Listening questions - describing the past or future of places - Higher
Describing an area can often involve talking about its past or future. It's also useful to be able to talk about what your ideal town would be like. Here are some useful verbs to get started:
En el pasado(in the past)
- había (there was/were/used to be)
- mi ciudad era/tenía ... (my town was/used to have ...)
Ahora(now)
- hay (there is/are)
- mi ciudad es/tiene ... (my town is/has ...)
En el futuro(in the future)
- habrá (there will be)
- mi ciudad será/tendrá ... (my town will be/will have ...)
En un mundo ideal(in an ideal world)
- habría (there would be)
- mi ciudad sería/tendría ... (my town would be/would have ...)
Caterina and Max are talking about where they live.
Section 1
Question
Listen to the conversation and answer the questions in English.
- What does Caterina think about living there? What reason does she give?
- What does Max like about living there?
- Note two disadvantages that Caterina mentions.
- She thinks it's boring because her friends live far away. She says es muy aburrido (it's very boring) and the reason she gives is todos mis amigos viven muy lejos de mi casa (all my friends live very far from my house).
- Max likes the peace/tranquillity/quiet (la tranquilidad).
- Any two: they are not near the centre/there aren't regular buses/they are very isolated. She says no estamos muy cerca del centro (we are not near the centre), no hay autobuses regulares (there aren't regular buses), estamos muy aislados (we are very isolated).
Transcript:
Caterina: Es muy aburrido vivir aquí porque todos mis amigos viven muy lejos de mi casa.
Max: Estoy de acuerdo que no hay mucho que hacer aquí, pero me gusta la tranquilidad.
Caterina: Pero aquí no estamos muy cerca del centro y lo peor es que no hay autobuses regulares. Estamos muy aislados.
Translation:
Caterina: It's very boring living here because all of my friends live very far from my house.
Max: I agree that there is not a lot to do here, but I like the peace.
Caterina: But here, we are not very near to the centre and the worst thing is that there aren't regular buses. We are very isolated.
Section 2
Question
Listen to the conversation and answer the questions in English.
- What does Max say about the future? Note one reason that he mentions.
- Note two things that Caterina would like in her ideal town.
- He says he won't live in a city. He gives two possible reasons: he prefers living in the countryside/he likes knowing his neighbours. He says nunca viviré en una ciudad (I will never live in a city). The two reasons he gives are prefiero la vida en el campo (I prefer life in the countryside) and me gusta conocer a mis vecinos (I like knowing my neighbours).
- Any two: a bowling alley/fashion shops/a disco. She says me gustaría tener una bolera, unas tiendas de moda y una discoteca (I would like to have a bowling alley, some fashion shops and a disco).
Transcript:
Max: No me importa. Nunca viviré en una ciudad porque prefiero la vida en el campo y me gusta conocer a mis vecinos.
Caterina: Odio el campo. En un mundo ideal viviría en una ciudad muy grande con muchas instalaciones para los jóvenes. Me gustaría tener una bolera, unas tiendas de moda y una discoteca.
Translation:
Max: I don't mind. I will never live in a city because I prefer life in the countryside and I like knowing my neighbours.
Caterina: I hate the countryside. In an ideal world, I would live in a very big city with a lot of facilities for young people. I would like to have a bowling alley, some fashion shops and a disco.
