My English Town
Vocabulary
My English Town
except
We don’t have American food either except hamburgers.
Except means other than, or not including. Notice the following:
- The store is open every day except holidays.
- Everyone has left except Susan.
wherever
You can see beautiful beaches wherever you look.
Wherever means any place. Notice the following:
- You can sit wherever you like.
- I go wherever he goes.
path
There are walking paths that you can take.
A path is like a road for people to walk on. Notice the following:
- We walked on a path in the woods.
- You can follow the path to the beach.
keep -ing
I keep saying the beach
Here, this structure – keep + gerund is used to show an ongoing action. Notice the following:
- Don’t stop. Keep going.
- I keep making the same mistake.
brand
We have lots of famous café brands as well.
A brand is the producer of a famous commercial products. Notice the following:
- Pepsi is a famous brand.
- You can tell the brand of a car by its shape.
definitely
I definitely want to go there.
Definitely means without any doubt. The speaker is sure of what he or she is saying. Notice the following:
- You can definitely find a cheaper hotel.
- I will definitely be here tomorrow.
Audio Script
My English Town
Todd: So, Katie, you are from England, correct?
Katie: Uh-hmm, that’s right.
Todd: Are you from a big town?
Katie: I’m from a very small town.
Todd: Oh, what’s the name?
Katie: It’s in the southwest. It’s called Torquay.
Todd: Torquay.
Katie: Uh-hmm.
Todd: OK. Is it a fun place to live?
Katie: I think so. It’s, it’s very famous in the UK because we lots of beautiful beaches.
Todd: Oh, that’s nice.
Katie: Hmm.
Todd: So, in your town, where is a good place to go food shopping?
Katie: There are a lot of supermarkets that you can go to. Most of them you need to go by car.
Todd: Oh, that’s a problem.
Katie: It’s difficult to walk to a close supermarket. But I’m lucky because there is one very close to my house that I can go to.
Todd: OK. And can you recommend a good restaurant in your town? Where is a good place to eat dinner?
My English Town
Katie: There are lots of amazing restaurants along the sea front. So, you can sit in a restaurant and you can look at the beach at the same time.
Todd: Oh, that’s nice.
Katie: Uh-hmm.
Todd: How romantic.
Katie: It’s beautiful.
Todd: Is it expensive?
Katie: It depends what restaurant you go to. If you go to an Italian restaurant, that’s going to be expensive.
Todd: What kind of foods do they have?
Katie: They have all kinds of foods, but the most popular food in my home town is Italian food and Chinese food.
Todd: OK. No British food?
Katie: Not really. (laughs)
Todd: OK. We don’t have American food either except hamburgers.
Katie: They’re good though.
Todd: In your town, where is a good place to exercise?
Katie: It depends on what kind of exercise you like. But we have lots of parks and people are always playing football in the parks.
Todd: So, there’s a, is there a big park in the middle of town?
Katie: Uh-hmm.
Todd: OK. Is it easy to get to?
Katie: It’s pretty easy to get to. Most people can walk there.
Todd: So, that brings us to nature. Where’s a good place to see nature?
Katie: Well, you can see beautiful beaches wherever you look. There are so many beautiful beaches in Torquay. But there are also lots of beautiful gardens and you can see lots of flowers.
Todd: OK. Nice.
Katie: It’s very nice. Yeah.
Todd: That is nice. So, are there walking trails on the beach?
Katie: Uh-hmm, and in the gardens too there are walking paths that you can take. And you can go in the mountains—
Todd: Oh, beautiful.
Katie: —and see stuff there too.
Todd: That’s lovely. So, in your town, where is a good place to meet people?
My English Town
Katie: Well, I keep saying the beach but lots of people from all over the UK come to Torquay to see the beach, so you can meet lots of different. People come for their holidays.
Todd: OK. So, you can meet new people.
Katie: Lots of new people. Yeah.
Todd: That’s cool.
Katie: You can make lots of new friends.
Todd: Now, what about a quiet place? Where’s a good place to study or read or just relax?
Katie: Well, we have lots of cafés that you can go to if you want to just have a quiet moment or just to read some books. You can go to a café.
Todd: OK. And are the cafés easy to find?
Katie: They’re very easy to find. And we have lots of famous café brands as well.
Todd: OK. Are there cafés on the beach, too?
Katie: No. They’re in the town center but the town center is very close to the beach.
Todd: OK. Now, when is a good time to visit your town?
Katie: Well…
Todd: So, you say the beach, so summer?
Katie: Yeah. I would say summer is a good time. But in England, there is not usually a good time because it’s raining almost every day. But if you want to go to the beach, probably summer is a good time.
Todd: OK. What about the fall?
Katie: I mean, the fall is okay. Winter is good. Lots of people go to, go swimming on Christmas Day.
Todd: Well, I definitely want to go there.
Katie: Yes. It’s a lovely place.
(End of Transcript)