He 20th Century technology time line

Read the sentences. Before you look up words in the dictionary, use the context 
of the sentence to help you match the boldface words and idioms with the 
definitions below.
_ ____ 1. Wear comfortable shoes. You will be doing a lot of walking on steep 
hills.
_ ____ 2. It’s at Market and Van Ness, or thereabouts.
_ ____ 3. Rent a bicycle to cross the bridge and visit Sausalito. Maybe pedal 
on to Tiburon.
_ ____ 4. There aren’t many taxis here—hailing one from a street corner is next 
to impossible.
_ ____ 5. There are lakes and ponds you can paddle across.
2. Parking is near impossible. If you get a ticket and leave the United States 
without paying, you will regret it on your next visit. A 15- to 30-minute 
search for parking is not uncommon. Budget it into your travel time.
and inally. . .
1. Whatever you do, NEVER EVER call it “Frisco.” (Also, please don’t call it 
“San Fran.” If you want to abbreviate it, calling it “SF” is the best way to go.)
Source: “Top 10 Travel Tips for Visiting San Francisco,” TripAdvisor, 
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60713-c53413/San-
Francisco:California:Travel.Tips.html

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48 | Better Reading English
_ ____ 6. There’s even a herd of buffalo.
_ ____ 7. Their local politics are much more active and newsworthy.
_ ____ 8. If you get a ticket and leave the United States without paying, you 
will regret it.
a. 
ride a bicycle
b. 
be sorry about
c. 
rising or falling sharply
d. 
interesting; topical
e. 
in that area
f. 
calling
g. 
row; use a pole to move a boat across water
h. 
a group of animals 
B.
Use the new words
Complete the sentences with the boldface words from Exercise A.
1. It’s dificult to climb the ________________ hills.
2. Let’s rent a bicycle and ________________ through the park.
3. I think it’s in Chinatown or ________________.
4. She has only seen a ________________ of cows in western movies.
5. ________________ a taxi is easy in New York but not in San Francisco.
6. I don’t know why they’re talking about that story on TV. It isn’t 
________________.
7. I didn’t visit Golden Gate Park and now I ________________ it.
8. The children like to ________________ across the lake in a small boat.
C.
Learn collocations
Collocations are words that go together. Here are some common noun 
collocations for four of the adjectives from this article:
steep 
hill; mountain; angle; rise
unforgettable 
experience; moment; vacation; year
quirky 
restaurant; personality; person; idea
local 
politics; news; weather; area
Complete the sentences using one of the adjectives from the previous list.
1. We had a really _______________ vacation last year.
2. He has such a funny, _______________ personality!
3. It’s a good idea to check the _______________ weather before you arrive.

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San Francisco | 49
4. There was a _______________ rise in prices this year.
5. He follows world news, but he’s not that interested in _______________ 
news.
6. Her last year of school was _______________.
7. I don’t understand all of his _______________ ideas.
8. It’s dificult to climb a _______________ mountain.
V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR: 
if
A.
Read about present and future tense sentences with if
A clause is a part of a sentence with a subject and a verb. Some sentences have 
one clause.