Town and City


Nói về phố xá, chúng ta hay nhắc đến hai từ quen thuộc là town (thị trấn) và thành phố (city). Nhưng nếu không nhắc thì transportation (giao thông) thì quá thiếu sót. Xem bài nói về du lịch giao thông và ngày nghỉ.

Do the following pairs of words and expressions have the same or different meanings? If they are different, how?

A bus/ A coach
A day off/ A holiday
A package tourist/ An independent traveller
A weekend off/ A weekend away
A weekend/ A long weekend
A public holiday/ A Bank Holiday
The underground/ The Tube/ The subway
Speed cameras/ Security cameras
Fare/ Fee/ Fine
Rush hour/ Off-peak
Bike/ Bicycle
Biker/ Cyclist
Petrol/ Gas/ Gasoline
Tyre/ Tire
Budget airlines/ Low-cost airlines
Traffic jams/ Congestion
Carbon emissions/ CO2 emissions
Road accidents/ Car crashes
Tram/ Streetcar
Environmentally friendly tourism/ Ecotourism
Luxury hotels/ 5 star hotels
Tourists/ Holidaymakers
A year off/ A gap year
To trip/ To take a trip
Railcard/ Season ticket
Youth hostel/ B and B (Bed and Breakfast)
Car hire/ Rentacar/ Car rental
Seasickness/ Car sickness/ Travel sickness/ Motion sickness
Ferry/ Boat/ Ship
A sign/ A signature
To book/ To reserve
Domestic flights/ Internal air travel
Railway network/ Railway system
Canal/ River/ Stream
Walking/ On foot
Air pocket/ Turbulence
Single ticket/ One way ticket
Sightseeing bus/ Hop on hop off bus
Package tour/ Guided tour
Cheque/ Travellers’ cheque
Injections/ Vaccinations
Souvenirs/ Handicrafts
Lorry/ Truck
Minibus/ Van

Ask your partner questions using the vocabulary above
Take turns asking each other questions from the list below:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of coaches and trains?
Which is usually better, buying a package holiday or independent travel? Why do you say that?
How do you usually spend your days off?
Do you have any plans for your next holiday?
How did you spend your holidays when you were a child?
Do you prefer to have lots of long weekends or to have fewer longer holidays?
What is the best place in your country for a weekend away?
Do most people in your country support the use of speed cameras? Why/ why not?
Are there too many or too few public holidays in your country? Why do you have that opinion?
Could the government do more to deal with the problems of rush hour in your city?
Do you think fares in your country are fair? Why do you say that?
Which questions above are likely to be in Speaking Part One and which in Speaking Part Three?
Which parts of the questions above are likely to be used in IELTS Speaking questions?
Make other questions about transport, travel and holidays with the same questions.
Make other questions about the same topics, for example using the question starters below
Use the sentence stems below to ask them first Part One-style questions for a minute or two, then Part Three-style questions for three minutes on the topic of transport, travel and holidays (you can use the vocabulary above if you like, but you don’t need to)

Part One-style questions

How often do you…?
Do you often…?
Is there … in your city/ country? What do you think about it? Why?
Do you prefer… or…?
When you were a child…?
When will you next…?

Part Three-style questions

What do you think about…?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of…?
In your opinion,…?
Is it better to… or…? Why?
Generally,…?
Would you say that…?
In the future,…?
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Traffic jam/congestion

aerial (n) = antenna
(a) = in or from the air, especially from an aircraft:
Meanwhile, the massive aerial bombardment/bombing of military targets continued unabated.
aerial photography

bumper /ˈbʌmpə/
(n) a horizontal bar along the lower front and lower back part of a motor vehicle to help protect it if there is an accident
She started the car with a jerk and hit the bumper of the car in front.
>> bumper-to-bumper: with so many cars that are so close that they are almost touching each other: nối đuôi nhau
>> bumper-to-bumper traffic: kẹt xe đến mức xe này nối đuôi xe kia.
By eight o'clock the traffic was bumper to bumper.

(a) exceptionally large, fine, or successful; larger in amount than usual
  • Farmers have reported a bumper crop this year.
    Nhiều người dân vừa báo cáo mùa thu hoạch năm nay bội thu.
  • Everyone in the business predicts a bumper year.
    Mọi người trong vụ làm ăn đó tiên đoán một năm trúng đậm.
Cảnh quay/Đoạn phim trên cao cho thấy giao thông nghẽn kinh khủng, không thể tin được ở Los Angeles khi người Mỹ đi lại vì lễ Tạ ơn.

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