Preview Activity (I) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019.

For use only with license

Las Vegas Travel Guide | Expedia - (B2-C1)

Work with a partner or group. Do the activities below together about Las Vegas.

PART I Las Vegas is a city where you can find a lot of…

People say that Las Vegas is an ‘escapist fantasy’. Do you know why people say this?

PART II Choose which answer you think is correct for each sentence below about Las Vegas.

1. Las Vegas is located in the state of…

a. California b. Nevada c. Arizona d. Colorado

2. Las Vegas is situated in / on...

a. a coast b. the mountains c. a desert d. the Grand Canyon

3. Las Vegas is known as the “ _____________ capital” of the world.

a. hippie b. entertainment c. cultural d. love

4. The nickname for Las Vegas is…

a. Sun City b. Star City c. Street City d. Sin City

Do you know what this means and why this is the nickname for Las Vegas?

PART III Imagine your best friend just traveled to Las Vegas and they had an amazing visit
and experience there. They are describing their trip to you. What do they say?

PART IV Match which words go with the attractions / places in or around Las Vegas.

(1) Valley of a. Street

(2) Caesar’s b. Strip
(3) Fremont c. Palace
(4) Fountains of d. Bay
(5) The e. fire
(6) Mandalay f. Bellagio
Preview Activity (II) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license
Las Vegas Travel Guide | Expedia - (B2-C1)

PART I Create a definition for each verb or verb phrase above each context example.

1 to dazzle:

EXAMPLE: The magician completely dazzled the audience with his crazy performance.

2 to beat the odds:

EXAMPLE: Nobody thought he would be able to walk again after his accident, but he beat
the odds and started to walk again after a year.

3 to be blown away:

EXAMPLE: I was blown away by how much money we spent on vacation!

4 to be geared around:

EXAMPLE: The main park in this city is geared around cycling and jogging.

5 to descend:

EXAMPLE: The airplane started to descend 40 minutes before arriving at the destination.

6 to fancy:

EXAMPLE: Would you fancy going out for a cocktail?

7 to kick off [one’s] heels:

EXAMPLE: Let’s kick off our heels and go on a walk on the sandy beach.

8 whatever floats your boat:

EXAMPLE: The resort has so much to offer that you can do whatever floats your boat.

PART II Test your knowledge of the words below by matching them with their definitions.

1 happy hour
2 Camelot
3 cluster
4 watering hole
5 indulgence
a. a group of objects or things that are really close together
b. a geologic hole in the desert where animals come to drink
c. allowing oneself to enjoy the pleasure of something
d. a mythical / fictional castled city
e. one hour in a pub or bar with special deals on drinks

PART III Study the special terms below that you will hear in the video.

TERM: Super 8 movie TERM: rat pack

DEFINITION: an old motion picture film DEFINITION: an informal group of entertainers
format; a type of camera film known on the Las Vegas casino scene
made in the 1960’s
 Las Vegas Vacation Travel Guide | Expedia Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license
Las Vegas Travel Guide | Expedia - (B2-C1)

Preview Discussion Questions

If you traveled to the USA today, where would

you go and what would you do? Why?

Would you rather spend a few days or an

exotic city like Las Vegas or go to the Grand
Viewing Activity Canyon? Why?

Part
PARTII
I Finish the second part of the sentences according to the information in the video.

0:17 1 The people of Las Vegas enjoy 300…

0:55 2 The Las Vegas of the 21st century is like…

1:15 3 If you head downtown to Fremont Street, you’ll find…

1:26 4 On ‘The Strip’ you can find…

2:17 5 In some of the resorts on The Strip, it’s possible to step foot into one and not…

2:48 6 Vegas is described as an incredible cluster of neon…

2:58 7 Las Vegas is here to remind us that we’re here on Earth…

PART II Match each word in the box with the context it was used in the video. *One word isn’t used.

lounges pleasure fantasy desert cities trail

1. Las Vegas is a city rising like an oasis from the Mojave .

2. Las Vegas started as a city when it was a watering hole on the Pioneer .
3. The Las Vegas of the 21st century is like visiting a planet of !
4. Fremont Street is a world of cocktail , piano bars, and classic casinos.
5. The Strip isn’t so well known for its casinos, but rather its mythical .
Post-Viewing Activity (I) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license
Las Vegas Travel Guide | Expedia - (B2-C1)

PART I Discussion: Discuss the questions below after watching the video.

1 Would going to Las Vegas be an 2 What other things, facts, or information

interesting holiday for you? would you like to know about Las Vegas?

PART II Vocabulary: Rewrite the sentences below using the terms from the box.

happy hour dazzles descend geared around floats your boat

cluster be blown away kick off the heels beat the odds fancy

1 Prepare to be completely amazed and shocked when you visit Las Vegas! It’s like another
planet.

2 Las Vegas is a city that overcame the low chances of becoming a city because it was just a
watering hole in the middle of the desert.

3 The Strip was designed with mythical cities and organized and designed so that you have the
time of your life!

4 If you are in the mood for a cocktail, you can go to one of the cocktail lounges on Fremont
Street or to a bar where they have special deals on drinks for an hour.

5 In some of the Las Vegas resorts there’s so much to do that you can do whatever you want to
do.

6 As nighttime starts to come down over the city, Vegas is like an incredible tightly-packed
group of neon jewels under the sky.

7 If you’re in a tropical mood, you can take off your shoes and put your feet in the sand at the
Mirage and Mandalay Bay resorts.

