Cultural and natural destinations in

Colombia
 Table of contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 3

Concept map ............................................................................................................ 4

1. Let’s listen ............................................................................................................ 5

Medellín: Flower fair and downtown museums ...................................................... 5
Colors................................................................................................................... 10
Months of the year ............................................................................................... 11
Demonstrative pronouns ...................................................................................... 12

2. Let’s write ........................................................................................................... 18

Blacks and whites’ Carnival ................................................................................. 19
Present continuous .............................................................................................. 21
Comparatives and superlatives ............................................................................ 24

3. Let’s read ............................................................................................................ 30

Guácharos cave ................................................................................................... 30
There is / there are ............................................................................................... 34
Subject pronouns ................................................................................................. 34
Object pronouns ................................................................................................... 35

4. Let’s talk.............................................................................................................. 37
Timbiquí ............................................................................................................... 38
Food and drinks ................................................................................................... 41
Clothing and outfits .............................................................................................. 45

5. Group management ........................................................................................... 53

The Gold Museum ............................................................................................... 53
Useful expressions to describe objects and places .............................................. 56
Giving directions .................................................................................................. 59

References .............................................................................................................. 63
 Introduction

Hello again, dear apprentices. We are in this beautiful library reading about technical
contents to provide a good service of guidance in natural and cultural contexts.
Some of the topics we are reading now are about culture, heritage and biodiversity,
and we want to share these wonderful findings with you. Today we are going to
travel without moving to 5 different places in Colombia, and we are going to read
important facts in order to select some natural and cultural scenarios that could be
interesting for tourists. We have to plan our future destinations, and for that we have
to read!
In this learning material you are going to learn vocabulary to describe a landscape
and a work of art, phrases to buy food and clothes, demonstrative, object and
subject pronouns, present progressive and comparatives.
In this material we will focus on reading short texts and will learn the steps to write a
summary from a text.
Have a seat and let’s learn about cultural and natural environments in Colombia.

3
 Concept map

On the concept map that is shared below, the thematic interaction is well evidenced
and the content is present in this training material.

4
 1. Let’s listen

Medellín: Flower fair and downtown museums

Fuente: SENA

Pedro: What do we have in here? Ana, check this book. It’s about a very popular
festival in Antioquia that is 60 years old now. And it has also some other information
about a couple of museums in Medellín.

Fuente: SENA

5
Flowers Festival in Medellín. A short story

The first Flowers Festival took place on May 1, 1957 and was organized by Arturo Uribe,
a member of the Board of the Office of Development and Tourism. The festival lasted for
five days with an exposition of flowers displayed in the Metropolitan Cathedral, which
was organized by the Gardening Club of Medellín and monsignor Tulio Botero to
celebrate Virgin Mary day.

This flower parade represents the end of slavery when slaves carried men and women
on their backs up steep hills instead of flowers.

The first silleteros parade also took place with some 40 men from the corregimiento of
Santa Elena carrying on their backs flowers arrangements to the exposition site.

The festival initially took place during the month of May but was changed to August in
1958 to celebrate the independence of Antioquia. Since then, other events have been
added like the International Pageant of the Flowers, the cavalcade, Guinness Records in
1996 and 1999, classic automobiles parade, Orchids exposition, among others. In 2017
this festival celebrated 60 years of existence. (Macia, 2017)

Fuente: SENA

Museum of Antioquia

The Museum of Antioquia is an art museum in Medellín, Colombia. It houses a large

collection of works by Medellín native Fernando Botero and Pedro Nel Gomez.

It was the first museum established in Antioquia department and the second in
Colombia. The museum is located in the center of Medellín on the Botero Plaza near the
Berrío Park metro station. (Your holiday homes, s.f.)

6
 Fuente: SENA

History

In 1881, a group, including Manuel Uribe Angel, Antonio Jose Restrepo and Martin
Gomez, established the Zea Museum in honor of Francisco Antonio Zea at the Library of
the Sovereign State of Antioquia. The first collection contained books and historical and
artistic artifacts of its founders. Uribe Angel donated his collection with the condition that
he be the first director of the Museum. There was also a library as part of the museum.

