Unit 9 · Workbook

9A. Hidden gems — Workbook

Extra practice for home study · with answer keys

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City explorer's desk: map, camera, notebook, coffee

How to use this workbook

  • Try each exercise on paper first — don't peek!
  • Tap Show answer on a single item, or use the big button above to reveal everything.
  • Re-do anything you got wrong the next day.

1. Vocabulary — city & neighbourhoods

Choose the word or phrase that fits best.

  1. A neighbourhood that's improving fast and becoming fashionable is ___.

  2. A tiny, often unmarked shop or café is a ___.

  3. An area away from the usual tourist routes is ___.

  4. A café that has doubled in price since it went viral is now a ___.

  5. Full of energy, nightlife and people = ___.

  6. To find something by accident is to ___ across it.

2. Vocabulary — gap-fill

Complete each sentence with ONE word from the box (correct form).

Word bank — drag or tap, then tap a gap
  1. The main square is a famous  drop  but honestly it's completely  drop .
  2. We spent Sunday afternoon just  drop ing around the old town.
  3. Twenty years ago this was rough; today it's fully  drop  and unaffordable.
  4. The whole street is  drop  with tourists from 10am till midnight.
  5. The old town is small and completely  drop  — you don't need the metro.
  6. The view is spectacular but the food is honestly  drop .

3. Grammar — pick the correct linker

Choose the ONE linker that is grammatically correct AND makes sense.

  1. ___ the queue, the pastry was worth it.

  2. ___ it rained all afternoon, we didn't go inside once.

  3. I left early ___ avoid the rush.

  4. Take a jumper ___ it gets cold later.

  5. The old town is buzzy, ___ the new town is completely dead at night.

  6. He whispered ___ wake the baby.

  7. The view was amazing. ___, the food was terrible.

  8. I brought cash ___ the card machine broke.

4. Grammar — join the ideas

Combine each pair into ONE sentence using the linker in brackets.

  1. The café is tiny. It seats twenty. (although)

  2. It rained all day. We walked everywhere. (despite)

  3. I got up at 5. I wanted empty streets for photos. (so that)

  4. Take a paper map. Your phone may die. (in case)

  5. The old town is lively. The new town is quiet. (whereas)

  6. The view is amazing. The food is disappointing. (however)

  7. She spoke quietly. She didn't want to wake the baby. (so as not to)

  8. The area is busy in the day. It's dead at night. (even though)

5. Grammar — spot & fix the mistake

Each sentence has ONE mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

  1. Despite it was raining, we walked everywhere.

  2. I got up early for to see the sunrise.

  3. In case it will rain, take an umbrella.

  4. Although in spite of the crowds, we enjoyed it.

  5. So as to don't wake him, I whispered.

  6. Whereas the food was excellent, but the service was slow.

6. Reading — true / false / not given

Read the short text and mark each statement T, F or NG.

For thirty-eight years, Café Alma sat on a quiet corner in what everyone called 'the working district'. The coffee was a euro, the pastries were made at four every morning by the owner's mother, and the regulars — mostly retired postal workers — had their own reserved chairs. Then, in the summer of 2021, a food blogger posted a fifteen-second video of Alma's cinnamon roll. Within a month, the queue reached the corner. Within a year, the price of the coffee had tripled, the mother had retired, and the retired postal workers had quietly moved to a smaller café two streets away. In spite of the enormous new revenue, the owner told a local paper last month that she regretted the video and would refuse to be filmed again. 'We were fine,' she said. 'We didn't need to be famous. We needed to be ours.'

  1. Café Alma had been open for over 30 years before it became famous.T  /  F  /  NG
  2. The café's popularity grew because of a viral video.T  /  F  /  NG
  3. The owner's mother made the coffee every morning.T  /  F  /  NG
  4. The regular customers stopped coming to that neighbourhood.T  /  F  /  NG
  5. The owner sold the café to a chain.T  /  F  /  NG
  6. The owner now regrets the video that made the café famous.T  /  F  /  NG

7. Writing — an 'insider's guide' post (100–120 words)

Recommend one hidden gem in your city or somewhere you've travelled. Structure: (1) the tourist trap to avoid, (2) your gem, (3) how to get there, (4) a practical warning. Use 2 contrast linkers, 2 purpose linkers and 4 vocab items from Lesson 9A.

