose job is to watch football matches and report back to their club. There are two types of ******** *****: one watches opponents and reports back on their tactics and so on and the other type watches individual players that the club might be interested in buying.

Jack: I used to be a ***** when I was a kid. We’d go camping and learn lots of practical skills. I think I might still have my uniform somewhere.

Rich: Let’s see if anyone gets it right and who is first this week. If you are still wondering what the answer was to last week’s football phrase it was to get off to a flier

Rowan: Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast. 

Jack: If you have a question for us about football or English you can email us at premierskills@britishcouncil.org

Rich: or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Rowan: or you could give us a rating and a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football!

Vocabulary

How much did you understand?

Here is the vocabulary you saw at the top of this page and how Rowan, Rich and Jack used it in the roleplay. Do you know the words in bold?

Why don’t we just hang around the hotel? Let’s stay here and have a lazy day by the pool.

An absolute must-see for all football fans.

I thought the leaflet said there’d be a replica of the World Cup.

It wasn’t really him but the photo looked really realistic.

How bad was I with those bow and arrows

It was hilarious! When they sat you on the horse - you should have seen your face!

Listen to the roleplays again to hear how Rich, Rowan and Jack used these words and phrases in context.

Jack expected to see a replica of the World Cup at the football museum.

Vocabulary

Making Suggestions

In the first part of the roleplay, Jack, Rich and Rowan were deciding what to do on their day off. They all made some suggestions. Listen to this section of the roleplay again. Do you understand the phrases in bold which can be used to make suggestions?

Jack: So, what are we going to do tomorrow? A free day at last.

Rich: Why don’t we just hang around the hotel? Let’s stay here and have a lazy day by the pool.

Rowan: Yeah, I’m a bit frazzled after all these meetings this week. What about going down to the beach?

Rowan suggested going to the beach.

Vocabulary

Reporting what something says

In the first part of the roleplay, Jack was also talking about what he read in a leaflet. Listen to this part of the roleplay again and look at the words in bold. Do you understand how they are used to report what something says? 

Jack: Listen to what it says: journey back in time to the middle ages and watch brave knights prove their honour in combat in medieval jousting. That’s at the castle at the top of the hill. Unmissable according to this. 

Activity 2

Activity 2: Look at some of the words we used in this part of the roleplay and choose the correct one to complete each sentence.
Can you put the words in the right place?

Jack wanted to watch some medieval jousting at the castle and ended up getting more than he bargained for!

Vocabulary

Not meeting expectations

In the second part of the roleplay, Rowan, Rich and Jack visited a football museum. They didn't enjoy it. It wasn't as good as they thought it would be. It didn't meet or live up to their expectations. Listen to these sections of the roleplay again and then have a go at the activity. Do you understand the phrases in bold?

Jack: I thought the leaflet said there’d be a replica of the World Cup so no, it wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be.

Rich: Yeah, it didn’t really live up to the hype of that leaflet, did it? What did it say: The world’s biggest and best football museum! It was nowhere near as good as the football museum I’ve been to in Manchester. I don’t know what all the fuss was about.

Many football clubs have museums that you can visit.

Vocabulary

Saying how bad something is

In the second part of the roleplay, Jack, Rowan and Rich complained about the football museum. They used some language that can be helpful if you need to say something is really bad. Listen to this part of the roleplay again and read at the same time. Do you understand the words in bold?

Jack: But when that guy gave you a medal for winning; that was excruciating!

Rich: Yes, it was pretty embarrassing and the medal is utter rubbish. What do you think it’s made of?

Rowan: Cardboard probably. Ah well, you live and learn - off to the castle then? It’s a pretty low bar but I’m sure it’ll be better than here.

Activity 3

Activity 3: Look at some of the phrases we used in this part of the roleplay and choose the correct word to complete each sentence.
Can you put the words in the right place?

Rich won a penalty shootout game at the museum.