The history of the department was represented in documents, weapons, flags and other
items from the time of Colombian independence to the Thousand Days' War. The
collection also contained pre-Columbian pieces, rocks, minerals, and coins. (Your
holiday homes, s.f.)

Fuente: SENA

The library had thousands of volumes related to history, art and science, and a
compilation of the first newspapers in the country. In 1886, the Constitution was
reformed and the status of Antioquia as a sovereign state changed to the status it has
today as a Department. As a result, entities such as the museum had to depend on the

7
central government and with the Governors; in this case, on the Administration
Department.

In 1946, Teresa Santamaria de Gonzalez and Joaquin Jaramillo Sierra, of the Honor
Society for the Betterment of Medellín were concerned that the city did not have a
representative museum. They proposed reopening the museum and looked for someone
who could protect the museum from government control or closure. So they established
the museum as a private non-profit entity. (Your holiday homes, s.f.)

Fuente: Pixabay (2017)

In 1977, the museum changed its name to the Francisco Antonio Zea Museum of Art of
Medellín. The name was changed to avoid confusion: tourists did not understand the
significance of Zea and the locals confused the museum with the Cera (wax) museum.

In 1978, the artist Fernando Botero made his first donation of his works to the museum.
Then it was proposed that the name be changed to the Museum of Antioquia. The
change was accepted by the Governor of Antioquia. (Your holiday homes, s.f.)

Fuente: SENA

8
Botero’s bronze sculptures

Medellín is blessed with the artist donation of the world's largest collection of Fernando
Botero bronze sculptures. Botero is a native son of Medellín. The best place to get up
close and actually touch the sensuous curves of his statuary is La Plaza Botero, only a
few short blocks from El Centro Metro Station. The plaza displays 23 sculptures. Four
more can be found in Medellín's Parque Berrío and Plaza San Antonio. (Medellín info,
s.f.)

Fuente: Pixabay (2008)

9
 Fuente: SENA

Ana: Wow. Medellín is full of culture and traditions. Maybe we can arrange a tour
route to know better these museums.

Pedro: Yes, indeed. I have heard foreign people love Botero’s art and they can learn
about Antioquia history with this great artist.

Colors

Now is time to learn new words. Let’s learn the colors in English. The following are
the colors we will use to make descriptions. Remember that colors are words
classified as adjectives.

10
 Fuente: SENA

Months of the year

A year is divided into 12 months in the modern-day Gregorian calendar.

The earth orbits the sun

Fuente: SENA

11
 Days
Month
Number in
name
month
1 January 31 days
28 days (common year)
2 February
29 days (leap year)
3 March 31 days
4 April 30 days
5 May 31 days
6 June 30 days
7 July 31 days
8 August 31 days
9 September 30 days
10 October 31 days
11 November 30 days
12 December 31 days

Fuente: SENA

Note: Leap year occurs every 4 years, except for years that are divisible by 100 and
not divisible by 400.

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns help us indicate an object and describe its position (near or
far).

Near Far
Singular This That
Plural These Those

Fuente: SENA

In English there are no gender differences between male and female, so you can
use demonstrative pronouns for any word.

Let’s see some examples of demonstrative pronouns in use:

This house is beautiful.

12
 (The house is near)

Fuente: SENA

That house is beautiful.

(The house is far)

Fuente: SENA

Now let’s see some examples of demonstrative pronouns when we refer to plural.

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These books are great.

(The books are near)

Fuente: SENA

Those books are great.

(The books are far)

Fuente: SENA

14
 Fuente: SENA

Pedro: Now that you have learned the basics, it's time to put it into practice!

Fuente: SENA

Match the word to the corresponding color.

1. Green.

15
 2. Red.

3. Blue.

4. Yellow.

5. Black.

6. Purple.

16
 7. Pink.

8. White.

9. Grey.

10. Brown.

17
11. Orange.

