English Vocabulary Exercises for B2 – Getting away from it all

1. Put the words below in the correct column.

adventure holiday      backpacking      beach holiday

beach house      caravan      cruise      guest house      holiday home

self-catering apartment      surfing      tent

time-share apartment      volunteering      winter sports holiday

Holiday accommodation

Types of holidays

Show answers

Holidayaccommodation  beach house, caravan, guest house, holiday home, self-catering apartment, tent, time-share apartment

Typesofholidays  adventure holiday, backpacking, beach holiday, cruise, surfing, volunteering, winter sports holiday

2. Match the holiday accommodation below with the sentences.

B&B      hotel      house swap      self-catering apartment

villa      youth hotel

1) ‘The website said it had four stars, but the room was really small and there wasn’t any Wi-Fi. If you wanted to use the internet, you had to go and use some computers in the lobby!’ ________.

2) ‘We were really lucky because their flat was right in the centre of Rome. It also had a lovely balcony with views of the square. I think they were happy with ours because it’s only fifteen minutes from Trafalgar Square on the underground.’ ________.

3) ‘Although it was on the coast, it also had a lovely swimming pool and a big terrace where we sat in the evenings. There were four bedrooms and enough room for all the family.’ ________.

4) ‘It was cheap, but we had to share a room with six other people who we didn’t know. One guy spent the whole night talking in his sleep and kept me awake!’ ________.

5) ‘The room was fine and the breakfast was enormous. We didn’t need to have lunch!’ ________.

6) ‘It seemed like a good idea at first because we could eat when we wanted, but we spent a lot of time shopping in supermarkets for food.’ ________.

Show answers

1) hotel   2) house swap   3) villa   4) youth hostel

5) B&B   6) self-catering apartment

3. Listen to Alex and Jessica choosing a holiday. Underline the four types of holiday they mention. Which holiday do they choose to go on?

city break      cycling holiday      houseboat holiday      house swap

package holiday      volunteering holiday

Show answers

house swap, package holiday, volunteering holiday,

cycling holiday. They decide to go on a cycling holiday.

Transcript

See exercise 3.

4. Listen again and complete the sentences with the adjectives below.

commercialized      crowded      dull      inaccessible      run-down      unspoiled

1) Jessica doesn’t think anyone will want to come to their hometown because it is ________.

2) Jessica doesn’t like Alex’s second suggestion because the holiday destination will be ________. with tourists and very ________.

3) Alex doesn’t like Jessica’s suggestion because he thinks the accommodation will be ________. and the place ________.

4) They finally decide to visit the west of Ireland, which is ________.

Show answers

1) dull   2) crowded, commercialised   3) run-down, inaccessible   4) unspoilt

Transcript

Jessica So where are we going to go? We haven’t got much money, so we can’t go far.

Alex Why don’t we do a house swap? Then we wouldn’t have to pay for accommodation and we could afford to go somewhere like New York.

Jessica We live in a small, boring, town. Nobody from New York will want to come here!

Alex Okay. Let’s go on a package holiday. As long as we don’t go in August, we’re sure to find some good offers!

Jessica A package holiday? There ‘ll be lots of families with screaming kids! And the local towns will be full of awful tourist attractions and souvenir shops. No thank you! I’d prefer to do something active. You know, we could go on a volunteering holiday.

Alex Volunteering? You mean sleeping in old buildings that are falling down and spending a week repairing some old castle that is halfway up a mountain that nobody can get to?

Jessica Why not?

Alex Why not? Because working is not idea of a holiday, that’s why not!

Jessica Oh dear, this is going to be difficult ___ Just a minute! There is something that we both like and that would be quite reasonable: cycling!

Alex A cycling holiday? Yes, that sounds a good idea! We could get the ferry over to Ireland and visit the beaches on the west coast.

Jessica Good idea. There’s very little tourism there and it’s so beautiful.