Vocabulary

Exceeding Expectations

In the second part of the roleplay, Rowan, Rich and Jack visited a castle. They had a really good time and Rich and Rowan said it was much better than they thought it would be - it exceeded their expectations. Listen to these sections of the roleplay again and then have a go at the activity. Do you understand the phrases in bold?

Rich: I have to say, Jack. That was really enjoyable. It was so much better than I thought it would be.

Rowan: I agree - it was much better than I expected. What a lovely place and well worth that walk up the hill. The views from up here just blow me away.

Jack: I did tell you it’d be good but I thought they went the extra mile today. There were loads of extra activities.

Rowan: It wasn’t just middle-aged men on horses, was it? They really went for it. I thought someone was going to get hurt. Those lances they have are massive.

Rich: Yeah, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d call up Jack to have a go! Above and beyond the call of duty that Jack.

Rowan: It was hilarious! When they sat you on the horse - you should have seen your face!

Activity 4

Activity 4: Look at some of the words we used in this part of the roleplay and choose the correct one to complete each sentence.
Can you put the words in the right place?

Who's the guy on the right visiting Newcastle Castle?

Quiz

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Task

Meeting Expectations

Have you ever visited a castle?

This week's task is to tell us about two different places you’ve visited.

1. Tell us about a place you visited that wasn’t as interesting as you thought it would be. A place that didn’t live up to our expectations.

2. Tell us about a place you visited that was more interesting than you thought it would be. A place that exceeded your expectations.

Try to use some of the language we have introduced in this week’s podcast when writing your answers and don't forget to have a guess at this week's football phrase.

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Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
29/03/2021
EG
438
points

1. Once me and my friend goes to a place called "Sokhna" it's a town in the Suez Governorate, lying on the western shore of the Red Sea's Gulf of Suez. We expected that it will be amazing place but it wasn’t as interesting as we thought it would be, And we get disappointed!.

2. Three years ago, i travelled with the same friend to "Hurghada" and what i saw was fantastic, You must visit "Hurghada", There are wonderful coral reefs and colorful fish as well as many marine creatures that you will not see except there.

As well as staying in the hotel is very comfortable, we also enjoyed the shows on the hotel theater and El Mamsha Park.


Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
29/03/2021 11:38
Egypt
Arsenal
438

1. Once me and my friend goes to a place called "Sokhna" it's a town in the Suez Governorate, lying on the western shore of the Red Sea's Gulf of Suez. We expected that it will be amazing place but it wasn’t as interesting as we thought it would be, And we get disappointed!.

2. Three years ago, i travelled with the same friend to "Hurghada" and what i saw was fantastic, You must visit "Hurghada", There are wonderful coral reefs and colorful fish as well as many marine creatures that you will not see except there.

As well as staying in the hotel is very comfortable, we also enjoyed the shows on the hotel theater and El Mamsha Park.

Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
28/03/2021
EG
438
points

1. Once me and my friend goes to a place called "Dahab" it's a new-constructed Egyptian town on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It was a great adventure and we enjoyed our time and did some sports such as snorkeling, swimming and safari as well.

2. Three years ago, i travelled with the same friend to "Hurghada" and what i saw was fantastic, You must visit "Hurghada", There are wonderful coral reefs and colorful fish as well as many marine creatures that you will not see except there.

As well as staying in the hotel is very comfortable, we also enjoyed the shows on the hotel theater and El Mamsha Park.


Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
28/03/2021 13:22
Egypt
Arsenal
438

1. Once me and my friend goes to a place called "Dahab" it's a new-constructed Egyptian town on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It was a great adventure and we enjoyed our time and did some sports such as snorkeling, swimming and safari as well.

2. Three years ago, i travelled with the same friend to "Hurghada" and what i saw was fantastic, You must visit "Hurghada", There are wonderful coral reefs and colorful fish as well as many marine creatures that you will not see except there.

