Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. prohibit
    • ex. The museum prohibited people from taking pictures of its art.
  2. a surge
    • ex. Every spring, there is a surge of new students at my English conversation school.
  3. maximize
    • ex. To maximize my time, I usually clean while listening to audiobooks.
  4. effectively
    • ex. The injury effectively ended Mark’s soccer career.
  5. a resident
    • ex. Only residents can vote in the local election.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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The local government of Dubrovnik [DOO-brawv-nik], Croatia, may prohibit restaurants from adding tables and chairs outside for five years. Dubrovnik is known for Old Town, an area with old stone walls and unique churches. The plan to ban tables and chairs outside is the city’s way to fight overtourism. Ever since the city was featured on a popular TV show, there has been a surge of tourists.

Most restaurants in Old Town are extremely small, so they put seats outside to maximize their space, but these outside seats have a negative effect on the city. They block the streets and limit the walkways for people. The possible ban on new outside tables and chairs would also effectively ban new restaurants. When one restaurant closes, a new one would not be able to use the same outside space.

After over one million tourists visited the city last year, residents said that it felt like living in Disneyland. Dubrovnik has also tried to fight overtourism by allowing only two cruise ships per day and closing down 80% of souvenir shops in the city. The local government hopes these steps will improve the life of residents.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Restaurants in Tourist Spots

  • Do you think limiting restaurants can help decrease the number of tourists in Dubrovnik? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • When traveling, do you prefer to eat at local restaurants or chain restaurants? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think that a restaurant can become a tourist attraction? Why or why not? Discuss.

Overcrowding

  • Do you think Dubrovnik's possible ban on new outside tables and chairs could cause more overcrowding inside? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What do you think are the most overcrowded places in your country? Why? Discuss.
  • Which do you think is a bigger problem, overcrowding or lack of people? Why? Discuss.