General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording travel and sightseeing in Utah and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Majestic, serene. Just two words to describe the scenic regions of Utah in the Mountain West of the United States. Now, our office offers fabulous, five-day outdoor packages of the state for the adventurous.

On the first day of your tour, visit the capital of historic Salt Lake City, Temple Square, home to the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and other local historical sites.

Then, your tour will take you on a four-day adventure of a lifetime to central and southern Utah where you will hike and backpack through Arches National Park, Goblin Valley, and Bryce National Park. You’ll also explore the magical world of Little Wild Horse Canyon. This very narrow, winding chasm, with its steep walls on either side of you, will leave you in amazement knowing that it was formed from rushing water and erosion over millions of years.

You’ll also hike and scramble up to remote indian ruins, study their history along the way, and learn how to respect and preserve the sites and wildlife you encounter. You’ll also learn the basics in rappelling—techniques designed specifically for the novice climber.

The price of your tour package includes local transportation in Utah, one-night lodging in a four-star hotel in Salt Lake City, hiking and camping gear, two meals a day, and your professional tour guide. Transportation from your point of origin is not included. Contact our office between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. for more information and current availability on this wilderness trek, and reservations must be made thirteen days in advance. Let us show Utah like no one else can.

• majestic (adjective): powerful and beautiful creating a feeling of great respect 
  – My Japanese students were very moved by the majestic view at Dead Horse Point National Park in Southern Utah.
• serene (adjective): calm and peaceful 
  – The serene expressions on the students’ faces told me they enjoyed the trip.
• scenic (adjective): having natural beauty 
  – The drive home was very scenic, so we stopped several times along the way to take pictures.
• fabulous (adjective): extremely pleasing or wonderful 
  – The hotel was fabulous. It has very nice furnishings, and the view was wonderful.
• remote (adjective): far away in distance 
  – We had to drive to a very remote area to see the waterfall.
• ruins (noun): old buildings or structures in extremely bad condition, much which may have already fallen down 
  – It’s a three-hour scenic hike to the Indian ruins from the trailhead.
• preserve (verb): to maintain or protect in safe condition 
  – The national park service has been trying to preserve the old trail to the Indian ruins.
• gear (noun): equipment 
  – We rented some camping gear for the backpacking trip.
• lodging (noun): places like hotels or inns to stay and sleep 
  – That travel guide has a lot of information on lodging in that area.
• trek (noun): a long walk, often through the mountains 
  – They estimate that the trek will take about a week.