12. Beige.

Fuente: SENA

2. Let’s write

Fuente: SENA

18
Pedro: We have learned a lot by reading these excellent books. I suggest searching
something about cultural heritage in Colombia.

Ana: I have heard that there are some festivals recognized by Unesco as intangible
cultural heritage of humanity.

Pedro: If I’m not wrong, one of those is the Negros y Blancos Festival in Pasto. Let’s
take a look at it.

Fuente: SENA

Blacks and whites’ Carnival

In 2009 it was inscribed on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of
humanity. Arising out of native Andean and Hispanic traditions, the Carnaval de Negros
y Blancos (Blacks and Whites’ Carnival) in San Juan de Pasto in south-western
Colombia is a great celebration lasting from 28 December to 6 January each year. The
celebrations begin on the 28th with the Carnival of Water-the throwing of water in homes
and the streets to initiate a festive mood. (United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, s.f.)

19
 Fuente: Chaves (2017)

Fuente: Eandres (2009)

On New Year’s Eve, the Old Year’s parade takes place, with marchers carrying satirical
figures representing celebrities and current events, and culminating in a ritual burning of
the passing year. The main days of the carnival are the last two, when people of all
ethnicities do black cosmetics on the first day, then white talcum on the next to
symbolize equality and integrate all citizens through a celebration of ethnic and cultural
difference.

The Black and White Carnival is a period of intense communion, when private homes
become collective workshops for the display and transmission of carnival arts and a wide
range of people come together to express their views of life. The festival is especially
important as the expression of a mutual desire for a future of tolerance and respect.
(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, s.f.)

20
 Fuente: Chaves (2017a)

Fuente: SENA

Ana: I have very good friends from Pasto. We can stay with them a couple of days
for next carnival.

Pedro: Hey, that’s very nice. Call them, please, and ask if we can go to climb a
mountain near Pasto.

Present continuous

Read the email from Johana to Nicole.

21
 Fuente: SENA

We use present continuous to describe something that is

happening now or at the present period of time.

Johana is studying at the laboratory now.

Now.

Johana is learning French this year.

In the present period of time.

Fuente: SENA

The structure of the present continuous is:

Be + Verb + Ing

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Read to the following sentences from Johana’s email to see how the structure is
formed. Then, look at the box to see all the possible forms.

 Mrs. Mathieu is speaking to the coordinator.

 She is teaching us a lot of new vocabulary.

 We are doing an interactive activity.

 Is the sun shining in San Andres?

Positive Negative Interrogative

Short answers
form form form
Yes, I am.
No, I’m not
She isn’t or
I’m studying Are you No, I am not.
studying
or studying French
or
I am now? Wh-questions.
She is not
studying.
studying.
What are they doing?

Fuente: SENA

There are some questions that we can ask and answer based on the email. Let’s
have a look:

 Who is writing the email? Johanna.

 Who is she writing to? Nicole.

 Is Johana learning English? No, she isn’t. She’s learning French.

 Why isn’t Mrs. Mathieu at the laboratory? Because she is speaking to the
coordinator.

 Is Nicole studying? No, she isn’t. She’s in San Andres now.

Now, let’s take a look of the spelling of the -ing form.

 Most verbs simply add -ing to the verb.

Examples:

o Wait-Waiting.

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 o Meet-Meeting.

 For verbs ending with -e, lose the e and add -ing:

Examples:

o Take-Taking.

o Write-Writing.

 For verbs ending with consonant + vowel + consonant, double the final
consonant and add -ing.

Examples:

o Get-Getting.

o Begin- Beginning.

Comparatives and superlatives

If you want to look for information about cities in Colombia, you can use
comparatives and superlatives to express facts and interesting data:

Barranquilla Medellín Bogotá

Barranquilla is a big Medellín is bigger Bogotá is the biggest city

city. than Barranquilla. in Colombia.
Villavicencio Cúcuta Barranquilla

Villavicencio is a hot Cúcuta is hotter than Barranquilla is the

city. Villavicencio. hottest city in Colombia.