Alex Right, let’s check out tickets for the ___

5. Replace the underlined words with the adjectives below.

breathtaking      dingy      hospitable

remote      unique      vibrant

1) The view from the top of the mountain is extremely beautiful. ________.

2) Our hotel room was dark and dirty. ________.

3) The village is quite far away, but it’s worth going there as it’s so beautiful and unspoiled. ________.

4) The people are really friendly and helpful. ________.

5) New York is an incredibly energetic and exciting city. ________.

6) This coastal town has a special, unusual atmosphere that will be different from anything you’ve experienced. ________.

Show answers

1) breathtaking   2) dingy   3) remote   4) hospitable

5) vibrant   6) unique

6. Complete the email with the words below.

adventure      batteries      easy      experiences      pamper      physically

To: kate@email.com

Hi Kate

I’m on holiday! I decided to take it 1) _____. and 2) _____. self at a luxury hotel. However, after two days, I’m bored! I wish I had decided to be 3) _____. active and find 4) _____. somewhere! This hotel is great and I’ve recharged 5) _____, but now I wish I could have new 6) _____.! If only there were more things to do!

Best wishes,

Harry

Show answers

1) easy 2) pamper   3) physically   4) adventure

5) batteries   6) experiences

7. Match 1-8 with a-h.

1) They say that travel

2) You need plenty of time to

3) We wanted to try

4) I like to hang

5) When you travel alone, you meet

6) We enjoyed

7) We like to eat

8) I really need to get


a out with friends at the weekends.

b the local food, but we could only find fast-food restaurants!

c away from it all and relax.

d broadens your horizons.

e people from interesting places.

f out in good restaurants.

g see the sights in New York.

h the nightlife, but the beaches weren’t very nice.

Show answers

1) d   2 g   3) b   4) a   5) e   6) h   7) f   8) c

Extra exercises

1. Use a word from a and a word from B to make compound nouns. Then complete the sentences.

A     back      camp      camper      city      guest      package      self-catering      youth

B     apartment      break      holiday      hostel      house      packing      site      van

1) When friends were in New Zealand, they hired a ____________ to travel around South Island.

2) The price of our ____________ included the flight, the hotel and some of the excursions.

3) The ____________ they chose had a field for caravans as well as several for tents.

4) parents have gone on a ____________ to Rome to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

5) The ____________ we stayed at only had six rooms, but it was very comfortable and the owners were nice.

6) We prefer to do our own cooking, so we tend to rent a ____________ when we go away.

7) _________ is the cheapest way to see a country.

8) There were ten people to a dormitory in the ____________ we slept in.

Show answers

1) camper van   2) package holiday   3) campsite 4) city break

5) guest house   6) self-catering apartment

7) Backpacking   8 youth hostel

2. Replace the underlined words with the synonyms below.

dingy      overcrowded      remote      run-down      unspoiled      vibrant

1) Rio de Janeiro is at its most exciting at carnival time. ____________

2) Some of Britain’s beach resorts are rather neglected. ____________

3) The isolated village we stayed in was over 30 km from the nearest big town. ____________

4) Many of the beaches in Menorca are completely natural. ____________

5) It’s best to avoid the city centre at weekends because the shops are full of people. ____________

6) They gave us a dark and dirty room at the back of the hotel, so we asked if we could change. ____________

Show answers

1) vibrant   2) run-down   3) remote   4) unspoiled.

5) overcrowded   6) dingy

3. Complete the questions with travel collocations. Use one or two words.

1) Would you ____________ a campfire on the beach?

2) Can you ____________ a tent and take it down again on your own?

3) Do you ____________ light when you go on holiday or do you take a lot of luggage?

4) Where do you go when you want to ____________ from it all?

5) Do you ever ____________ the beaten track?

6) Would you ever ____________ rough if you didn’t have anywhere to stay?

Show answers

1) light   2) put up   3) travel   4) get away   5) go off

6) sleep

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