Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. address
    • ex. The president is going to address the issue in his speech.
  2. basically
    • ex. Brandon ate basically all of the pizza. There’s only one piece in the box.
  3. a fare
    • ex. The fare from Shinagawa Station to Shibuya Station is ¥220.
  4. a destination
    • ex. We will arrive at our destination around five o’clock.
  5. refund
    • ex. If you’re not happy with our products, we will refund your money.

Article

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

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Spain is experimenting with a new public transportation campaign to address rising fuel costs. Until the end of the year, local and medium-distance trains will be basically free, and long-distance fares will be 50% off. The campaign was started to help commuters, but any passenger, including foreign tourists, may use it.

Passengers must choose a destination and pay a deposit of €10 or €20 (about ¥1,500 or ¥3,000). If they travel to the destination at least 16 times by December 31, the deposit will be refunded. However, even if the deposit is not refunded, travelers will still save a lot of money. The ticket is good for all stations in the same zone as the destination. For Barcelona, that means that all travel within 50 km of the city is covered.

Germany experimented with a similar campaign earlier this year. From June through August, all public transportation cost only €9 (about ¥1,300) a month. Over 52 million tickets were sold, and 20% of passengers said that they had never used public transportation before. In contrast, train fares in the UK increased about 3.8% this year.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

The European Campaigns

  • Both Spain and Germany experimented with public transportation campaigns this year. In your opinion, which campaign was better? Why? Discuss.
  • Any passenger, including foreign tourists, may use Spain’s campaign. What do you think about this (ex. it's a great idea, it should only be for Spanish commuters)? Why? Discuss.
  • Both Spain and Germany started their campaigns to address rising fuel costs. Do you think that they really helped people? Why or why not? Discuss.

Public Transportation

  • In your opinion, does your country have good public transportation? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Which do you think is better, using public transportation or driving? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think it's okay to eat or drink on public transportation? Why or why not? Discuss.