1.
In the right place… but at the wrong time – Reading
comprehension
Read the following text and answer the questions.
In the right place… but at the wrong time !
Last week we asked you to tell us about a holiday when the destination
was perfect but, for some reason, the time wasn’t right… Here are some
of your replies!
1. Tim, 20, student from Manchester
When I was a teenager I went on
holiday with my parents to Brittany in
France. My parents rented a lovely
house on the beach, and the weather
was great. But I was 17, and I didn’t
want to be on holiday with my mum
and dad and my little brother. I wanted to be with my friends. We went to
the beach every day and sunbathed and we went to a fantastic seafood
restaurant for my birthday. But I was miserable and I hated every minute
of it. I didn’t smile once in two weeks. What really made me furious was
that my parents let my older sister, who was 19, go to Spain with her
friends.
2. Gabriela, 28, marketing manager from
Rome
I’m from Rome and the summer here is really hot.
So last year my husband and I decided to go to
Sweden, to escape from the heat. We booked a 10-
1
day holiday in Stockholm, where the temperature in the summer is
normally about 20 degrees.
But when we got to Stockholm there was a heatwave and it was 35
degrees every day. It was awful because there was no air-conditioning
anywhere. We couldn’t sleep at night – it was boiling in the hotel, and in
the shops and museums too. We didn’t want to go shopping or go
sightseeing or do anything – we were too hot. We just sat in cafés and
argued all day. We didn’t need to go to Sweden to do that!
3. Kelly, 26, TV journalist from Belfast
Three years ago I broke up with my
boyfriend and I decided to go on
holiday on my own to the Seychelles.
My travel agent told me that it was a
wonderful place. But he didn’t tell me
that it was also a very popular place for people on their honeymoon.
Everywhere I looked I saw couples holding hands and looking
romantically into each other’s eyes! The travel agent also said it was
always sunny there – but the weather was terrible – it was cloudy and
very windy. To pass the time I decided to do a diving course (one of my
lifetime ambitions). But it was a complete disaster because the first time I
went under the water I had a panic attack. I couldn’t escape from the
island so I spent an incredibly boring (and expensive) two weeks in
‘paradise’.
2
• Comprehension • Answer the following questions in English.
1. With who did Tim go on holiday ?
_______________________________________________________
2. Where did he go and what did he do ?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3. Why was it his worst holiday ever ?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
4. Why did Gabriela and her husband decide to go to Rome?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
5. What happened in Sweden ? Why was it a nightmare for the
couple?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
6. What is the Seychelles famous for ?
_______________________________________________________
7. According to Kelly, is the Seychelles a wonderful place? Explain.
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
• Vocabulary •
Match the following pictures to the correct activity. To do so, use this link:
https://learningapps.org/3592637
3
2. Past Simple – Grammar
1. What’s the past simple of these verbs? Are they regular or
irregular? Check your answers with Tim’s text.
To be To sunbathe
To want To rent
To go To make
To let
2. Write the past simple of these verbs in the correct column.
arrive become remember begin break talk
do stay hate have spend walk
see argue
Regular Irregular
4
3. Complete the text with the past simple form of the verbs in the box.
argue rent have go not know fly drive be
Ten years ago, I __________________ to the United States with my
partner. We __________________ San Francisco,
__________________ a car and then __________________ to
Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon, and then Las Vegas and Los
Angeles. We __________________ a fantastic time! We
__________________ each other very well at the time, but we got on
very well. We __________________ together for 24 hours a day for
ten days, but we only __________________ once – when we got
lost! We got married after that, and are still together.
4. Read the text again and complete the questions.
1. Where ____________________________?
San Francisco.
2. When _____________________________ there?
Ten years ago.
3. _____________________________ a good time?
Yes, they did.
4. _____________________________ on well?
Yes, very well.
5. How many times _____________________________?
Only once.