Check your writing

  • 100–120 words
  • 2+ contrast linkers (although / despite / whereas / however)
  • 2+ purpose linkers (to / in order to / so that / in case)
  • 4+ vocabulary items from Lesson 9A
  • Structured: trap → gem → how to get there → warning

8. Listening — 'the neighbourhood tour'

Read the transcript (audio coming soon — two clearly different voices). Answer the questions.

🎧 Local resident (Voice A) guiding a friend (Voice B) around her district · audio coming soon — read the transcript below
📄 Full script

A: Don't go to the main square. Seriously. It's overcrowded, overpriced, and every menu is in six languages — that's the giveaway.

B: Where should we eat, then?

A: There's a tiny family-run tasca two streets behind the church. No website, no sign, just a hand-written menu inside the door. That's the one.

B: Do they take cards?

A: They do, but the machine is broken about half the time. Take cash, in case.

B: What time should we go?

A: Before 12.30. So that we can grab the table by the window. After 12.30 there's a huge queue of locals — the tourists don't know about it yet.

B: Should I post it on my blog?

A: Please don't. I love that place. In case it goes viral, gets on TikTok, and then it's ruined by tour groups by Christmas.

B: Fair enough. Any general rule for finding places like that?

A: One rule. Walk two streets past wherever the guidebook stops. Then sit down somewhere with a menu ONLY in Portuguese. That's it. Never fails.

  1. Why does the local suggest avoiding the main square?
  2. What kind of place does she recommend for lunch?
  3. What should the friend take, in case something happens?
  4. Why does she recommend going before 12.30?
  5. Why won't she post the name online?
  6. What single rule does she give for finding hidden gems?

9. 🔥 Challenge — sentence transformation

Rewrite the second sentence using 2–5 words including the KEYWORD.

  1. 1. 'The café is tiny, but it seats twenty.' → ___ tiny, it seats twenty. (KEYWORD: ALTHOUGH)

  2. 2. 'It rained, but we walked everywhere.' → ___ the rain, we walked everywhere. (KEYWORD: DESPITE)

  3. 3. 'I got up early because I wanted to avoid crowds.' → I got up early ___ crowds. (KEYWORD: TO)

  4. 4. 'Take an umbrella — it might rain.' → Take an umbrella ___ rains. (KEYWORD: CASE)

  5. 5. 'I whispered because I didn't want to wake him.' → I whispered ___ wake him. (KEYWORD: NOT)

  6. 6. 'The food was great; the service was slow.' → The food was great; ___ service was slow. (KEYWORD: HOWEVER)

10. 🔥 Challenge — noun or verb? (stress)

Read each sentence. Is the CAPS word a noun (stress 1) or a verb (stress 2)?

  1. The city has broken every RECORD this year.

  2. Can you RECORD the meeting for me?

  3. There's been a huge INCREASE in rents.

  4. Prices will INCREASE again in September.

  5. We need to make some real PROGRESS today.

  6. The plan is PROGRESSING slowly.

11. Self-check

Tick what you can now do confidently.

  • I use ALTHOUGH / EVEN THOUGH + subject + verb (never + noun).
  • I use DESPITE / IN SPITE OF + noun / -ing / 'the fact that + clause'.
  • I use HOWEVER / WHEREAS / WHILE to contrast two full ideas.
  • I use TO / IN ORDER TO / SO AS (NOT) TO + infinitive for purpose.
  • I use SO THAT + clause (with can / could / would) and IN CASE + present tense.
  • I describe neighbourhoods with 6+ B2 adjectives (leafy, buzzy, up-and-coming, gentrified…).
  • I move the stress correctly between REcord/reCORD, INcrease/inCREASE, PROgress/proGRESS.