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Sarah |
Todd |
City Superlatives
Todd talks about the best and worst of his hometown and the nicest places to live and why.
Sarah: Hi, Todd.
Todd: Hey, Sarah. How are you?
Sarah: Good. How are you?
Todd: Not bad.
Sarah: So I heard you are from San Francisco.
Todd: That’s right. Yeah, I was born there and I lived in the city for many years.
Sarah: Cool. What is the most interesting thing about your city?
Todd: Well, San Francisco has many interesting things, but the most interesting thing is probably the architecture. There’s lots of very unique buildings. And the most unique building is probably the Trans-America building. It’s a building like a pyramid. It’s nice.
Sarah: Well, that’s really cool.
Todd: Uh-hmm.
Sarah: What is the most expensive area in San Francisco?
Todd: Well, it is very, very expensive. The most expensive area is a place called Pacific Heights, and it’s on the highest hill in San Francisco and it overlooks the Bay. It’s a really, really beautiful place.
Sarah: Hmm.
Todd: That area by far has the best views of the city.
Sarah: Hmm, what is the most beautiful place in San Francisco?
Todd: Well, actually the most beautiful place is outside the city. It’s a place called Muir Woods. And it has the tallest trees in the world, and some of these trees are really old. They are the oldest trees in North America. Some of them are over 2,000 years old.
Sarah: Wow. It sounds like some place I would like to see. So it sounds really expensive. Where is the cheapest place to live?
Todd: The cheapest place to live is a place called Sunset. And Sunset is on the west side, and the houses are kind of old and they’re a little bit cheap. But one thing about Sunset is it has nicest view of the ocean, and you could watch the sunset every night. That’s why it’s called the Sunset area.
Sarah: Hmm. If I wanted to go there, when is the best time to visit?
Todd: Well, the best time is probably in the fall because that’s when the weather is the nicest. It’s not too cold, and it’s not too hot. And it doesn’t rain that much.
Sarah: So when would be the worst time to visit?
Todd: The worst time to visit would be probably February and March, because February and March are the coldest and wettest months. So – well, March isn’t that cold but sometimes it’s wet, so it rains a lot.
Sarah: Wow. That sounds really great. I want to go there.
Todd: Yeah, you should. It’s great place.
architecture
The most interesting thing is the architecture.
Architecture refers to buildings. Notice the following:
- Shanghai has great architecture.
- He studied architecture in college.
unique
The most unique building is probably the Trans-America building.
Something that is unique is not like other things. Notice the following:
- The city has unique buildings.
- Coit Tower has a unique design.
pyramid
It’s a building like a pyramid.
A pyramid had four sides meeting a one point. Notice the following:
- The Aztecs also made Pyramids
- The cheerleaders stood in a pyramid.
overlook
It overlooks the Bay.
Here, to overlook something means to have a view of something. Notice the following:
- The house overlook the ocean.
- His apartment overlooks a park.
by far
That area by far has the best views of the city.
We use the phrase 'by far' to show much difference in two things being compared. Notice the following:
- Bikes are by far the cleanest form of transportation.
- New York is by far America's best city.
over
Some of them are over 2,000 years old.
Here, 'over' means 'more than'. Notice the following:
- The meeting lasted over three hours.
- It cost over three grand.
Vocabulary Quiz
overlook • by far • over
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About the Teacher / Creator
Hello, and welcome to elllo. My name is Todd Beuckens. I've been an ESL teacher for 25 years. I created elllo to provide teachers and students free audio lessons and learning materials not usually found in commercial textbooks.
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