By the end of this exercise, you can show a visitor around a city using ten New York city words and the American English words for five British ones.
Auf einen Blick / At a glance
Free Year 8 English practice (A2): read a New York taxi driver’s tour of the city, practise city words, British and American English, and describing a photo.
Niveau / Level
A2 (GER/CEFR)
Für / For
Jahrgang 8 · Oberschule
Fertigkeiten / Skills
Schreiben / Writing
Aufgaben / Tasks
5 — A taxi ride in NYC · Right or wrong? · Work with the city words · British English and American English · Talk about the city — in writing
Kosten / Cost
kostenlos, ohne Anmeldung / free, no sign-up
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Ex A – ReadingRead David Singh's taxi ride and describe the situation
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Ex B – Right or wrong?Decide and cite the sentence from the text
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Ex C – City wordsFind the odd one out and match the definitions
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Ex D – BE and AEBritish English and American English words
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Ex E – DescribingDescribe a photo and point out places to a visitor
Enter your details to begin
Exercise A
A taxi ride in NYC
Think first, then read the text and describe the situation.
Before you read
Read the text
David Singh: A traffic jam! It's always bad on the Brooklyn Bridge during rush hour. And last Monday they started roadwork here too. Don't even ask me what it's like in the winters. Two years ago we had so much snow that I didn't get into the city at all on some days! I live in Queens, but I like to work in downtown Manhattan, because that's where the money is!
Anyway, you can get a very good look at the New York skyline from here. I never get tired of it – let me tell you about the landmarks. That's One World Trade Center there. Those skyscrapers over there are on Wall Street, the financial center of the world. Can you see the Empire State Building in the distance? They built it in the early 1930s. With its 102 stories it was the tallest building in the world back then.
Rockefeller Center is just a few blocks away. You should go up there while you're here, the view of Manhattan from the top is really something.
How long are you here for, anyway? If you only have one day, I say: buy a bagel and a coffee early in the morning and go for a walk in Central Park. There are trees, lakes, playgrounds, a zoo and lots more.
After that check out the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It only had a collection of 174 pieces of art when it opened in the 19th century, but today it's huge.
Next, take the subway at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue to Grand Central Station. When you're in there, look up. Fun fact: the star signs on the ceiling aren't correct. Why did no one notice when they put them up there? I've no idea.
Around the corner there's a hot dog cart. It belongs to my friend Nick. Remember the name – he does the best hot dogs in New York!
In the afternoon you should go shopping and finish the day with a Broadway show. Just make sure you walk far enough to get to Times Square too. At last, the lights are green again. Now, let's get moving.
Describe the situation
All three answers are needed before you can continue.
Exercise B
Right or wrong?
Choose right or wrong, then cite the sentence from the text that proves your answer. You can scroll back to the text with the step bar at the top.
Decide and cite
1. The traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge is bad during rush hour.
2. David lives in downtown Manhattan.
3. In the 1920s the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world.
4. There's a zoo in Central Park.
5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art had 102 pieces of art when it opened.
6. David thinks that you can buy the best hot dogs in New York from a hot dog cart.
All six choices and all six citations are needed before you can continue.
Exercise C
Work with the city words
Find the word that does not belong, then match each city word with its definition.
a) Find the odd one out
1. public transport · shopping mall · rush hour · traffic jam
2. skyline · skyscraper · subway · tower
3. intersection · campsite · roadwork · road sign
4. sightseeing · sidewalk · tourist · visitor
b) Match the words with their definitions
Word Bankparking lotcommuterconstruction sitesuburbs
1. a place where they are building something
2. people live here, away from the city center
3. you can leave your car here
4. a person who travels to work every day
c) Revision — words from earlier units
1. A famous statue on an island in New York harbour is the
.
2. The big American holiday in November, when families eat turkey together, is
.
Exercise D
British English and American English
David Singh is American. Choose the American English word or spelling he would use.
Choose the American English form
1. In London you take the underground. In New York you take the
.
2. In Britain you leave your car in a car park. In the USA you leave it in a
.
3. The British say town centre. David says he likes to work in
Manhattan.
4. The British word crossroads is called an
in American English.
5. To get to the top of Rockefeller Center you take the British lift — or the American
.
6. Which spelling is American English?
Exercise E
Talk about the city — in writing
Use the useful phrases in each task. Write in full sentences.
a) Present what is in the photo
Photo source: Klett, Orange Line 4, Unit 1 “Arriving in the Northeast”, p. 15 (exercise 5a). Reproduced for classroom use.
Useful phrasesHave a good look at …On the corner there is …Over there …Right ahead …Have you noticed …?In the distance you can just see …
Tip: city words from Exercise C will help you — intersection, sidewalk, skyscraper, public transport.
b) Show a visitor places in your town
Useful phrasesDon't miss …Make sure you visit …I'd like to point out …Down there is …
c) Culture question
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All exercises complete!
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