A1 Level 2

A1 Level 2
The best place to visit
Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje - SENA. Reservados todos los derechos 2013.
Nice to see
you again, dear
apprentices !
This morning I consulted
with a travel agent from the
World Tour Travel Agency and
he said it was a good idea
to spend my next vacation
in Colombia. I think it´s
perfect beacuse I can visit
my good friend Linda, she is
Colombian, she is from San
Andrés.
I am so excited about visiting Colombia! But first, I need to decide which cities in
Colombia I want to go to. In this learning material we are going to learn how to
compare places in terms of weather, geographic characteristics and advantages
and disadvantages.
Help me choose the best place to visit.
Warm-up
Places to visit in Colombia
BOGOTÁ, cosmopolitan and cultural city
CALI, salsa city, parties and nice people
SAN ANDRES ISLAND, the Seven Colors Sea
CARTAGENA, history and culture, beaches and fun
MEDELLÍN, shopping and colorful flowers
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Bogotá
Bogotá is the capital city of Colombia. Bogotá was declared by UNESCO as the
World Book Capital City in 2007 (UNESCO, s.f.) and Ibero American Capital of
culture by UCCI (UNESCO, s.f.). Bogotá is one of the most important cities in the
continent.
What is the weather like?
Temperature ranges from 12º C (54º F) to 18º C (64º F). Bogotá is a cold city.
Where is it located?
It is located in the center of the country; Bogotá is the biggest city in Colombia.
Where to go
La Candelaria: This zone has a lot of colonial buildings. There you can find several
museums, cultural sceneries, restaurants, hostels and hotels. La Candelaria is one
of the best preserved centers in Latin America.
Monserrate Hill: This place has the most beautiful views of the city. On the top of
the hill you will find a church and several gift shops.
What to do there?
3 things to do in Bogotá
•
You can visit the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira. You can go there by train.
•
You can go shopping to the most important malls.
•
You can visit some museums and amusement parks.
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Medellin
Medellín is the eternal spring city. This place is considered a business hub because
of its industry and technological development. It is particularly famous worldwide
for being a very innovative city.
What is the weather like?
Its temperature ranges from 18º C (64º F) to 30º C (86º F). Medellín is a warm city.
Where is it located?
Located in the Aburrá Valley, on the central Andes Mountain Chain, Medellín is the
second biggest city of the country.
Where to go
Botero Plaza: the most popular attraction in the city; in this place you can walk by
beautiful plump sculptures. This city is home for one of the most famous artist in
Colombia: Fernando Botero. Don´t forget to take a picture of you standing by the
largest metal sculpture!
Pueblito Paisa: It is the representation of a typical Antioquia´s town. You can find
one of the most important sculpture collections of the 80´s and the last century.
What to do there?
3 things to do in Medellín
•
You can enjoy the flower fair at the city´s annual parade (August).
•
You can go shopping to Santa Fe Mall. It is the city´s largest shopping mall and
is located on Avenida El Poblado.
•
You can visit El Peñol; it is a beautiful lake and recreational area.
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Cartagena
Cartagena was declared as World Heritage in 1983 by UNESCO (UNESCO, s.f.)
Cartagena is a tropical paradise. It is visited by thousands of tourists who find it as
the perfect place to relax.
What is the weather like?
Its temperature ranges from 30º C (86º F) to 35º C (95º F). Cartagena has a pleasantly
hot weather.
Where is it located?
It is located on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia.
Where to go
Castle of San Felipe de Barajas: Is one of the most amazing Spanish forts. It was
built on top of San Lázaro Hill.
Simon Bolivar Park: It is a small park. There are different types of restaurants
where you can enjoy good food. You can also find the oldest church in Cartagena
and Santo Domingo Monastery.
What to do there?
3 things to do in Cartagena!
•
You can swim at Playa Blanca which is considered one of the best beaches in
Cartagena.
•
You can walk along the streets. You can have a look at the most impressive
buildings of the old city.
•
You can visit the historic Center on horse and carriage.
Colombia has a lot of beautiful and interesting places. It has friendly people and
natural diversity. It has all sorts of weather and geographic conditions so I have a
lot of options to choose from to enjoy an unforgettable vacation time.
Let´s keep moving. I have an important decision to make.
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Let´s get inside
Greetings, dear apprentices!
Our travel agency World Tour is pleased to
welcome you into a new travel experience.
We offer the best tourist packages to suit all
our customer´s budgets and preferences.
This time, I will help Daryl choose some
places to visit in Colombia.
Let´s compare some Colombian cities to see
what the best option for our friend Daryl
is. To do so, we will first check one of our
customer´s reviews on his experience living
in Colombia.
Let´s get ready!
