English Learning: Travel Troubles
Dialogue
Alice: Bob, you won’t believe my trip!
Bob: Oh, Alice! Tell me everything. Good, I hope?
Alice: Good? Ha! My flight was delayed… for five hours!
Bob: Five hours? That’s awful! What did you do?
Alice: I read a whole book, ate three airport cookies, and almost learned to juggle with two oranges I bought.
Bob: Almost learned to juggle? That sounds like a very long delay!
Alice: It was! But wait, there’s more. When I finally landed, guess what?
Bob: Your luggage… it didn’t arrive?
Alice: Bingo! My bright pink suitcase, gone! Poof!
Bob: Oh no! Not the pink one! Did they find it?
Alice: Eventually, yes. Three days later. It went on its own adventure to Hawaii, apparently.
Bob: Hawaii? Lucky suitcase! Did you get a tan without it?
Alice: Very funny! I had to buy new clothes. My vacation started with an unplanned shopping spree.
Bob: Well, at least you got some new outfits! So, next trip by train?
Alice: Maybe a hot air balloon! Less chance of lost luggage, right?
Current Situation
Travel can be very exciting, but sometimes problems happen. Two common issues for travelers are flight delays and lost luggage. A flight delay means your airplane leaves later than its scheduled time. This can happen for many reasons, like bad weather, technical problems with the plane, or air traffic control issues. Lost luggage means your suitcase or bag doesn’t arrive at your destination with you. While these situations can be frustrating, airlines usually have procedures to help. They often work to find your lost bags and send them to you, or they might rebook you on another flight if yours is delayed too long. Knowing about these common issues can help you be better prepared!
Key Phrases
- You won’t believe: Used to introduce surprising or incredible news.
Example: “You won’t believe what happened on my first day of work!”
- Flight delay: When an airplane departs later than its scheduled time.
Example: “My flight had a two-hour delay because of heavy snow.”
- That’s awful!: An expression of sympathy or surprise at something very bad.
Example: “Oh, your car broke down again? That’s awful!”
- Lost luggage: When your suitcase or bag does not arrive at your destination with you.
Example: “After my long trip, I sadly reported my lost luggage at the airport.”
- Oh no!: An expression of dismay, concern, or shock.
Example: “Oh no! I left my wallet at the restaurant!”
- Eventually: After some time; finally.
Example: “We waited for a long time, but eventually the bus arrived.”
- Shopping spree: A short period of time during which you buy a lot of things.
Example: “I needed new clothes for my vacation, so I went on a shopping spree last weekend.”
Grammar Points
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Past Simple Tense
We use the Past Simple tense to talk about actions that started and finished in the past. It’s very common when telling a story or describing past events, like Alice telling Bob about her trip.
- Regular verbs: Add -ed to the base form (e.g., delay → delayed, land → landed, wait → waited).
- Irregular verbs: Change form (e.g., be → was/were, eat → ate, buy → bought, go → went, have → had).
Examples from dialogue: “My flight was delayed.” “I read a whole book, ate three airport cookies, and bought two oranges.” “My suitcase went on its own adventure.”
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Expressions of Surprise and Disbelief
These phrases help you show your feelings when something unexpected or remarkable happens in a conversation:
- You won’t believe: Use this to introduce something very surprising or incredible. It makes the listener curious.
- That’s awful!: Use this to show sympathy or express that something is very bad or unfortunate.
- Oh no!: Use this to express worry, disappointment, or shock about something bad.
Example: “You won’t believe my trip!”
Example: “Five hours? That’s awful!”
Example: “Oh no! Not the pink one!”
Practice Exercises
Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks
Complete the sentences using words from the box: delayed, awful, eventually, shopping spree, luggage.
- My flight was three hours ________ due to a storm.
- Losing your passport while traveling is ________, it can ruin your trip!
- My new shoes arrived, but my ________ with all my clothes is still missing.
- I needed a new dress for the party, so I went on a ________ yesterday.
- We waited for the concert to start for a long time, and ________ it began.
Exercise 2: Match the phrase to its meaning.
- You won’t believe
- Oh no!
- That’s awful!
- Shopping spree
a. A period of buying many things, often impulsively
b. Used to express worry, disappointment, or shock
c. Used to introduce surprising or incredible news
d. Used to say something is very bad or unfortunate
Exercise 3: Rewrite these sentences in the Past Simple tense.
- I go to the airport early.
- The plane leaves late.
- She finds her suitcase at the lost and found.
- We eat airport food for dinner.
- He has a problem with his ticket.
Answers
Exercise 1:
- delayed
- awful
- luggage
- shopping spree
- eventually
Exercise 2:
- c
- b
- d
- a
Exercise 3:
- I went to the airport early.
- The plane left late.
- She found her suitcase at the lost and found.
- We ate airport food for dinner.
- He had a problem with his ticket.
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