Miami – the place to be seen

Miami is a magical city full 1) ......... beautiful buildings and surrounded by an amazing natural environment. The city is famous 2) ......... its art deco buildings, which are among the most stylish and vibrant in the world. In the 1920s, Miami Beach was the winter playground of 3) ......... rich and famous. Holiday accommodation was built in the extravagant style of Venetian palaces, Spanish villages 4) ......... French chateaux. Then in the 1930s, 5) ......... of middle class tourists started flooding into the city and this sparked the development of more hotels. It was then that architects 6) ......... the decision to turn Miami into an art deco city. The buildings were given sharp lines and bright happy colours which made them stand 7) ......... . Although art deco looks very modern, the style was strongly influenced by the designs found on ancient Egyptian tombs, 8) ......... particular, King Tut’s tomb, which had various sharp lines, vibrant colours and zig zag features. Starting with a basic steel and concrete box, the architects accessorised the buildings with spheres, pylons, cylinders and cubes. The designers added nautical elements to the buildings 9) ......... as portholes and images of seaweed, starfish and waves. But what made these hotels even more appealing was their reasonable price tag; they were 10) ......... at all expensive to stay in. Miami became and 11) ......... remained a top holiday destination for Americans who want to enjoy the high life. So, Miami is not just 12) ......... place to see, it is the place to be seen!

8. Read the text and complete the blanks with the correct form of the words in capitals.

Dubrovnik

Last month we went on a weekend break to Dubrovnik on the 1) ......... (RECOMMEND) of my best friend. What an 2) ......... (AMAZE) place! It has absolutely everything which any visitor could possibly want, including a romantic 3) ......... (LOCATE) on the Adriatic coast. Dubrovnik has a wide range of 4) ......... (ACCOMMODATE) catering for all tastes and pockets. We stayed at a small, family-run hotel and were certainly very 5) ......... (SATISFY) with the service. We arrived on Friday evening and immediately went to a 6) ......... (PERFORM) of Romeo and Juliet in a Venetian castle high above the town. The following day, felt like staying in bed till late and having a leisurely breakfast, but my friend had made 7) ......... (ARRANGE) for us to use a fishing boat to go scuba diving, so we got up bright and early. I had never been scuba diving before and I can say that it was one of the most 8) ......... (THRILL) experiences I ever had. Later that afternoon, we met some local people who belonged to a rock band and we got an 9) ......... (INVITE) to attend their concert in the evening. It was great and we had a good time. We spent the next day exploring the picturesque streets of the old city. We had a fantastic weekend, and Dubrovnik certainly made a very good 10) ......... (IMPRESS) on us!

9. Past simple or present perfect?

Read the abstract from the blog (online diary) of someone who has taken six months’ leave from work to travel around Central and South America. Fill in the gaps using the past simple or present perfect from the verb given in brackets and any other given words.

It is Saturday and finally I 1) ………… (arrive) in Arequipa in the south-west corner of Peru after setting off from Quito ten days ago. I 2) ………… (not / write) anything on my blog since last week and I 3) ………… (already / fill up) the memory stick on my new digital camera. I 4) ……….. (do) so much this week, it 5) ………… (be) truly incredible.

I 6) ………… (cross) the border with Ecuador at Tumbes and 7) ………… (look around) for a bit before taking a plane straight to lima. When I 8) …………. (get to) Lima, I 9) ………… (take) a bus to the centre and then a taxi to the hotel that I had booked. I 10) ………… (only / stop off) in Lima for a day and then 11) ……… (jump) on a bus straight down to Pisco and then Nazca. I 12) ………… (always / have) a lifelong ambition to see the Nazca lines in the desert. I can honestly say that I 13) ………… (never / see) anything so amazing in my life.

In the middle of the desert, there are huge designs and drawings of shapes and animals that can only be seen from the air. I 14) ………… (join) a group of five people from my hotel. We 15) ………… (take off) in a small plane and 16) ………… (circle) the Nazca lines. The pilot 17) ………… (tilt) the plane to the side so we could look straight down at the designs below. I 18) ………… (even / manage) to take some photos so click the link to have a look at my photo album! I must finish uploading all my photos soon because I 19) ………… (not / do) them all yet and I need the space on my camera. There 20) ………… (be) too many distractions this week! With all this going on, I mustn’t forget that I am going to Cuzco early tomorrow morning by train.

10. Replace words in the text with words from the box so that the meaning says the same. You may have to change the form of the verbs in the box.

unwind thriving diverse vibrant recharge your batteries stunning restore remarkable wander retain soak up

Lisbon is surrounded by seven hills, and from most of them you have 1) beautiful views of this 2) unusual city, which has managed to 3) keep so much of its 4) varied architecture and cultural heritage. But it is also a modern, 5) flourishing European capital, and in recent years many of the old buildings have been 6) repaired. For tourists, one of the most popular parts is the Alfama, where you can 7) casually walk around and 8) absorb the charms of the old town. The Chiado district is famous for shops and restaurants, but for really 9) exciting night life, head for the Bairro Alto. Then after all that, you can 10) relax on the nearby beaches of Cascais and Estoril: wonderful places to 11) get your energy back.