Look at the examples below:
A. It’s a nice place.
B. Does Hawaii have good beaches?
C. The beaches are excellent.
D. The weather is nice there. It’s not very hot
E. They are very interesting.
The above sentences show us how to talk about places. Notice that we use the Simple
Present Tense. The simple present expresses general statements of fact, as shown in the
above examples.
Travel documents:
Iceland is a very unique island—in fact, it’s like nowhere else on earth. The interior
of this island contains incredible contrasts. It has tundras, huge glaciers, volcanoes,
and waterfalls.
Swimsuit maker Speedo sells a very large number
of bathing suits in Iceland. Is it warm here all
year?
The island’s climate is cool, but most people don’t
pay money for heat. Energy is very cheap and it
doesn’t cause pollution.
What kind of energy do Icelanders use?
Icelanders eat fresh fruit and vegetables all year,
but they rarely buy them from other countries.
Where do they get them?
Icelanders like to play golf all night during the summer. How do they see the
ball?
- 1. No. Winters are cold in Iceland, but the people of Iceland swim all year
- in heated swimming pools.
- 2. They use geothermal heat from under the ground. Icelanders use water
- from volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers. Pipes carry the heated water
- throughout the country. The water heats buildings.
- 3. They get them from greenhouses. Icelanders use geothermal energy
- to grow fruit and vegetables in greenhouses, even in the winter. This
- means they don’t need to import products.
- 4. Iceland is very close to the Arctic Circle. In the summer the sun doesn’t
- go down, so people can play sports all night.
- Here is the example of a description text:
SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco is my favourite city in the United States. It is beautiful, clean, not
too big, and it has something for everybody. I love the streets and buildings in San
Francisco. The streets wind up and down the
hills, with beautiful old brick and wooden
houses on either side.
One of my favourite things to do in San
Francisco is to ride the cable car. It takes
you to most parts of the city. It’s not a very
comfortable ride, but it’s exciting and the
views you get from the car are wonderful.
And I like the weather in San Francisco.
It never gets too cold or too hot. The summers
are pleasant. The fresh breezes blow off the
ocean and the sky is always blue. It rains quite
a lot in the winter, but it never gets very cold.
Another thing I enjoy about the city is the
restaurants. The seafood restaurants, with crabs
and lobster, are my favourites. You can also get
great Chinese, Japanese, American and European food in San Francisco.
Comprehension questions:
- geyser : a hot spring that shoots water into the air.
- glacier : a large body of ice that moves slowly over land.
- greenhouse : a glass building used for growing plants.
- produce : foods such as fruit and vegetables.
- tundra : a large, flat area of frozen land without trees.
Subtropical countries have four seasons a year: spring, summer, fall (autumn),
and winter. In the North Hemisphere, spring is between March-May, summer
between June-August, fall between September-Novembe vtr, and winter
between December-February. In the South Hemisphere, spring is between
September-November, summer between December-February, fall between
March-May, and winter between June-August.