Moving around amazing cities
John Spencer is an English teacher who lived in Bogotá for 20 years, in Medellin
a couple of years and finally, moved to Cartagena 2 years ago. We asked him to
compare life in Bogotá, Medellin and Cartagena. Here’s what he told us:
In Colombia I had the chance to live in three amazing places: Bogotá, Medellín
and Cartagena. Bogotá is a lovely city. It has lots of great buildings and places. It’s
bigger than Medellin. It´s the biggest city in the country.
Bogotá
Medellin
Bigger
Big
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Medellín is the second biggest city. It usually has a hot or warm weather throughout
the year, but I must say Cartagena is probably the hottest city I have ever been to.
Medellín
Cali
Cartagena
Hot
Hotter
th
he ho
otte
estt
In terms of weather, I can say Bogotá is colder and windier than Medellín. Bogotá
is one of the most important cities in the continent, but is too chaotic for me.
As I was more interested in living in a more peaceful place I decided to move to
Cartagena.
Medellín
Bogotá
Cold
d
Cold
der
Traditional architecture in Cartagena is more romantic and magical, and its parks
and churches are wonderful. Cartagena isn’t as noisy as Bogotá and Medellín, and
it’s less crowded. I feel happier living here.
Bogota
crowded
Medellin
less crowded
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Let´s analyze
It seems Mr. Spencer is having a great time living in Colombia. There´s no doubt
this country is a a great destination for tourists and nature lovers.
When describing his experience in Colombia, Mr. Spencer compared different
aspects of the three cities where he has lived : Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena.
Let´s see what we need to know to be able to make comparisons in English.
Making comparisons in English
When you compare things, people or places in English, you usually talk about
their similarities and differences. To do this you need to use comparative and
superlative forms.
Let´s see how these comparative and superlative forms work.
If you want to compare cities´ size you can say…
Barranquilla
Barranquilla is a
big city.
Medellin
Medellin is bigger
than Barranquilla.
Bogotá
Bogotá is the biggest
city in Colombia.
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If you want to compare cities´ weather you can say…
Villavicencio
Villavicencio is a
hot city.
Cúcuta
Barranquilla
Cúcuta is hotter
than Villavicencio.
Barranquilla is the
hottest city in Colombia.
If you want to compare cities´ population you can say…
Cartagena
Cartagena is a
crowded city.
Medellín
Bogotá
Medellín is more
crowded than
Villavicencio.
Bogotá is the
most crowded
city in Colombia.
When you want to compare one thing to another you usually use comparative
adjectives. Let´s check how these adjectives are formed.
Comparative adjectives
Adjective
Cold
Add…
cold +er
Happy
Happier
Populated
More + populated
Sample sentence
Bogotá is colder
than Medellín.
Mr. Spencer feels
happier in Cartagena
than in Bogotá.
Bogotá is more
populated than
Medellín.
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Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Adjective form:
cold
Comparative Form
colder
Superlative Form
(the) coldest
Ex: Medellín is colder than Cartagena. Bogotá is the coldest.
Only one syllable, with one
vowel and one consonant at
the end
big
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
bigger
biggest
Ex: Medellín is bigger than Cartagena. Bogotá is the biggest.
Two syllables, ending in Y.
windy
Comparative Form
windier
Superlative Form
windiest
Ex: Spring is windier than summer. Autumn is the windiest
Two syllables or more, not
ending in Y
Interesting
Comparative Form
Superlative Form
more interesting
the most interesting
Ex: Daniel is more interesting than Julian. Daryl is the most interesting.
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When you want to compare one thing to a group of things use superlative
adjectives. Let´s check how these adjectives are formed
Superlative adjectives
Adjective
Cold
Add…
cold +est
Hot
Hottest
Populated
The most +
populated
Sample sentence
Bogotá is the coldest
city in Colombia.
Barranquilla is
the hottest city in
Colombia.
Bogotá is the most
populated city in
Colombia.
Some adjectives may have an irregular comparative form; this means that they are
formed in a different way. Let´s check the table.
Irregular comparatives
Adjective
Good
Bad
Comparative form
better
worse
Superlative form
The best
The worst
Far
farther
The Farthest
Well, dear apprentices, now you know how to make comparisons in English. You
can use comparative and superlative adjectives to talk about differences and
similarities.
Don´t forget to keep practicing! The more you practice, the better you get at it.
See you!
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Credits
Pedagogical Direction
Paul Cifuentes
Carlos Javier Amaya
Direction of Art
César Páez
ICT Leadership
Yeison Ospina
Quality management
Juan Carlos Rojas
Script Composition
Ingrid Flórez
Content Support
Alex Fabián Paredes Guerrero
Patricia Emilce Rodríguez Quenoran
Ingrid Flóre
Multimedia Development
Graphic designers
Diana Duque
Jose Mario Alzate
Programming engineers
Felipe Becerra
Voices
Jeffrey Christopher
Ciany Nelson
Guillermo Mendivil
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