Watch the video to learn about Canada’s largest city – and the 5th largest city in North America.
This video and the activities afterwards will help you train your ears to understand fast-paced real-life spoken English. The trick to get better at this is to watch the video several times and focus on the expressions you hear. The activities below will make this process easier for you, so follow the steps as suggested.
If your listening skills are more advanced, you can jump right to the comprehension questions at the end! Have fun!
Task 1: Watch the video and note all the words and phrases you find useful.
Task 2: Watch the video again and fill in the gaps in the text. The first letter of each missing word is given.
T…………………… is the capital of Ontario and Canada’s largest city with one quarter of the nation’s p…………………. located within 160 kilometers.
With 2.6 million r………………….. it’s also the 5th largest city in North America.
The city has upwards of ………………………(number) distinct neighborhoods within its boundaries meaning that a……………………….can be found in many diverse communities.
Toronto’s p…………………transit system is the s……………….largest in North America and has the highest per capita ridership rate on the c…………………………. .
Task 3: Types of buildings
Match the types of buildings mentioned in the video to their definition.
1) a condminium (condo) 2) a single family house 3) a high-rise
A) a house in which one family can live comfortably
B) an apartment in a building (also the apartment building itself) in which each apartment is owned by the person living in it, but the building and shared common areas are owned by everyone in the building
C) a very tall building with lots of floors
Task 4: Comprehension questions
1 What’s the population of Toronto?
2 What makes the city so diverse?
3 According to the text what makes Toronto’s public transit system special?
4 What’s the name of the old housing style typically found in older parts of Toronto such as Little Italy, for example?
It looks like this:
ANSWERS
Task 2: Toronto / population / residents / 240 / apartments / public / second / continent
Task 3: 1B / 2A / 3C
Task 4:
2.6 million
The many (more than 240) distinct neighborhoods within its boundaries.
It has the highest per capita ridership rate in North America (‘per capita ridership’ refers to the number of people who use public transportation of all the people who live there).
Bay-and-gable is the name of a distinct architectural style of house that is often found in the older parts of Toronto. The most prominent features are: red-brick semi-detached house with a large bay window.
Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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