Welcome to Hong Kong

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Hong Kong. We hope you had a good flight despite the short delay in Dubai and we hope you’ll enjoy your stay. It’s currently 6.30 p.m. local time and our driver tells me that most of the luggage is now on board and we can leave in a couple of minutes. If you’d like to take out your programme, I’ll let you know about one or two changes. First of all, my name is Anna Leung and I’m the local representative for Global Holidays. I’m afraid that Marilyn Chan, whose name is on your programme, is ill so I’ll be looking after you. If you want to make a note of my name it’s spelt L-E-U-N-G. The journey from the airport which is in Kowloon will take us via the Cross-Harbour Tunnel to the Mandarin Hotel which is on Hong Kong Island. This journey should take us about half an hour if there isn’t too much traffic. As we are just a little late, the welcome drinks in the Captain’s Bar will now be at 7.30 p.m. rather than 7.00. All your rooms are on the ninth and tenth floors and you can pick up your keys from reception as soon as you arrive in the hotel. The registration forms have been completed on your behalf so just give the receptionist your name and sign the form. If you want to rest then dinner will be at 8.30 rather than 8.00 p.m. for this evening only. I will be in the lobby of the hotel for an hour from 7.00 p.m. every evening so please come and see me if you have any problems or queries. If you want to contact me during the day you can leave a message for me at the office of Lucky Tours who are the local agents for Global Travel. Oh, the number is on your information sheet. A full programme of each day’s activities will be on our notice board in the hotel. I’ll point it out to you as we go in. Just let me remind you however, that your first excursion, which is a bus tour of Hong Kong island, starts at 2.15 tomorrow afternoon so please be in the lobby of the hotel about five minutes before. Finally, as we still have a moment I’d just like to mention that Thursday is a free day on your programme but it is the fifth day of the fifth moon in the lunar calendar and this is a very important Chinese festival known as the Dragon Boat Festival. You see, several centuries before the birth of Christ, a poet drowned himself in the river to protest against the government of his times. The boatmen raced to his help but they couldn’t get there so they threw rice in the river so that the fish would not eat his body. Nowadays we eat special rice dumplings and have dragon boat races to frighten away the fish. As you’ll see these boats are very colourful and the races are very noisy and exciting. There will be a special excursion to the races leaving at 10 a.m. on Thursday. The excursion will return to the hotel by about 6.30 p.m. and lunch is included in the price of HK $150 (one hundred and fifty Hong Kong Dollars). If you are interested please let me know by tomorrow evening. Right, our driver tells me that all the luggage is now on and we’re ready to leave. Do you have any questions?

(from Success at First Certificate, by R.O’Neill, L.Arthur, S.Menne, R.Nolasco )

CONSOLIDATION 5

A telephone call

Agent Is that Furlows? Can I speak to Miss French, please?

Woman Sue French speaking.

Agent Oh, good morning. I’m calling from Far Horizons travel agents. We are dealing with your travel arrangements from Athens. I’m afraid we have had to make a small change to your flight times.

Woman But I thought that was all settled. I spoke to someone else last week, and they confirmed the arrangements. I’ve got them here somewhere.

Agent Yes, well you know how these things are. It is a very busy time of the year.

Woman Well, can you tell me the changes, because I’ll have to make other arrangements for my arrival.

Agent Yes. Now, you were booked on Olympic, that was OA 240 leaving Heathrow at 16.40 on Saturday 20th. The new flight time is 23.10 on the same day, but on British Airways, BA 680.

Woman Oh dear, that’s very late. What is the local arrival time in Athens?

Agent About 4.30 in the morning.

Woman I don’t like that at all. Can you give me any other times?

Agent Another possibility is to fly on the Sunday, that’s the 21st, with Olympic, and leaving at 9.30 in the morning. That’s OA 280.

Woman Right, well I’ve got all the details. I’ll have to think about it, and I’ll call you back...

(from Highlight Upper-Intermediate, by M.Vince)

SECTION 6

UNIT 1

Lesson A

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 1469