Discuss the following questions with other students.

• Are you usually free at the weekend or do you have a

lot of work/study?

• How many weeks' holiday from work or school do

you have every year? Is it enough?

• Do you think people in your country have enough

free time, generally? (Think about people in different

types of job.)

Are you a live wireor a couch potato?

1 I’m going to walk for more than half an hour today.

2 I’d like to spend my next holiday lying on a beach doing nothing.

3 I’d rather play sport than watch TV

4 I’m not planning to get up before ten tomorrow

5 I’m going to play an outdoor sport (e.g. tennis, soccer) this weekend.

6. I’d like to spend more time in bed than I usually do.

7. In a strange city I’d rather go sightseeing than stay in my hotel room.

8. I’d rather take the lift than walk up a flight of stairs.

9. I’m planning to go skiing and/or surfing sometime this year.

10. I’m going to spend most of this evening in front of a TV/computer screen.

11. I’d like to go on a cycling holiday or climb a mountain one day,

12. I’m planning to buy a more comfortable sofa when I have enough money.

Work with a partner and tick the sentences that are true for you.

A Count how many blue sentences you ticked, and how many red ones.

Blue = couch potato. Red = live wire.

B Compare your answers with the rest of the class.

Practice

Use the phrases below to make six good resolutions for the future with going to.

Examples:

I'm not going to argue with my sister any more.

I'm going to spend less money on clothes.

spend (more/less) time ....-ing

save up money to buy ...

spend more/less money on ...

eat more/less ...

study ... at the weekend

keep in touch with my ...

learn to...

stop ...

join ...

do more ...

buy a new ...

2 When you have some free time, do you go away for the day/weekend? Use the prompts below to make questions with planning to, would like or would rather, then ask two other people.

Free time

a (plan/have) any days or weekends away in the near future. Who (plan/go) with?

b Which places near your home (like/visit) for the day?

c Which other parts of your country (like/visit) for a few days?

d For a weekend away, (rather/visit) the mountains, the seaside or a city?

e Which of these cities (rather/visit) for a long weekend: New York, Paris or London?

f Which other cities (would/like) visit one day?

Vocabulary and speaking

Holidays

A Which of these are most important to you on holiday? Discuss these things in groups.

• the weather • the nightlife

• sightseeing/culture • shops

• the food • who you go with

• the accommodation • other

• the scenery

Read the extracts and check the meaning of the words and phrases in bold in your dictionary

If necessary. Write P if the extract comes from a postcard/e-mail and B if it comes from a holiday brochure.

... here I am sitting in the warm sunshine with a cool drink, watching ... P

... a short walk from the city centre, this luxurioushotel has 400 rooms ...

... trouble is you have to queue for ages for the most popular ...

... there's absolutely no nightlife and absolutely nothing to do here except ...

... unfortunately, our flightwas delayedfor three hours so we had to sit...

... or if you prefer self-catering accommodation, there are comfortable ...

... there are plenty of excursions, where you will have the opportunity to visit ...

... has spent most of his time in the swimming pool which is OK, but I'd like to ...

...the beach is so crowded you have to get there very early in the morning if you ...

... you can enjoy the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere of this beautiful old seaside town ...

... and I have always wanted go on a cruise, so we decidedto get away for a couple of weeks ...

... there is also a discount of 5% if you book your holiday online with us…

3 Put the words and phrases in bold into the following categories:

Ideal holiday Awful holiday Not sure/Either

A Tell your partner about a holiday you have had that was either very good or very bad. Use some of the phrases in exercise 2.

B Listen to your partner's story. Has anything similar ever happened to you?

Listening and speaking

The holiday from hell

* luxurious hotel close to beautiful sandy beach

* three swimming pools, tennis, golf and watersports

* three beach bars and first class restaurant

* average temperatures 28-30°C; average hours of

sunshine per day eight to nine hours

* flying time approximately eight and a half hours from

London

* airport just fifteen minutes by bus from the hotel

Last year Mark and Rosa saved up and booked their dream holiday in the Caribbean. Read what they read on the hotel website above.