A1 Level 2

The best place to visit

Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje - SENA. Reservados todos los derechos 2013.

Nice to see
you again, dear
apprentices !

This morning I consulted

with a travel agent from the
World Tour Travel Agency and
he said it was a good idea
to spend my next vacation
in Colombia. I think its
perfect beacuse I can visit
my good friend Linda, she is
Colombian, she is from San
Andrs.

I am so excited about visiting Colombia! But first, I need to decide which cities in
Colombia I want to go to. In this learning material we are going to learn how to
compare places in terms of weather, geographic characteristics and advantages
and disadvantages.
Help me choose the best place to visit.

Warm-up
Places to visit in Colombia
BOGOT, cosmopolitan and cultural city
CALI, salsa city, parties and nice people
SAN ANDRES ISLAND, the Seven Colors Sea
CARTAGENA, history and culture, beaches and fun
MEDELLN, shopping and colorful flowers

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Bogot
Bogot is the capital city of Colombia. Bogot was declared by UNESCO as the
World Book Capital City in 2007 (UNESCO, s.f.) and Ibero American Capital of
culture by UCCI (UNESCO, s.f.). Bogot is one of the most important cities in the
continent.

What is the weather like?

Temperature ranges from 12 C (54 F) to 18 C (64 F). Bogot is a cold city.

Where is it located?
It is located in the center of the country; Bogot is the biggest city in Colombia.

Where to go
La Candelaria: This zone has a lot of colonial buildings. There you can find several
museums, cultural sceneries, restaurants, hostels and hotels. La Candelaria is one
of the best preserved centers in Latin America.
Monserrate Hill: This place has the most beautiful views of the city. On the top of
the hill you will find a church and several gift shops.

What to do there?
3 things to do in Bogot

You can visit the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira. You can go there by train.

You can go shopping to the most important malls.

You can visit some museums and amusement parks.

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Medellin
Medelln is the eternal spring city. This place is considered a business hub because
of its industry and technological development. It is particularly famous worldwide
for being a very innovative city.

What is the weather like?

Its temperature ranges from 18 C (64 F) to 30 C (86 F). Medelln is a warm city.

Where is it located?
Located in the Aburr Valley, on the central Andes Mountain Chain, Medelln is the
second biggest city of the country.

Where to go
Botero Plaza: the most popular attraction in the city; in this place you can walk by
beautiful plump sculptures. This city is home for one of the most famous artist in
Colombia: Fernando Botero. Dont forget to take a picture of you standing by the
largest metal sculpture!
Pueblito Paisa: It is the representation of a typical Antioquias town. You can find
one of the most important sculpture collections of the 80s and the last century.

What to do there?
3 things to do in Medelln

You can enjoy the flower fair at the citys annual parade (August).

You can go shopping to Santa Fe Mall. It is the citys largest shopping mall and
is located on Avenida El Poblado.

You can visit El Peol; it is a beautiful lake and recreational area.

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Cartagena
Cartagena was declared as World Heritage in 1983 by UNESCO (UNESCO, s.f.)
Cartagena is a tropical paradise. It is visited by thousands of tourists who find it as
the perfect place to relax.

What is the weather like?

Its temperature ranges from 30 C (86 F) to 35 C (95 F). Cartagena has a pleasantly
hot weather.

Where is it located?
It is located on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Where to go
Castle of San Felipe de Barajas: Is one of the most amazing Spanish forts. It was
built on top of San Lzaro Hill.
Simon Bolivar Park: It is a small park. There are different types of restaurants
where you can enjoy good food. You can also find the oldest church in Cartagena
and Santo Domingo Monastery.

What to do there?
3 things to do in Cartagena!

You can swim at Playa Blanca which is considered one of the best beaches in
Cartagena.

You can walk along the streets. You can have a look at the most impressive
buildings of the old city.

You can visit the historic Center on horse and carriage.

Colombia has a lot of beautiful and interesting places. It has friendly people and
natural diversity. It has all sorts of weather and geographic conditions so I have a
lot of options to choose from to enjoy an unforgettable vacation time.
Lets keep moving. I have an important decision to make.

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Lets get inside

Greetings, dear apprentices!
Our travel agency World Tour is pleased to
welcome you into a new travel experience.
We offer the best tourist packages to suit all
our customers budgets and preferences.
This time, I will help Daryl choose some
places to visit in Colombia.
Lets compare some Colombian cities to see
what the best option for our friend Daryl
is. To do so, we will first check one of our
customers reviews on his experience living
in Colombia.
Lets get ready!

