Activity 3 – Reading

Read what Marcos wrote about his first trip abroad and complete the text below with
the phrases 1 – 9.
1. and I went with three friends
2. because for all four of us it was our first time away from home
3. and I bought a silver ring for my sister
4. because I couldn’t find it when I got on the coach that evening!
5. but I got up early and went to
6. so we decided to travel by coach.
7. but we didn’t mind
8. so we went to Hyde Park for a game of football
9. then we went shopping in Oxford Street

The first time I went abroad was when I went to London. It was in the summer holidays
about five or six years ago, (a) _ _ _ _ 1_ _ _ _ _ _. The plane and train were quite
expensive, (b) _ _ _ _6 _ _ _ _ _ _ We left at five o’clock in the morning and the journey to
London took about sixteen hours (c) _ _ _ _ 7_ _ _ _ _ _: we were all very excited (d) _ _ _
_ _ _2 _ _ _ _.
We stayed in London for three days, in a youth hostel not far from the centre. While we
were there, we walked a lot. First, we went to see all the famous sites – Big Ben, Piccadilly
Circus, Buckingham Palace, (e) _ _ _ _ 9_ _ _ _ _ _. On the last morning, my friends
stayed in bed late, (f) _ _ _ _ _5 _ _ _ _ _ Camden Market. You can buy all kinds of
jewellery and clothes there, (g) _ _ _ _ _ 3_ _ _ _ _. It was really hot and sunny in the
afternoon, (h) _ _ _ _ 8_ _ _ _ _ _. Unfortunately, I think the ring fell out of my pocket
during the game, (i) _ _ _ _ 4_ _ _ _ _ _
I’ve been back to London several times since then, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel as excited
as I did that first time.