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 Cartagena Medellín Bogotá

Cartagena is a Medellín is more Bogotá is the most

populated city. populated than populated city in
Cartagena. Colombia.

Fuente: SENA

Making comparisons in English

When you compare people, objects or places in English, you usually talk about their
similarities and differences. To do this, you need to use comparative and superlative
forms.

Let’s see how these adjectives are formed:

Comparative adjectives

Adjective Add… Example

Cold Cold +er Bogotá is colder than Medellín.

Mr. Spencer feels happier in

Happy Happier Cartagena than in Bogotá.

Bogotá is more populated than

Populated More + populated Medellín.

Fuente: SENA

Forming comparative and superlative adjectives

Adjective form Comparative form Superlative form

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 Cold. Colder. The coldest.

Example: Medellín is colder than Cartagena. Bogotá is the coldest.

Fuente: SENA

Only one syllable adjective,

with one vowel and one Superlative
Comparative form
consonant form
at the end

Big. Bigger. The biggest.

Example: Medellín is bigger than Cartagena. Bogotá is the biggest.

Fuente: SENA

Two syllables adjective,

Comparative form Superlative form
ending in -y

Windy. Windier. The windiest.

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

Fuente: SENA

Two or more syllables

Comparative form Superlative form
not ending in –y

Interesting. More interesting. The most interesting.

Example: Karen is more interesting than Jessica. July is the most

interesting.

Fuente: SENA

Irregular adjectives Comparative form Superlative form

Good. Better. The best.

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 Bad. Worse. The worst.

Example: Eating vegetables is better than eating fast food.

Example: Cooking at home is the best way to eat healthy.

Example: Sleeping four hours is worse than sleeping five hours. Sleeping
more than eight hours is the worst.

Fuente: SENA

How to write a summary

In this section, you are going to learn what a summary is and how you can write a
simple summary from a text.

What is a summary?

It’s a short account of the central ideas of a text

A summary describes a larger work (such as an entire book, speech, or research

project), and should include less content than the original work.

Why to write a summary?

Summaries can save a reader time because it prevents the reader from having to
actually go through and filter the important information from the unimportant.

In a summary, do not write:

 Opinions.

 Background knowledge.

 Personal information.

Now, let’s see three different strategies to write a summary of a story or a text.

Strategy number 1. Organizer for summarizing

When you read a story or a tale, follow this “Organizer for summarizing”, a guide that
will help you to structure your ideas and get a better understanding of the story.

 Someone:

Who is the main character?

27
 Wanted:

What does the character want?

 But:

What is the problem?

 So:

How does the character try to solve the problem?

 Then:

What is the resolution to the problem?

Strategy number 2. The six Ws

When you are reading a story, be sure you can answer all these questions:

 Who is the story about?

 What is the conflict in the story?

 When does the story take place?

 Where does the story take place?

 Why does the story turn out this way?

 How does everything get resolved?

When you understand the story, you will be able to find the central idea, or theme of
the story.

Strategy number 3. Go to the main point

 Read the text.

 Don’t let big words scare you.

 Ask, “What was this text about?”

At the moment of writing a summary, your text:

 Should be a complete sentence or two.

 Should cover main point and key ideas.

28
 Should be in your own words.

 Shouldn’t just be a word or two.

Pedro: Now that you have learned the basics, it's time to put it into practice!

Fuente: SENA

Please, read the next text carefully, and then choose which option is the best
summary:

Invisibility, flight, the power to split into multiple bodies… these superhuman abilities
have long been associated with ninjas, but ninjas didn’t really do all of that stuff. They
were just regular people with exceptional abilities. So why do people think that ninjas
had super powers? Well, one reason is that ninjas were very secretive and left behind
few historical records of their activities. Since we do not know much about what they
actually did, we are left to speculate. Another reason why people often think that ninjas
had superhuman abilities is because of how ninjas are depicted in folklore (particularly
during the Edo period in Japan). In such legends and works of art, ninjas were
mysticized and romanticized. These romantic notions of ninjas as superhero are
perpetuated in media today, but maybe that’s just because these days people expect
ninjas to have supernatural abilities. Ki-yah! (E reading worksheets, s.f.)

