Find out about different holidays.
Read about a disastrous holiday in the south of France.
Study a selection of time expressions, including for and during, and car and driving vocabulary.
Study different uses of the verb had, and expressions used to talk about frustrated plans.
Listen to someone talking about a disastrous journey.
Practise what you have studied so far in this unit.
Write a short story based on a series of pictures.
Practise describing car problems.
Practise pronouncing various structures with 'd.
Post your advice about holiday destinations to avoid. (This is an optional activity designed to give you extra writing practice.)
Write the account of a holiday disaster, or write an account of your last holiday.
Practise describing a road trip and practise different pronunciations of the letter u.
Talk to your tutor about the unit and the topic you wrote about in Tutorial 2.
Review the work in the unit.
Test what you have studied in this unit.
Send us your feedback on this unit.
buffet
buffet car (n)
the carriage on a train where you can buy and eat food and drink
bulb
bulb (n)
the part of an electric light that is made of glass and can be taken out and changed
drizzle
drizzle (n)
light rain
flat
flat (adj)
with no more electrical charge left in it so it doesn't work; for example, a flat battery in a car
gite
gîte (n)
a rented holiday house in France (French word)
go
go (v)
to stop working
head
head (v)
to go or travel in a particular direction
hitch
hitch (v)
also hitchhike - to travel by getting drivers to give you a free ride in their cars
in
in store (adv)
about to happen soon, with the implication that the experience won't be enjoyable
lane
lane (n)
a part of a road that is marked on by lines on both sides and wide enough for one car to drive in
paddy
paddy field (n)
a field where rice is grown
pick
pick up (v)
to learn informally, without studying, as with a language, which is learnt by spending time where the language is spoken
pop
pop (v)
(informal) to go; to pop somewhere is to go somewhere for a short time; to pop by is to make a quick visit to a place, often when that place is not your final destination
pull
pull (v)
to change direction or speed in a car; to pull into a place is to leave the road and stop at that place
puncture
puncture (n)
a small hole in a tyre through which it loses air
scorching
scorching (adj)
very hot
spare
spare tyre (n)
also spare wheel - the complete extra wheel that a car carries in case one of the four wheels needs to be replaced
unwind
unwind (v)
to relax after you have been tense or under stress
windscreen
windscreen (n)
the window at the front of a car that the driver looks through
wreck
wreck-diving (n)
an activity where you go underwater (=dive) in order to see the remains of ships (=wrecks) on the sea floor