Catching up after a trip

Catching up after a trip

Listen to two friends talking about a recent trip abroad to practise and improve your listening skills.

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.

Discussion

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Submitted by edgar Leyva on Thu, 18/01/2024 - 20:30

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The last place that I traveled was san diego, Anaheim and Los Ángeles, I recommend it 100%, the persons, the environment, the lifestyle they have there, is just of another planet compairing to México.

Submitted by jbeetea10 on Sat, 25/11/2023 - 16:21

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I'm wondering whether it's correct way to say '' there's lots of parks...'' Appreciate it.

Hello jbeetea10,

It is non-standard - the grammatically standard form would be 'there are lots of (a lot of / many) parks' as the verb should agree with the following noun, which is plural. However, when speaking informally a lot of native speakers use this kind of non-standard form. My advice would be that it's fine to say this in an informal context but I wouldn't put it in writing or use it in a more formal setting when I'm trying to make a good impression.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Roisingg on Thu, 10/08/2023 - 12:39

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The last place I visited was the Guadeloupe Island in the Carribbean, I would recommend it because it was so beautiful and the weather was nice. People were so relaxed and I loved the ambiance. The food was good too!

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Submitted by joytriplejoy on Mon, 03/07/2023 - 14:25

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The last place I travelled to was Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. I enjoyed the laidback lifestyle, the unspoiled nature and of course, the delectable street food! My adventurous partner and I ventured into an old Chinese cemetery out of curiosity. We became feasts for the mosquitoes!
I would highly recommend a trip there to immerse yourself in the unique culture, sights, and sounds.

Submitted by abdahuialameen on Wed, 29/03/2023 - 10:13

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Actually, the last place that I visited is Sudan.
I really recommend to you due It was unexciting place and natural.
Although there are many places that u have visited instance Art National Museum, Mara mountain moreover the Alkhalfa street worth visit.Despite of that the people are very kindly and hospitality they can let u pay any think from my experience I went with my money back.

I forget to mentioned that there are more than 200 pyramids in Sudan❤️

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Submitted by vanenglish on Thu, 23/02/2023 - 18:14

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Hi everyone,
The last place I travelled to was Ica in Peru. I recommend to visit this department because the food is delicious, also their sweets. And of course, you can visit La Huacachina, a oasis in the desert, and have a good experience in the Natural Reserve in Paracas, where you can see marine wildlife. Amazing!

Submitted by Ehsan on Thu, 13/10/2022 - 06:31

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It was Istanbul. yes it is a excellent tourist city. It is multiculturalism and dynamic city. I feel life goes on in this city.

Submitted by Moses Habarugira on Sun, 14/08/2022 - 08:01

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Hello learnEnglish team,
What's the meaning of "Catching up after a trip"

Thanks

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