TEFLIN U3 Listening - Transcript:

1. This is Madrid, the capital of Spain. About 6 million people live here and I lived here
for about 6 months when I first became an English language teacher. Although it’s a
very interesting city with great nightlife and lots of museums and art galleries, I didn’t
really enjoy living here. At the time, I found it very expensive and I had problems
finding somewhere suitable to live. The work was also very difficult as I had to travel
all over the city to teach in different companies both early in the morning and late in
the evening.

2. This is Gdansk, a beautiful, old city in the north of Poland on the Baltic Coast full of
historic monuments and churches. I moved here after Madrid and taught English to
teenagers and adults. I had to work on Saturdays, but I didn’t mind because I really
enjoyed it. I liked going to the beach in the summer, but in the winter it was so cold
and it snowed all the time. Luckily, I don’t mind snow and, to me, it just added to the
beauty of the place.

3. This is Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. It’s a huge city with a population of about 10
million. I absolutely loved living here as it’s such a vibrant, busy place and there’s
always something going on, which I found really exciting. In my view, the nightlife
was as good as in Madrid. I lived here for 18 months teaching Thai and Japanese
children ranging from 4 years old to 16. I loved it! It was so hot and humid, so at the
weekends I liked getting away from the heat, noise and pollution of the city and
escaping to one of the islands to relax on the beach and swim in the beautiful, clear
blue sea.

4. This is Trento, quite a small city in the north of Italy with about 100,000 residents. As
you can see, it’s surrounded by mountains, so great for skiing or snowboarding, but,
unfortunately, I’m not into either of these sports. It’s quite pretty, but, in my opinion,
not as beautiful as Gdansk. For me, it was too quiet and I found it a bit boring,
especially compared to Bangkok. I spent quite a long time here and progressed a lot
in my career, and my eldest daughter was born here, so it will always hold a special
place in my heart, but I definitely wouldn’t like to live there again.

5. This is Sheffield in the UK. You’ve heard a lot about it already, so I thought you would
like to see a picture of the place. I’ve lived here for almost 14 years now and, as you
know, I really enjoy my job working at the University. Although it’s quite large - similar
in size to Gdansk with a population of about half a million - it doesn’t feel like a big
city to me, perhaps because most people are so friendly. Sheffield is a very green
city - there are lots of parks and open spaces and it’s easy to get out into the
countryside. It’s also pretty safe, so I think it’s a great place to bring up a family and, I
have to say, it’s my favourite place I’ve lived - so far anyway!