What's it all about?

In the beginning



Listen to the audio file below and say what you think it is about?



http://www.box.net/shared/tr62n1vaft



Check your answer with your partner. What made you decide on your answer?





The middle kingdom



Look at the words below from the text and match them with the descriptions underneath.

horrible / the amount of / match / terrible / scary / flow / common
get used to it / overcome / complain about

a quantity of something

causing fear

familiar with something so that it seems normal or usual

of a type that is regularly seen and not considered special or unique

someone or something that is equal to or as good as another person or thing

to move, come, or go continuously in one direction

to say (something that expresses annoyance or unhappiness)

to successfully deal with or gain control of (something difficult)

very bad or unpleasant

very bad or unpleasant

What does the word 'gonna' mean? When can you use it? Can you think of other examples like this? Discuss with a partner.

Listen now to the full text and answer the questions below;

a. Do Tu and Amir describe their cities positively or negatively?

b. What words could you use to describe Tehran and Ho Chi Minh City? What words do Tu and Amir use?

c. What forms of transport are mentioned?

d. What common group of transport is not mentioned?

Check your answers with a partner.

Going Deeper Underground

Listen again to the full text and count how many times you here the words 'just' and 'tell'.

just = ? times

tell = ? times

With your partner try and write down the sentences that are used with both words.

Just has many meanings and is a very useful word in English. It can be used as an adverb or as an adjective. Tu and Amir use it as an adverb. Look here in the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary for the list of meanings. Which meanings do Tu and Amir use?

Look at the examples of tell from the text. What can you say about how this word is used? Think about pronouns, form and collocations.

Follow Up

How would you describe the transport and traffic situation in your city or town? Write an email to Amir or Tu explaining the situation, try to use as many of the red words from this activity as possible.