Now, read the next summaries and choose the best option.

A. This passage is about how people thought ninjas had supernatural power
because of the things they do.

B. This is about the folktale of ninjas and what they think of their abilities.

C. This text is about why people think ninjas have super powers because they were
secretive and legends.

D. This passage was about superhuman abilities, such as invisibility, flight, and the
power to split into multiple bodies.

29
E. This passage was about how people thought ninjas had some types of powers
because they were very secretive and left behind few historical records of their
activities.

3. Let’s read

Guácharos cave

Fuente: SENA

Ana: Pedro, do you know what a Guácharo is? In English it’s called oilbird. I want to
visit a cave someday. Look! Here’s a document about a natural park located in the
south of Colombia. Let’s check this book!

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 Fuente: SENA

Guácharos cave

The Cueva de los Guácharos National Natural Park was founded in 1960, together with
the other caves formed by the Suaza River in its upper part, became the first Natural
National Park created in Colombia and was declared by Unesco in 1979 as an Andean
Belt Biosphere Reserve. This national park has an extension of 9000 hectares and is
shared by the departments of Caquetá, Cauca and Huila. (Revolvi, s.f.)

Fuente: Thompson (2005)

31
Ecosystem

The park is physically and functionally linked to the Alto Fragua Indi Wasi National Park,
the PNN Serranía de los Churumbelos Auka Wassi, the PRN Biological Corridor
Guácharos-Puracé and the PMN Andaqui. This group is home to Andean Amazonian
transition ecosystems, presents high biodiversity and is a great water producer and
regulator.

It also serves as a nest and transitory refuge for large numbers of migratory birds.

Through the eastern cordillera is functionally linked to the Puracé PNN, to the west and
to the PNN Cordillera de Los Picachos, to the north. (Caquetá, s.f.)

Fuente: Pérez (2016)

Oilbirds

Its name is due to the fact that it conserves a group of caves of great geological and
faunistic value that are habitat of the guácharo (steatornis caripensis), a bird
discovered in 1799 by the German naturalist Alexander Von Humboldt.

Fuente: Arwin (2010)

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These birds spend the day in dark caves and deep and come out at night to look for
fruit (it is the only frugivorous nocturnal bird that exists), and is oriented by an eco-
location system that resembles that of bats.

These forests are also inhabited by an infinite number of species of fauna making
this place a sanctuary of biological diversity: monkeys, rodents, deer, bears, foxes,
tigers and pumas, among many others.

The 267 species of birds that cross the skies of the park live here. There are many
eco-tourist activities to do in this beautiful park, you can camp or stay in the visitor
center, take long guided walks in different areas such as Robledal, Mirador,
Quebrada Crystals, Natural Bridge on the River Suaza, The vegetable association
the manger, the Caves of the Indian, Hoyo and Guácharos, these walks will allow
sightings and photographs of landscapes and species.

Fuente: Pixabay (2016)

Fuente: SENA

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Pedro: I really want to go to that natural park. I fell in love with those caves just by
looking at those beautiful pictures.

Ana: And it’s not so expensive to travel to Huila or Caquetá. We should go there
next month with some friends to know a little better that area.

Pedro: And we can include this place for a future tour spot to offer.

Now it’s time to check some English grammar and vocabulary to describe places on
a tour.

There is / there are

There is / there are is a grammatical structure used to express that someone or

something exists.

Structure

Affirmative
is a book.
There
are books.

Fuente: SENA

Negative
is a book.
There not
are books.

Fuente: SENA

Interrogative
Is a book
there ?
Are books

Fuente: SENA

Subject pronouns

Subject pronouns are those pronouns that perform the action in a sentence. They
are: I, you, he, she, we and they. Any noun performing the main action in the
sentence, like these pronouns, is a subject and is categorized as subjective case
(nominative case).