8 Las Vegas amazes you like no other city!

 Post-Viewing Activity (II) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license
Las Vegas Travel Guide | Expedia - (B2-C1)

Study how to use the 3rd conditional form below.

*We use the 3rd conditional (IF + PAST PERFECT , SUBJECT + [WOULD / COULD / MIGHT] + HAVE + [PAST PARTICIPLE]
to describe a situation that did not happen in the past, but we imagine the result of this situation in
the case that it actually happened (or didn’t happen).
In the video, the
narrator says...
“This is what Ancient Egypt and Rome might have been like if they’d (they
had) discovered electricity, cocktails, and happy hours a little sooner.”
(1:59)

*We make the third conditional by using the past perfect after ‘if’ in the conditional clause and then
‘would have’ + past participle of the verb in the main clause of the sentence. You can also reverse the
position of the clauses, as it is in the example above.

If + past perfect subject + would + have + [past participle]

CONDITIONAL CLAUSE MAIN CLAUSE

NEXT EXAMPLE If I had known the Grand Canyon was so close to Las Vegas, I would have visited it!

EXERCISE I Create the third conditional form for each sentence below.

1 If I (not fly) to Vegas with my friends when I was 18,

(not meet) my wife.

2 If I (know) it would be 40° degrees Celsius every day in Vegas, I

(not bring) my sweater on the trip.

3 If we (do) more research about hotels in Las Vegas, we probably

(find) one a bit cheaper than the one we got on Fremont Street.

4 If I (be) more careful walking on the crowded streets in Las Vegas,

my wallet probably (not be) stolen.

5 I’m glad we left the casino. I (take) more money out of the ATM.
if (stay) at there longer.

EXERCISE II Finish each sentence using the 3rd conditional. Use might + have + past participle.

EX. We didn’t have much money left, so we decided to leave Las Vegas after the third day. But...
...if we had had some more money , we might have stayed there a bit longer.

1. We were in front of the casino when Brad Pitt came out, so we met him. But...

2. I drank too many cocktails at happy hour yesterday, so I woke up with a headache today. But...

3. We watched a Las Vegas Travel Guide video before going there, so we got the idea to also visit
the Grand Canyon. But...
Post-Viewing Activity (III) Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license
Las Vegas Travel Guide | Expedia - (B2-C1)

EXERCISE I Read each situation below. Then write your own sentences in the 3rd conditional
in response to the sentence. Start your sentence with “I wouldn’t have done that.”
Then use if + past perfect in each sentence to say what you would have done.

1 I spent the whole day on The Strip. I went to cocktail lounges all day.

I wouldn’t have done that. If I had spent the day on The Strip , I would have gone to
see all the mythical cities.

2 I found a wallet on the street while I was in Las Vegas. I took it and kept all the money.

3 I won $10,000 in a casino when I was in Las Vegas. I lost it all immediately after playing poker.

4 I met a girl at a party in Las Vegas. We got married there the next day.

5 I went to the Grand Canyon. I was there for 10 minutes, took one photo, and left.

6 We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas. The food was cold so we left without paying.

EXERCISE II Read the wishes below and write a 3rd conditional sentence related to each one.

EX. I wish we hadn’t bought flight tickets to Las Vegas so late.

If we hadn’t bought flight tickets to Las Vegas so late, we would have paid a lot less.

1. I wish I had brought sunscreen on the trip to the Grand Canyon.

2. I wish we had rented a car when we went to Las Vegas.

3. I wish we had written down the name of our favorite restaurant in Las Vegas.
Quiz & Review Activity Fluentize, LLC. Copyright 2019. For use only with license
Las Vegas Travel Guide | Expedia - (B2-C1)

Work with a partner. Complete the quiz and review activities below.

PART I Summary. Give a summary of the video. Describe Las Vegas in detail.

PART II Questions. Discuss the answers to the questions below.

1. How did Las Vegas “start” as a city?
2. When you go to Las Vegas, you have to be prepared to be what?
3. What are some things you can do on Fremont Street and The Strip?
4. What is everything geared around in Las Vegas?
5. What does it feel like to be at the Luxor and Caesar’s Palace?
6. How do they describe Las Vegas as nighttime descends?

PART III Vocabulary: Discuss what the terms below mean and how they were used in the video.

1. beat the odds

2. kick off your heels

3. floats your boat

4. cluster

5. dazzle

Grammar: Explain when to use the third conditional. Do you remember the example from
PART IV
the video? Then match the first part of the sentences below with the answers.

1 If I had known about the Bellagio fountains...
2 I would have gone to Las Vegas last year...
3 I would not have rented a car in Vegas...
4 I would have taken many more photos...
5 If I hadn’t gone to the casino...
6 If I had been more careful on the streets....
7 I wouldn’t have given the street performers money...
8 If I hadn’t told me about that restaurant...
a. if I had known how bad traffic was there.
b. I wouldn’t have lost so much money!
c. if I hadn’t had so much work at the time.
d. I would have gone to see them.
e. if my iPhone hadn’t died during the tour.
f. if they hadn’t been so entertaining.
g. we never would have eaten there.
h. my wallet wouldn’t have gotten stolen.

Bonus (I): Imagine you just went to Las Vegas for a party and you had a crazy time. De-
PART V
scribe who you went with, what happened, and your experience of Las Vegas in general.

Bonus (II): Imagine you had a conversation with someone who lives in Vegas and
they explain everything they hate about it. What do they say?

Bonus (III): Go online and research some interesting facts or information about Las Ve-
gas. Try to find things or information that wasn’t in the video. Present what you found.