As well as staying in the hotel is very comfortable, we also enjoyed the shows on the hotel theater and El Mamsha Park.

pavao.22
25/03/2021
PL
13
points

I think the phrase is "******** *****"


pavao.22
25/03/2021 12:33
Poland
Tottenham Hotspur
13

I think the phrase is "******** *****"

wsanta's picture
wsanta
18/03/2021
AR
5086
points

The phrase could be "******** *****".


wsanta's picture
wsanta
18/03/2021 11:44
Argentina
Leeds United
5086

The phrase could be "******** *****".

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
17/03/2021
TR
6536
points

1. Once a friend told me about the zoo in Sasalı , İzmir and how beautiful it was. I decided to take my family and go there last Summer to watch the animals and enjoy our day in the wildlife. It took us around 2 hours from the city centre and when we entered , I wasn’t so amazed by the place. It wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. There were diversity of animals , birds and reptiles but it didn’t really live up to the hype. I liked the colourful peacocks and we ran after them. My family and I enjoyed our time there but it didn’t mean our expectations.

2. Five years ago , I travelled to Bursa with my students and colleagues on a school trip during the Winter semester holiday. I heard a lot about how beautiful and freezing Bursa is especially during January. What I was dreaming about was taking a ride on Bursa Telefrik and it really blew me away. It was much better than I expected as we were watching the mountains while riding the telefrik and two of my students explained to me the history of the place. When we arrived to the other side , we found ourselves in the snow city ( the coldest place you’ll ever visit ). We were so excited and we jumped and played on the snow , took lots of memorable photos with my students and I have never imagined that heaven on earth even in my wildest dreams.


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
17/03/2021 20:30
Turkey
Manchester United
6536

1. Once a friend told me about the zoo in Sasalı , İzmir and how beautiful it was. I decided to take my family and go there last Summer to watch the animals and enjoy our day in the wildlife. It took us around 2 hours from the city centre and when we entered , I wasn’t so amazed by the place. It wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. There were diversity of animals , birds and reptiles but it didn’t really live up to the hype. I liked the colourful peacocks and we ran after them. My family and I enjoyed our time there but it didn’t mean our expectations.

2. Five years ago , I travelled to Bursa with my students and colleagues on a school trip during the Winter semester holiday. I heard a lot about how beautiful and freezing Bursa is especially during January. What I was dreaming about was taking a ride on Bursa Telefrik and it really blew me away. It was much better than I expected as we were watching the mountains while riding the telefrik and two of my students explained to me the history of the place. When we arrived to the other side , we found ourselves in the snow city ( the coldest place you’ll ever visit ). We were so excited and we jumped and played on the snow , took lots of memorable photos with my students and I have never imagined that heaven on earth even in my wildest dreams.

Vic
15/03/2021
MX
817
points

scouting talent


Vic
15/03/2021 19:50
Mexico
Liverpool
817

scouting talent

elghoul's picture
elghoul
14/03/2021
DZ
3988
points

Hi,

The phrasal guess might be a '******** *****'.


elghoul's picture
elghoul
14/03/2021 14:51
Algeria
Manchester City
3988

Hi,

The phrasal guess might be a '******** *****'.

hsn's picture
hsn
14/03/2021
TR
5556
points

TASK

1- An entertainment center opened in my city for a long time ago. It was first place that include all activities such as bowling, lunapark fitness so on. I visited but didn't enjoy. It was so expensive, crowded and lighting wasn't enough. You had to wait for a while on queu for any activity. Staff didn’t go extra miles. At last it had been closed.

2- I visited a place which was more interesting than I thought in my country. Think an moorland that no any plant or tree except fields out of city. There was a middle height hill in front of mountains consist of rock no any soil on it. When you come close you could see that it's a hollow hill. There was a waterfall and many trees in it .Everywhere was green. Water was running under your feet. It was like an oasis in the desert and such a must-see place. . The view blew me away.