English grammar requires that the subject comes before the verb in a sentence
(except in questions).

Example:

34
 I make cookies every Sunday for my coworkers.

Subject nouns absolutely always are the actors in sentences. If action is implied, you
should use subject nouns.

Object pronouns

Object pronouns are those pronouns that receive the action in a sentence. They
are: Me, you, him, her, us, them, and whom. Any noun receiving an action in the
sentence, like these pronouns, is an object and is categorized as objective case.

An object pronoun can also be used after prepositions, i.e. “I will go with him”. In this
article, we will only focus on nouns as recipients as these are the most frequently
confused. With few exceptions, English grammar requires that objects follow the
verb in a sentence.

Example:

I give them cookies every week.

Object nouns always are the recipients in sentences. If an action is happening to a

noun, you should use object nouns.

Let’s see some examples of how we should use subject and object pronouns
correctly and how to avoid common mistakes.

Correct: She and I went to the movies.

Correct: If you have any questions, you can ask either her or me.

Incorrect: She and me are old friends.

Correct: I went to the movies.

Incorrect: Me went to the movies.

Correct: She and I went to the movies.

Incorrect: Her and me went to the movies.

In this chart you will find different examples in singular and plural:

Subject pronouns Object pronouns

John kicked the
1st person I I kicked the ball. me
ball to me.
Singular
John wants to talk
2nd person you You like to study. you
to you.

35
 Mary doesn't
3rd person (male) he He eats green cheese. him
like him.
3rd person
she She likes ice cream. her John kissed her.
(female)
3rd person (non-
it It bit John. it John smashed it.
person)
We enjoy going to the The politician lied
1st person we us
movies. to us.
I wouldn't lie
Plural 2nd person you You are the best students. you
to you.
Mary didn't
3rd person they They are not happy. them
invite them.

Fuente: SENA

Pedro: Now that you have learned the basics, it's time to put it into practice!

Fuente: SENA

Please, watch the next picture.

Fuente: SENA

36
Now, according to the picture, check if the sentences are true or false:

True False
There is a TV in the room.
There are no birds.
There is a table.
There are two cups.
There is a sofa.
There are four chairs.
There are six windows.
There is a stove.
There is a microwave.
There are two dogs.

Fuente: SENA

4. Let’s talk

Fuente: SENA

Pedro: I remember a couple of years ago one kind of music made in the Chocó
region was declared world heritage. In Timbiquí, Cauca, the afrocolombian
communities play marimba, a tradition that is a treasure for humankind.

Ana: And in the jungles of Cauca we can find one of the most beautiful animals, a
frog named “Phyllobates Terribilis” or “golden poison frog”.

37
Pedro: Then let’s read about this awesome place that has amazing cultural and
natural treasures to discover.

Fuente: SENA

Timbiquí

 Marimba de chonta: World heritage.

 Pacific midwife: National heritage.

Fuente: Pixabay (2015)

38
 Natural reservation Phyllobates terribilis. Protecting a poison dart frog in the
jungle of Cauca.

Fuente: Pixabay (2011)

Welcome to Timbiquí

The second stanza of Timbiqui's hymn resounds like this:

Jungle and animals paradise

from rich green mountains
your ravines and rivers meet
to make a love song of you.

In this paradise, surrounded by sand and sea, jungles and biodiversity, people live
full of love, that invade you with their chonta music, their smiles and their heat.

Timbiquí is the cradle of singers who learn the melodies from women singing in the
river while they wash clothes, from parties with marimbas, cununos, guasa and the
whispers of the forest, that allow to build rhythms such as lullaby, currulao and
alabaos.

Timbiquí is so important because this town has helped to show the culture of a
corner of the world that years ago nobody knew.

Geography

It has an extension of 1813 km² and at a height of 5 msnm, is located to the west of
the department of the Cauca in the Pacific Coast to a distance of 230 km of the
capital Popayan. The topography of the municipality is broken in a 70 % with
presence of some mountainous ramifications and plain.

Timbiquí has an average temperature of 28 ° C, with a height above sea level of 5.

