Reading and Writing Portfolio 9

Reading tourist information

Places to go Writing describing places: paragraphs (3); phrases
with and without the
Review places in a town; can
1 a Tick the words you know. Check the other words/phrases in a dictionary.

the coast a view scenery go surfing an ocean a castle

b Read this tourist information about Wales. Then match these places to 1–5 on the map.
Cardiff 5 the Black Mountains Snowdon Llandudno Tenby

http://www.placestogo.com

EUROPE > THE UK > W LES

Facts about the country

www.placesto .com
A
Wales is part of the United Kingdom and it’s famous for its
beautiful scenery, music festivals and friendly people. It has its NORTH
own language, Welsh, but nearly everyone speaks English. Wales
is also famous for its long place names – like Llanfairpwllgwyngy-
WEST EAST
llgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch! The best time to visit 1
is from June to September.
SOUTH
Places to visit and things to do
B
Cardiff is the capital city of Wales. It’s a busy, modern city on a 2
river called the Taff. There’s a beautiful castle in the centre of
the city and some interesting museums. St David’s Hall is a good
Snowdonia
place for traditional Welsh music. You can also go to concerts and
National Park
sports events at the amazing Millennium Stadium.
C
Brecon Beacons National Park is a great place for walks and
Irish

picnics. You can walk along Offa’s Dyke in the Black Mountains Sea England
and enjoy the wonderful views, or go fishing at Llangorse Lake,
the largest natural lake in south Wales.
D
Snowdonia National Park is in the north of the country. Every year
about 500,000 people climb Snowdon, the highest mountain in Llangorse Lake
Wales. You can also travel up the mountain by train! Broadhaven 3
Brecon Beacons
E
Llandudno is an old seaside town on the north coast. It’s famous National Park
for its long beaches and beautiful scenery, and it’s a good place to 4 River Taff
go surfing. You can also go surfing at many places in the south of 5
the country, like Broadhaven and Tenby.

2 Read the information again. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 T Wales is a country in the UK. 5

Snowdon is in the Black Mountains.
2 They speak two languages in Wales. 6
You can travel by train up Snowdon.
3 August isn’t a good time to visit. 7
Llandudno is a modern town.
4 You can listen to music at the Millennium Stadium. 8
Wales is a good place for surfing.
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 HELP WITH WRITING Describing places
4 Read these sentences about popular places for
Paragraphs (3) tourists. Fill in the gaps with the or – (no article).
3 a Look at the tourist information again. Match 1–5 to 1 There’s a beautiful castle in the centre of –
paragraphs A–E.
Edinburgh, in – Scotland.
1 the country’s highest mountain
2 Aspen is a popular place to ski in Rocky
2 general information about the country
Mountains in USA.
3 places to go walking 3 Mount Kilimanjaro is in north of
4 places to go surfing Tanzania in Africa.
5 things to do in the capital city 4 Bournemouth is a seaside town on south coast
of England.
Phrases with and without the
5 Lake Balaton is about 100 km from
b Look at these useful phrases for describing places.
Notice when we use the in these phrases. Budapest, capital city of Hungary.
● It’s famous for its … 6 Mar del Plata is a seaside town on east coast of
● The best time to visit is from … to … Argentina in South America.
● … is a good/great place for … 7 Manaus is a city on River Amazon in
● You can (also) … north of Brazil.
● There’s a … in the centre of the city.
5 a Make notes about your country.
● … on the north coast
● … in the south of the country facts about the country places to visit and
● … is the capital city things to do

c Underline the phrases in 3b in the tourist

information on the website.
d Notice when we use the and when we don’t use an
article with these places.
THE
● rivers: the Taff, the Nile
● seas and oceans: the Irish Sea, the Atlantic Ocean
● some countries: the UK, the USA
● mountain ranges: the Black Mountains, the Himalayas

NO ARTICLE
● most countries: Wales, Brazil
● cities and towns: Cardiff, Tenby
● mountains: Snowdon, Mount Fuji b Write a description of your country for the
www.placestogo.com website.
● continents: Europe, Asia
● Use your notes from 5a.
● lakes: Llangorse Lake, Lake Geneva
● Use different paragraphs for each place.
● Use phrases from 3 and check for the/no article.
● Read and check for mistakes.
● Give your description to your teacher next class.

Tick the things you can do in English in the

Reading and Writing Progress Portfolio, p88.

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