Moving around amazing cities

John Spencer is an English teacher who lived in Bogot for 20 years, in Medellin
a couple of years and finally, moved to Cartagena 2 years ago. We asked him to
compare life in Bogot, Medellin and Cartagena. Heres what he told us:

In Colombia I had the chance to live in three amazing places: Bogot, Medelln
and Cartagena. Bogot is a lovely city. It has lots of great buildings and places. Its
bigger than Medellin. Its the biggest city in the country.

Bogot
Medellin

Bigger

Big

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Medelln is the second biggest city. It usually has a hot or warm weather throughout
the year, but I must say Cartagena is probably the hottest city I have ever been to.

Medelln

Cali

Cartagena

Hot

Hotter

th
he ho
otte
estt

In terms of weather, I can say Bogot is colder and windier than Medelln. Bogot
is one of the most important cities in the continent, but is too chaotic for me.
As I was more interested in living in a more peaceful place I decided to move to
Cartagena.

Medelln

Bogot

Cold
d

Cold
der

Traditional architecture in Cartagena is more romantic and magical, and its parks
and churches are wonderful. Cartagena isnt as noisy as Bogot and Medelln, and
its less crowded. I feel happier living here.
Bogota

crowded

Medellin

less crowded

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Lets analyze

It seems Mr. Spencer is having a great time living in Colombia. Theres no doubt
this country is a a great destination for tourists and nature lovers.
When describing his experience in Colombia, Mr. Spencer compared different
aspects of the three cities where he has lived : Bogot, Medelln and Cartagena.
Lets see what we need to know to be able to make comparisons in English.

Making comparisons in English

When you compare things, people or places in English, you usually talk about
their similarities and differences. To do this you need to use comparative and
superlative forms.
Lets see how these comparative and superlative forms work.
If you want to compare cities size you can say

Barranquilla

Barranquilla is a
big city.

Medellin

Medellin is bigger
than Barranquilla.

Bogot

Bogot is the biggest

city in Colombia.

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If you want to compare cities weather you can say

Villavicencio

Villavicencio is a
hot city.

Ccuta

Barranquilla

Ccuta is hotter
than Villavicencio.

Barranquilla is the
hottest city in Colombia.

If you want to compare cities population you can say

Cartagena

Cartagena is a
crowded city.

Medelln

Bogot

Medelln is more
crowded than
Villavicencio.

Bogot is the
most crowded
city in Colombia.

When you want to compare one thing to another you usually use comparative
adjectives. Lets check how these adjectives are formed.
Comparative adjectives
Adjective
Cold

Add
cold +er

Happy

Happier

Populated

More + populated

Sample sentence
Bogot is colder
than Medelln.
Mr. Spencer feels
happier in Cartagena
than in Bogot.
Bogot is more
populated than
Medelln.

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Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Adjective form:
cold

Comparative Form
colder

Superlative Form
(the) coldest

Ex: Medelln is colder than Cartagena. Bogot is the coldest.

Only one syllable, with one

vowel and one consonant at
the end
big

Comparative Form

Superlative Form

bigger

biggest

Ex: Medelln is bigger than Cartagena. Bogot is the biggest.

Two syllables, ending in Y.

windy

Comparative Form
windier

Superlative Form
windiest

Ex: Spring is windier than summer. Autumn is the windiest

Two syllables or more, not

ending in Y
Interesting

Comparative Form

Superlative Form

more interesting

the most interesting

Ex: Daniel is more interesting than Julian. Daryl is the most interesting.

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When you want to compare one thing to a group of things use superlative
adjectives. Lets check how these adjectives are formed
Superlative adjectives
Adjective
Cold

Add
cold +est

Hot

Hottest

Populated

The most +
populated

Sample sentence
Bogot is the coldest
city in Colombia.
Barranquilla is
the hottest city in
Colombia.
Bogot is the most
populated city in
Colombia.

Some adjectives may have an irregular comparative form; this means that they are
formed in a different way. Lets check the table.
Irregular comparatives
Adjective
Good
Bad

Comparative form
better
worse

Superlative form
The best
The worst

Far

farther

The Farthest

Well, dear apprentices, now you know how to make comparisons in English. You
can use comparative and superlative adjectives to talk about differences and
similarities.
Dont forget to keep practicing! The more you practice, the better you get at it.
See you!

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Credits
Pedagogical Direction
Paul Cifuentes
Carlos Javier Amaya
Direction of Art
Csar Pez
ICT Leadership
Yeison Ospina
Quality management
Juan Carlos Rojas
Script Composition
Ingrid Flrez
Content Support
Alex Fabin Paredes Guerrero
Patricia Emilce Rodrguez Quenoran
Ingrid Flre
Multimedia Development
Graphic designers
Diana Duque
Jose Mario Alzate
Programming engineers
Felipe Becerra
Voices
Jeffrey Christopher
Ciany Nelson
Guillermo Mendivil

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