39
The average annual rainfall ranges from 6,000 mm to a humidity of about 93 %,
which is the cause of the sea currents and the trade winds of the south and the
south-west.

Fuente: Pixabay (2013)

Ranita Terribilis Bird Reserve

Location: The reserve is situated near the bank of the Timbiquí River, a short distance
from the municipality of Timbiquí within the Cauca Department. The zone is tropical, with
hot temperatures of 26°C and above and with humidity levels between 80-90 % year
round. (Proaves, s.f.)

Fuente: Pixabay (2011a)

Establishment: The Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates Terribilis) can be found in the
humid forests of the Chocó and is endemic to the Pacific coast of Colombia. This

40
 spectacular amphibian belongs to the poison dart frog family Dendrobatidae and is
considered to be one of the most poisonous vertebrates on Earth. The preferred habitat
of Phyllobates teribilis is extremely wet areas of forest which receive over 5000mm of
rain a year. (Proaves, s.f.)

Fuente: SENA

Pedro: Amazing! Definitely, we have to go there someday. I want to know the

jungles of Cauca, listen to marimba de chonta and take a picture to the golden
poison frog.

Ana: Cauca is an excellent destination for culture and nature. Maybe it was a
dangerous place in the past, but now there are many safe places to go with tourists.

Pedro: Then, let’s make plans to go there next month! But I want to go by the sea, in
a boat from Buenaventura.

Food and drinks

Here you can find the main food groups. Use a dictionary to find out about the
vocabulary you don’t know.

41
 Fuente: SENA

Now let’s study some vocabulary related to beverages. Use a dictionary to find out
about the vocabulary you don’t know.

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 Fuente: SENA

Now let’s study some vocabulary related to containers. Use a dictionary to find out
about the vocabulary you don’t know.

Fuente: SENA

Ordering food

Ordering food is a very common activity, so it is very important to know how to do it.
Here is a list of common expressions we use when ordering food:

Customer expressions

We are ready to order

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 I would like….

I will have
Can I have some salad
please?
Excuse me

What do you recommend?

Can I have the bill please?

Can I have an extra plate?

How much is it?

Fuente: SENA

Fuente: SENA

Waiter expressions

Do you have a reservation?

Are you ready to order?

What would you like to start
with?
Anything to drink?

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 Enjoy your meal

Anything else for you?

Will you pay by credit card or
cash?

Fuente: SENA

Fuente: SENA

Clothing and outfits

Pay attention to the descriptions by Richard and Nicole.

The mannequin
wears a brown
cap, a red t-shirt,
blue jeans and
brown shoes.

Fuente: SENA

45
 The mannequin
wears a grey t-
shirt, blue
jeans, and a
blue scarf.

Fuente: SENA

To describe outfits you will need to know the names of the clothing items and some
colors and adjectives. Read the following materials to learn about the most common
ones.

Clothing items

Fuente: SENA

46
1. T-Shirt. 5. Shoes. 9. Short. 13. Handbag. 17. Coat. 21. Jeans.
2. Jacket. 6. Socks. 10. Skirt. 14. Sandals. 18. Scarf.
3. Belt. 7. Tennis. 11. Blouse. 15. High heels. 19. Gloves. 22. Swimsuit.
4. Pants. 8. Sweater. 12. Dress. 16. Cap. 20. Purse.

Fuente: SENA

Now have a look at the vocabulary related to other kind of clothes.

47
1. Shirt / long-
sleeved shirt. 9. (Blue) jeans. 17. Uniform.
25. Tuxedo.
2. Short-sleeved 10. Skirt. 18. Jacket / sports
26. (Evening)
shirt. jacket / sport
gown.
11. Dress. coat.
3. Dress shirt.
27. Hat.
12. Shorts. 19. Jacket.
4. Sport shirt.
28. Sandals.
13. Sweater. 20. Blazer.
5. Polo shirt /
29. Boots.
jersey / sport 14. V-neck 21. Suit.
shirt. sweater.
30. Sneakers.
22. Vest.
6. Blouse. 15. Cargigan
31. Slippers.
sweater. 23. Tie / necktie.
7. Turtleneck.
32. Flip flops.
16. Overalls. 24. Bowtie.
8. Pants / slacks.