THIS WEEK'S FOOTBALL PHRASE: ******** *****

PHRASES;

• We should "pass to another channel" when things fail to meet our expectations. There is no doubt that changement provides second chance. On the other hand we shouldn't be spoiled when things exceed our expectations. Never be downright pathetic of person. Always go extra miles. Be realistic.

• In free time, I keen on hang around with internet instead of laying around on the grass even I'm frazzled. Surfing on it live up my expectations.

• I waited impatiently this derby match.But it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Teams have played in "slow motion"-:)

• The new manager didn't really live up to the hype. He has no any ability except shouting every time.

• The new reform package have been announced recently. Press started to praise it before a lot of days .But ‘I don't know what all the fuss was about.It doesn't bring any new economic instrument or easiness.

• My English teachers (Rowan-Laura-Jack and Rich) have best effort beyond the call of duty. Thanks so much.

P.S.

• I read in the newspaper, none of product ads can't be included the phrase "The World’s Best ........" because of unfair competition. In order to avoid this restriction some phrases like "Probably" " Maybe" are being added it.


hsn's picture
hsn
14/03/2021 08:43
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5556

TASK

1- An entertainment center opened in my city for a long time ago. It was first place that include all activities such as bowling, lunapark fitness so on. I visited but didn't enjoy. It was so expensive, crowded and lighting wasn't enough. You had to wait for a while on queu for any activity. Staff didn’t go extra miles. At last it had been closed.

2- I visited a place which was more interesting than I thought in my country. Think an moorland that no any plant or tree except fields out of city. There was a middle height hill in front of mountains consist of rock no any soil on it. When you come close you could see that it's a hollow hill. There was a waterfall and many trees in it .Everywhere was green. Water was running under your feet. It was like an oasis in the desert and such a must-see place. . The view blew me away.

THIS WEEK'S FOOTBALL PHRASE: ******** *****

PHRASES;

• We should "pass to another channel" when things fail to meet our expectations. There is no doubt that changement provides second chance. On the other hand we shouldn't be spoiled when things exceed our expectations. Never be downright pathetic of person. Always go extra miles. Be realistic.

• In free time, I keen on hang around with internet instead of laying around on the grass even I'm frazzled. Surfing on it live up my expectations.

• I waited impatiently this derby match.But it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Teams have played in "slow motion"-:)

• The new manager didn't really live up to the hype. He has no any ability except shouting every time.

• The new reform package have been announced recently. Press started to praise it before a lot of days .But ‘I don't know what all the fuss was about.It doesn't bring any new economic instrument or easiness.

• My English teachers (Rowan-Laura-Jack and Rich) have best effort beyond the call of duty. Thanks so much.

P.S.

• I read in the newspaper, none of product ads can't be included the phrase "The World’s Best ........" because of unfair competition. In order to avoid this restriction some phrases like "Probably" " Maybe" are being added it.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
13/03/2021
UA
6570
points

- Who's the guy on the right visiting Newcastle Castle?

- Rafael Benitez.

 


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
13/03/2021 18:21
Ukraine
Liverpool
6570

- Who's the guy on the right visiting Newcastle Castle?

- Rafael Benitez.

 

AbdlRhman's picture
AbdlRhman
13/03/2021
EG
219
points

The phrase is "Tactical *****"


AbdlRhman's picture
AbdlRhman
13/03/2021 15:15
Egypt
Manchester City
219

The phrase is "Tactical *****"

Emmanuel's picture
Emmanuel
13/03/2021
FR
91
points

Hi everyone,
I think it's a ******** *****
Have a good day


Emmanuel's picture
Emmanuel
13/03/2021 10:05
France
Manchester City
91

Hi everyone,
I think it's a ******** *****
Have a good day

Yoshichika's picture
Yoshichika
13/03/2021
JP
76
points

Hi all,

I think that this week’s football phrase is "Boy *****.
When I was kids, I was a member of local boy scout.
At that time, I went camping and I learned what is team activity.

