Curso First Certificate Exam

LOS CURSOS DE INGLES GRATIS PREFERIDOS POR LOS HISPANOHABLANTES

 

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Town or country?

 

Pros and cons (I)

 

Remember that the FCE also tests your ability to discuss a topic in a pair with another candidate. Luis and  Marina are discussing here the pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages) of living in the city or in the country. At this first step, just listen for general comprehension. Please, do not skip any audio file and listen to them in the order they are displayed.

 
LUIS

 
MARINA

 
LUIS

 
MARINA

 
LUIS

 
MARINA

 
LUIS

 

Pros and cons (II)

 

Now, listen again to Luis and Marina while you check their comments with the audio transcriptions.

I think living in the country is far better than living in a city because you have the opportunity to escape from all the noise and the general day-to-day routine of... of living in a city... living and working in a city. In the country you can escape, you can breathe fresh air. I don't know... I think it's much... much better to live away from the city.

 

However, I prefer living in the city because I like that feeling of not being isolated from the rest of the world... having all modern conveniences at just one - like - at hand. You can get it at any moment of your... during your day, on the weekends, um, at any time of the day you can go shopping, you can find anything open. If you feel like doing something last minute, you can always jump into public transportation and get yourself a film or watch a play or get a drink without taking the car anywhere.

 

But I think the advantage of the country is you can do all that when you want to but you can still escape after doing that. In the city, there's no escape. You are always surrounded by... by people, by noise.

 

Well, it just depends on your point of view. I prefer being with all the noise and the people because I feel safer. Um, if you live out in the country, you are much more isolated and you have that feeling walking down the street that somebody's preying after you. Or you don't feel as if you're, um, maybe you can find in the city more danger, but if you don't have people around you then you have that feeling of not feeling safe.

 

I suppose it depends on what you consider living in the country as the whole. Living in the country doesn't have to be being completely isolated. Living in the country can be living in a small village or a very small town where you have all the amenities but, at the same time, you don't have the hustle and bustle of living in the city.

 

But then you have to waste more time commuting because you spend more time getting in and out to a city where you have most of your modern conveniences. Um, like I said before, anything dealing with entertainment or even just buying bread, you have to get your car to buy a loaf of bread if you forgot to buy your bread on Friday afternoon.

 

But maybe the fact that you're out in the open air will encourage you more to... to do more physical exercise. Maybe you, instead of getting in your car to go and buy the bread, you'd actually walk or take a bicycle, which living in a city taking a bicycle maybe isn't the safest thing to do.

Luis has just made a grammar mistake. Can you find it?

 

Which is the word?

 

ACTIVITY 84: Finally, after listening to both students, choose from the menus the meaning of some words or phrases mentioned during the discussion. Use each word only once. Then check the answers.

1.

travelling back and forth regularly, as between one's place of work and home

2.

all of something including all its elements or parts

3.

trying to attack

4.

things that make you comfortable and at ease

5.

boost, inspire with confidence

6.

more favourable positions

7.

within reach

8.

move hurriedly and busily

9.

separate physically or socially

Qué brillantes comentarios dieron ambos estudiantes !!
En la próxima página Mr. Grammar explicará el uso de las CONDITIONAL SENTENCES (Part 2)  ...

 

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