04 Tasks 01

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About the text.

  1. What is a leisure centre? Describe it in your words.
  2. Which activities can you do in Silver Oaks leisure centre?
  3. What about the workshops? What do they consist of?
  4. Apart from sports and games, what else can you do in Silver Oaks?
  5. How easily can you get there?

About you

  1. Do you know any leisure centre similar to Silver Oaks? What do you think of this idea?
  2. Do you normally do very different activities in your free time in winter and in summer?
  3. Give some examples of summer activities you can do where you live.
  4. Give some example of winter activities you can do where you live.
  5. What is your favourite free time activity?

Your turn

Think of a new leisure centre for winter activities in your town. Describe the sports and games that you can play and any other thing that you can offer. Try to give as many details as possible and make it interesting and attractive for visitors.

03 Text 1

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A leisure centre

Do your children get bored very easily and you don’t know how to entertain them in winter? Come to our new leisure centre in town! Silver Oaks is a place which offers you plenty of fun activities to do indoors when the weather is terrible outside.

Located near Queen’s Park, our centre is the biggest fun park in the region. We have a lot of available sports and activities for all the family in Silver Oaks: indoors tennis and football courts, a huge ice skating rink, an arcade to try the latest videogames and even a karaoke. There is also a cinema and several workshops for kids to develop their creativity and let their imagination fly: drawing and handicrafts are probably the most popular among our young visitors.

In addition, there are also a lot of shops and nice restaurants where you can take a break and relax if you are tired after trying our activities in the leisure centre. Prices are economical and it is actually very easy to get here either by car, by bus or on foot. So what are you waiting for?  Come and get ready to spend a great family day in Silver Oaks.

02 Vocabulary

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  • Outdoor activities: actividades al aire libre.
  • Indoor activities: actividades de interior.
  • Fencing: esgrima
  • Sailing: vela, navegación.
  • To collect: coleccionar.
  • To chat: charlar, conversar.
  • Horse riding: hípica.
  • Gardening: jardinería
  • Rollerblading: patinaje sobre ruedas.
  • Diving: Buceo
  • Fortnight: quincena.
  • Gaming: jugar a videojuegos.
  • Chess: ajedrez.
  • Leisure: ocio.
  • Training: entrenamiento.

01 Grammar

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Present Simple vs Present Continuous

We use the Present Simple to talk habits and routines, things we normally do:

  • I wake up really late on Sunday mornings.
  • We usually do the shopping at the weekend.
  • She doesn’t visit her family very often.

We also use the Present Simple to refer to general truths or facts:

  • Cairo is the capital of Egypt.
  • The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

We form the negative of the present simple with the auxiliary verb don’t/ doesn’t. It is also very common to use adverbs of frequency (always/sometimes/often/usually/never) with this tense.

On the other hand, we use the Present Continuous to describe actions that are happening at the moment of speaking:

  • My father is cooking dinner and I am doing my homework at the moment.
  • Mark is reading his emails right now.

We normally use adverbs and time expressions such as at the moment, right now, now, today, etc. with the Present Continuous.

It is also possible to use the Present Continuous to refer to actions in the near future:

  • I’m going to Paris in July.
  • Frank is getting married next Sunday.

Finally, we also use the –ING form following verbs of preference: like/hate/love

  • They quite like swimming in the sea at dawn.
  • Do you like learning English?
  • He loves fencing.
  • You hate going to the gym after work.