Cross-country Road Trips – B2 English Listening Exercise

9 graduation 10 motorhome 11 forests 12 neon sign

13 leather seats 14 pancakes 15 milkshake

16 mechanic 17 waterfall 18 black bear

Mark: Hi everyone! I’m Mark, and I want to tell you about an incredible road trip my family and I took across North America last summer. We’d been talking about doing a big trip for ages. We were originally planning to go for my sister’s birthday, but actually, it was to organise something special for my own graduation. So, it was a really significant journey for me.

When it came to transport, we had different ideas. Dad wanted to hire a fast sports car, and Mum suggested a sensible SUV for the rough roads. Instead, we ended up renting a large motorhome, which gave us the freedom to sleep wherever we wanted. It was fantastic.

We set off early on a Sunday morning. I was expecting to see towering mountains straight away, as you see in all the tourist brochures. However, it was the dense forests that dominated the landscape on our first day of driving. The greenery was absolutely endless.

By lunchtime, we were starving. We were out in the middle of nowhere, looking out for a big billboard to tell us where to eat. In fact, it was a glowing neon sign that eventually caught our attention on the highway, pointing us towards a quintessential roadside diner. We just had to pull over.

Stepping inside was like travelling back in time. It looked exactly like a scene from a 1950s movie. Rather than the uncomfortable wooden chairs you find in many modern cafes, we sank into comfortable leather seats, which was a relief after hours of driving.

The menu was absolutely huge, featuring classic American dishes like cheeseburgers and crispy waffles. I was quite tempted by those, but the diner was locally famous for its pancakes, so I ordered a huge stack of them. They were absolutely delectable, covered in rich maple syrup.

My parents ordered their usual black coffee to keep them awake for the afternoon drive. I decided to have a milkshake instead, which was incredibly thick and sweet, maybe a bit too sweet, but I drank it all!

While we were eating, we got talking to a really friendly guy at the next table. At first, I assumed he was a local farmer because of his rugged clothes and boots, but he was actually a mechanic who worked at a garage nearby. He gave us some great tips on which roads to take.

Following his advice, later that afternoon, we drove into a famous national park. We’d been told by friends to look out for a beautiful lake located in the centre. However, it was a spectacular waterfall that really took our breath away. The sound of the water crashing down was incredible.

As evening approached, we drove slowly towards our campsite, hoping to spot some wildlife. We kept our eyes peeled for eagles in the sky or deer in the woods. Surprisingly, a massive black bear crossed the road right in front of us! We stopped the vehicle and just watched in awe from a safe distance. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

9 university project 10 grey mountains 11 camper van 12 soil colour

13 red rock 14 iron oxide 15 canyon

16 wild horses 17 desert campsite 18 good camera

Alex: Hi everyone, my name is Alex, and I want to talk to you about a recent road trip I took. Normally, when I get some time off, my friends and I head straight for the coast for a relaxing beach holiday. However, this particular journey was actually part of a university project I was working on for my geography degree. We decided to drive through the American Southwest, a region famous for its extreme and sudden topographical shifts.

Our journey began early in the morning. We left the city and soon found ourselves winding our way through a landscape dominated by bleak grey mountains. It was a rather gloomy start to the trip, especially with the heavy clouds overhead, but it set the scene perfectly for the dramatic changes that were about to happen.

In terms of transport, my dad had suggested we take the train so we could just sit back and relax. But we really wanted the freedom to stop whenever we liked, so we ended up renting a camper van for the week. It wasn’t the fastest vehicle on the road, but it gave us a fantastic vantage point from the large windows.

As we drove further south, the environment began to shift. I had been told to look out for changes in the types of trees, but actually, the first clear indication of a transition was the soil colour. It went from a dull brown to a much richer, warmer tone, long before the larger rock structures changed.

Then, it happened almost instantly. We came around a sharp bend, and the bleak scenery vanished. In its place, stretching out as far as the eye could see, was a stunning expanse of red rock. The shift was so dramatic and unexpected that my friend actually hit the brakes in surprise. It was like driving onto another planet.

I had done some reading beforehand, so I knew a bit about the geology. While some people mistakenly believe the colour is due to copper deposits in the area, the striking shades are actually caused by iron oxide. It’s essentially rust, but on a massive, beautiful scale across the landscape.

We spent hours just looking out the car window. At one point, the road ran right along the edge of a vast canyon. We had expected to see a deep valley with a river running through it, but this was completely dry and incredibly steep. The sheer scale of it was breathtaking.

Of course, I was also keeping an eye out for local wildlife. I had my binoculars ready, hoping to spot some eagles circling above the cliffs. Unfortunately, none appeared, but we were lucky enough to see a small herd of wild horses running across the dusty plains in the distance. That was a truly magical moment.

By the time the sun started to set, the colours of the landscape deepened into rich purples and blazing oranges. We had initially booked a room in a cheap hotel near the highway, but the scenery was so beautiful that we cancelled it and found a desert campsite instead. Sleeping out under the stars surrounded by those ancient formations was an incredible experience.

If any of you are planning a similar road trip, you obviously need a lot of practical gear like water and suitable clothing. But above all else, make sure you pack a good camera. You can try to describe the visual impact of that shifting landscape to people back home, but it’s something they really need to see for themselves.