Watch this Lonely Planet video on the city of San Francisco and complete the gaps in the transcript.
The activity is suitable for intermediate students. Beware! Some of the missing words are devious, believe me!
Once you have completed the listening activity and looked up the vocabulary items you don't know, try to shadow read the text (read at the same speed as the narrator) so that you can practise your pronunciation.
San Francisco sits on the (1) ... of a peninsula on the northern California coast. With 43 hills and a population of over 800,000 (2) ... , crafty inventors and oddballs, this city refuses to be brought down to earth.
San Francisco's stratospheric booms and crashing busts aren’t for the weak of (3) ... but as anyone who’s clung on to the side of an iconic cable car will tell you, this town gives one hell of a (4) ... .
The cable car offers the best way to explore the city, (5) ... climbing the hills.
Jump a ride to Fisherman's (6) ... . Fight through the tourists to (7) ... a bowl of clam chowder and stroll down to Pier 39’s K dock to catch the colony of sea lions that call it home.
(8) ... through Golden Gate Park, San Francisco's back yard. (9) ... your senses in the Mission district, the cities hub for music and art. Then step back in time and (10) ... through the neighborhood of Haight Ashbury, a national symbol of the 1960s hippy revolution.
San Francisco (11) ... a serious foodie scene. The availability of fresh and organic sustainably harvested produce, means local chefs and diners are (12) ... for choice.
The Ferry Plaza farmers market, in the Embarcadero, is a gourmet emporium with almost 100 (13) ... offering the best in locally grown produce. About 25,000 locals visit the market each week with the market at its (14) ... best every Saturday.
San Francisco has its own brand of iconic (15) ... , from Alcatraz, the world's most notorious prison, to the Painted Ladies, a line up of pastel colored Victorian houses. And Lombard Street created in 1922 with eight sharp (16) ... and paved with red (17) ... it’s one of the crookedest streets in the world.
The Golden Gate Bridge is the most iconic landmarks in San Francisco. Completed in 1937 the Art Deco suspension bridge connects the city to Marin County. More than (18) ... cars cross the bridge each day.
Key:
1 edge 2 freethinkers 3 heart 4 ride 5 effortlessly 6 Wharf 7 grab 8 Stroll 9 Indulge 10 wander 11 boasts 12 spoiled 13 stalls 14 bustling 15 landmarks 16 curves 17 bricks 18 120,000
