2017 Top Beaches

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Do you have any holiday plans for the summer? If so, do they involve going to the beach? Which is your favourite beach destination?

The American travel website TripAdvisor publishes a list of the world’s best beaches every year. In which country do you think this year’s top beach is?

2 Listen to the first part of the report and make notes on the world’s number one beach.

Use your notes to complete this transcript of what you just heard:VTripAdvisor named Brazil’s Baia do Sancho as this year’s best beach in the world. Its water is _____________ and clear. Its sand is fine and soft. But getting to Baia do Sancho is not so easy. It is on Fernando de Noronha, a ____________________ island more than 300 kilometers off Brazil’s coast. Travelers must take a plane or ____________ from major cities in northern Brazil to get there. And no more than ______________ visitors can be on the island at one time. All of Fernando de Noronha is a __________________. Baia do Sancho is one of its two main beaches. Getting there involves walking along steep, rocky cliffs and then climbing down a __________________. But, as one TripAdvisor user wrote, this is part of what makes the beach special: “Sancho Bay is even made more hauntingly beautiful because of its remote __________________, thick vegetation and rock cliffs.”

2 Listen to the first part of the report again and check your ideas.

Turks and Caicos are a Caribbean island group south of the Bahamas. Aruba is a French Caribbean island.Cayo Largo is an island off Venezuela’s northern coast.

Say whether you think these statements are true or false and then listen to the next part of the report and check your ideas:

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Grace Bay

Eagle Beach Playa Paraiso

1 What is Grace Bay extremely safe for?2 What does Eagle Beach offer visitors a chance to try?3 What is Eagle Beach best known for?

Now answer the following questions. Listen again if you need to.2

Baia do Sancho

2 Circle the options which you think are correct in these statements and then listen to the next part of the report and check your ideas:1 The only US beach to make TripAdvisor’s top 10 list is in California / Florida / New England.2 The only Spanish beach to make TripAdvisor’s top 10 list is in the Basque Country / Andalucia / Catalunya. 3 The only Mexican beach to make TripAdvisor’s top 10 list is near Cancun / Acapulco / Puerto Vallarta.

Which of the beaches have you been to? Which one would you most like to visit?b

1 Where is Radhanagar Beach?

2 How popular is Radhanagar Beach?

3 What is Elafonissi Beach known for?

4 How popular is Elafonissi Beach?

2017 Top Beaches listening

4 What is on Playa Paraiso? 5 What do people go to Playa Paraiso for?

Listen to the next part of the report and answer these questions:

1 What can you collect on Siesta Key beach?2 What sport can you do on La Concha beach?3 What wildlife can you see on Playa Norte?

Now answer the following questions. Listen again if you need to.2

La ConchaSiesta Key

Playa Norte

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Radhanagar Beach

Complete the transcript to the final part of the report below. Then listen and check your 2

10. Galapagos Beach, EcuadorProbably no place on Earth is better known for ___________ than the Galapagos Islands. And the white-sand Galapagos Beach at Tortuga Bay does not disappoint in that respect. Hundreds of sea ________________ build their nests there

ideas.

every year. ________________ may also see marine iguanas, sea lions, flamingos, and lava gulls - birds that are found only in the Galapagos. But perhaps the most famous creatures you might ________________ here are the tiny Galapagos finches, also called Darwin’s finches. They were ________________ after scientist Charles Darwin. His theory of ___________________ was partly based on his study of the beaks of these birds. From quiet, peaceful bays to city oceanfronts, TripAdvisor’s list of the 10 best beaches offers something for every type of ___________________.

Tortuga Bay

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low-intermediate+ (A2+)week of 19.06.17

student pages 2

Transcript

In summer, people around the world seek rest and relaxation on a beach. Depending on where you live, you might enjoy playing in ocean waves or visiting a beach along a peaceful lake or river. The American travel website company TripAdvisor publishes a list of the world’s best beaches every year. The winners are based on the past year of ratings and reviews by TripAdvisor users worldwide. Today, we are going to explore this year’s top 10 beaches in the world.

1. Baia do Sancho, BrazilTripAdvisor named Brazil’s Baia do Sancho as this year’s best beach in the world. Its water is calm and clear. Its sand is fine and soft. But getting to

Baia do Sancho is not so easy. It is on Fernando de Noronha, a volcanic island more than 300 kilometers off Brazil’s coast. Travelers must take a plane or boat from major cities in northern Brazil to get there. And no more than 420 visitors can be on the island at one time. All of Fernando de Noronha is a national park. Baia do Sancho is one of its two main beaches. Getting there involves walking along steep, rocky cliffs and then climbing down a ladder. But, as one TripAdvisor user wrote, this is part of what makes the beach special: “Sancho Bay is even made more hauntingly beautiful because of its remote location, thick vegetation and rock cliffs.”