Thank you very much!!


Yoshichika's picture
Yoshichika
13/03/2021 05:23
Japan
Liverpool
76

Hi all,

I think that this week’s football phrase is "Boy *****.
When I was kids, I was a member of local boy scout.
At that time, I went camping and I learned what is team activity.

Thank you very much!!

Max Alex's picture
Max Alex
13/03/2021
VN
438
points

I think the football phrase would be: "******** *****".
Thank you.


Max Alex's picture
Max Alex
13/03/2021 03:48
Vietnam
Tottenham Hotspur
438

I think the football phrase would be: "******** *****".
Thank you.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
13/03/2021
UA
6570
points

******** ***** is the Phrase.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
13/03/2021 03:43
Ukraine
Liverpool
6570

******** ***** is the Phrase.

hayato
13/03/2021
JP
442
points

I think the phrase is a *****


hayato
13/03/2021 01:34
Japan
Everton
442

I think the phrase is a *****

Marco Zapien's picture
Marco Zapien
12/03/2021
MX
79
points

******** *****


Marco Zapien's picture
Marco Zapien
12/03/2021 22:53
Mexico
Wolverhampton Wanderers
79

******** *****

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
12/03/2021
TR
6536
points

I think this week’s football phrase is ( scouting coach )


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
12/03/2021 21:05
Turkey
Manchester United
6536

I think this week’s football phrase is ( scouting coach )

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
17/03/2021
TR
6536
points

Another try is coaching *****


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
17/03/2021 20:34
Turkey
Manchester United
6536

Another try is coaching *****

Rich's picture
Rich
17/03/2021
ES
594
points

You might be overthinking this. It's quite an easy one so you'll kick yourself if you don't get it!


Rich's picture
Rich
17/03/2021 20:51
Spain
Liverpool
594

You might be overthinking this. It's quite an easy one so you'll kick yourself if you don't get it!

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
18/03/2021
TR
6536
points

Thanks for motivating me Rich!
Could it be a watching *****?


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
18/03/2021 03:03
Turkey
Manchester United
6536

Thanks for motivating me Rich!
Could it be a watching *****?

Liubomyr's picture
Liubomyr
12/03/2021
UA
4417
points

I think that the phrase is a '******** *****'


Liubomyr's picture
Liubomyr
12/03/2021 16:07
Ukraine
Watford
4417

I think that the phrase is a '******** *****'

AbdlRhman's picture
AbdlRhman
12/03/2021
EG
219
points

I don't visited any place before because I love still at home all the time. But I'm trying change myself and go out to the world.


AbdlRhman's picture
AbdlRhman
12/03/2021 15:19
Egypt
Manchester City
219

I don't visited any place before because I love still at home all the time. But I'm trying change myself and go out to the world.

AbdlRhman's picture
AbdlRhman
12/03/2021
EG
219
points

The phrase is "performance analyst"
"Coach"


AbdlRhman's picture
AbdlRhman
12/03/2021 15:10
Egypt
Manchester City
219

The phrase is "performance analyst"
"Coach"

hsn's picture
hsn
12/03/2021
TR
5556
points

Hi Rich! You're spot on. It was "Camden Market"


hsn's picture
hsn
12/03/2021 14:56
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5556

Hi Rich! You're spot on. It was "Camden Market"

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6570
2mobeckham6536
3hsn5556
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74670
2Ukraine33833
3Spain29414
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23400
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20437
8Turkey20094
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United146582
2Liverpool111201
3Chelsea90125
4Arsenal86324
5Manchester City58708
6Tottenham Hotspur19417
7Newcastle United10560
8West Ham United7652
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Everton4533

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

Skills: Listening

Vocabulary: Making suggestions

Vocabulary: Not meeting expectations

Vocabulary: Exceeding expectations

Task: Tell us about two places you've visited; one that was better than you thought it would be and one that was worse