2017 Top Beaches

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2. Grace Bay, Turks and CaicosWhile Baia do Sancho is difficult to get to, Trip Advisor’s second-ranked beach could not be much easier for tourists to reach. Grace Bay is on Turks and Caicos, a Caribbean island group south of the Bahamas. Travelers to the islands often choose to stay at oceanfront hotels right next to Grace Bay. This beach has impossibly clean and clear waters and pure white sand. Its calm waters make it extremely safe for swimming, snorkeling, or simply floating. Once on land, many visitors enjoy walking - barefoot - for several kilometers on the soft, warm sand.

3. Eagle Beach, ArubaTo get to the third-best beach, we head south to the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba. Like Grace

Bay, Eagle Beach has clear, calm waters and soft white sand. It offers visitors a chance to try different water sports, including tubing and jet skiing. Eagle Beach may be best known, however, for its dramatic sunsets. On clear nights, the sky turns red, orange, and purple.

4. Playa Paraiso, CubaTripAdvisor’s fourth-best beach is also in the Caribbean. Playa Paraiso is on Cayo Largo, an island off Cuba’s southern coast. Its name means “Paradise Beach” in English. Paraiso has a fun, laid-back restaurant for those who wish to eat and drink. There is little else on the beach. And that is exactly what visitors like about it. People come here for the sugar-like sand and calm waters filled with colorful wildlife.

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5. Siesta Key, United StatesNext, we visit the only US beach to make it among TripAdvisor’s top 10. Florida’s Siesta Key is a low-lying island. The scientist known as Dr. Beach recently named Siesta Key the best beach in America and for good reason. Siesta Key is on the Gulf of Mexico. It offers safe and clean waters, a big beach, stunning sunsets, and excellent seashell collecting. Visitors of all ages go to Siesta Key when the tide is low to find beautiful, large and, sometimes, rare seashells.

6. La Concha, SpainSpeaking of seashells, TripAdvisor’s number-

six beach gets its name from a conch, a kind of large shell. La Concha beach is in the city of San Sebastian, in northern Spain’s Basque area. People come here to surf and swim in the Atlantic Ocean’s La Concha Bay. They also enjoy walking along the wide, curved beach. La Concha is more developed than the other beaches on TripAdvisor’s list. From the sandy coast, you can see San Sebastian’s tall buildings and hear the sounds of city life. In fact, it is one of Europe’s best-known urban beaches.

7. Playa Norte, MexicoCancun is one of Mexico’s most famous beach

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8. Radhanagar Beach, Andaman and Nicobar IslandsOur next beach, Radhanagar, is on an island in the Indian Ocean. Radhangar sits on the western coast of Havelock Island, part of the Indian territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is considered one of Asia’s best beaches, with crystal-clear waters and powder-like sand. Its reputation has made it a very popular beach. Visitors usually share the sands with plenty of people.

9. Elafonissi Beach, GreeceOn the Greek island of Crete, TripAdvisor’s ninth-ranked beach offers unspoiled natural beauty. Elafonissi Beach is known for its intensely turquoise-colored waters, pink sand and black rocks. It is also known for being somewhat difficult to reach. The road to Elafonissi is narrow and takes many sharp turns. But that does not seem to stop people; it is filled with visitors year-round.

5 10. Galapagos Beach, EcuadorProbably no place on Earth is better known for wildlife than the Galapagos Islands. And the white-sand Galapagos Beach at Tortuga Bay does not disappoint in that respect. Hundreds of sea turtles build their nests there every year. Visitors may also see marine iguanas, sea lions, flamingos, and lava gulls - birds that are found only in the Galapagos. But perhaps the most

famous creatures you might find here are the tiny Galapagos finches, also called Darwin’s finches. They were named after scientist Charles Darwin. His theory of evolution was partly based on his study of the beaks of these birds. From quiet, peaceful bays to city oceanfronts, TripAdvisor’s list of the 10 best beaches offers something for every type of traveler.

low-intermediate+ (A2+)week of 19.06.17

2017 Top Beaches listening

Teacher’s notes 2/2

resort areas. Near its coast is Isla Mujeres, or Island of Women. This is where you will find Playa Norte, number seven on TripAdvisor’s list of best beaches. Playa Norte has restaurants, bars, palm trees, and beach chairs to rent. It is one of the island’s best places to snorkel. Summer visitors

may even see whale sharks, the largest fish in the world. Many Playa Norte companies offer whale shark boat tours from May to September. And adventurous travelers can even jump in the water and swim with them.

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