Fuente: SENA

48
 Fuente: SENA

She wears a yellow t-shirt, blue pants and black shoes.

To describe outfits we use attributive adjectives and we locate them before nouns.
Remember that in English, adjectives are never pluralized.

Look at the examples:

She is tall and thin. He is a blond, tall boy.

Fuente: SENA

49
To give physical descriptions you will need to know some adjectives related to
appearance and physical characteristics. Read the list to discover the most common
ones.

Adjectives related to appearance and physical characteristics

Athletic. Tall.

Short. Attractive, gorgeous.

Fuente: SENA

Adjectives related to appearance and physical characteristics

50
 Tanned. Slim, thin.

Overweight. Beautiful.

Fuente: SENA

Pedro: Now that you have learned the basics, it's time to put it into practice!

51
 Fuente: SENA

Write the letters to the appropriate descriptions:

1. A mannequin that wears a brown cap, a red t-shirt, blue jeans and brown
shoes. _____

2. A mannequin that wears a gray t-shirt, blue jeans and a blue scarf. _____

3. A mannequin that wears a blue shirt, blue jeans and black shoes. _____

4. A mannequin that wears a green dress. ______

5. A mannequin that wears a yellow shirt, black jacket, blue jeans, black shoes
and a brown cap. _____

A B C D E

52
 5. Group management

Fuente: SENA

Pedro: More than 500 years ago people were crazy to find “El Dorado”, a mythical
city where the streets and houses were supposed to be covered by gold.

Ana: They thought this city was in Colombia, in the jungles or in the mountains. They
didn’t find a city, but there were many towns where people had golden objects.

Pedro: Yes, and some of those treasures are found in the Gold Museum. Let’s
check what can we find in that place, and how archeology is also part of our
heritage.

The Gold Museum

Fuente: SENA

53
 The Gold Museum (or in Spanish “El Museo del Oro”) is a museum which is located in
Bogotá. It shows an extraordinary selection of the pre-Hispanic gold work collection. It is
the largest collection in the world. The Gold Museum has more than 30 thousand pieces
of gold artifacts and 20 thousand pieces of ceramics, textiles, etc., from pre-Columbian
cultures in that part of South America now called Colombia. (Colombia info, s.f.)

Fuente: Robson (2007)

The Banco de la República Gold Museum preserves, researches and makes known an
important collection of objects that are part of the nation's archaeological heritage.

As these objects, places and remains belong to everyone, these pages help us to
understand their importance, their history and legislation, and invite each and every
Colombian to be proud of being the owner of such cultural heritage and to become its
best defender. (Colombia info, s.f.)

Archaeological heritage

People and societies tend to adopt all kinds of cultural expressions as part of their
heritage. Festivals, music and recipes, buildings and monuments, objects that belonged
to past national heroes, or the photo of a mother or sister: all these have the almost
magical power to become symbols of a group, to represent common links to shared
memories or identities.

When people are emotionally united about objects, places or celebrations, they give their
heritage value and meaning.

Archaeological objects form part of the cultural heritage of the Colombian nation,
because they provide evidence of the country's past and present. Since they are of
outstanding cultural value, they are prohibited under the Constitution and by law from
being purchased, sold or exported. (Banco de la República, 2013)

54
 Fuente: Pixabay (2015a)

In a museum we can find many paintings that are hard to understand or explain. In
this section you will learn how to describe objects, places and works of art to tourists.

Look the next painting and think what you can say to describe it.

Fuente: Melt (s.f.)

Title: From green to white.

Author: Yves Tanguy.

Technique: Oil.

Year: 1954.

55
The next is an example of what to say to describe the painting:

This paper will be a visual description of “From green to white”, an oil painting made by
the Surrealist artist Yves Tanguy in 1954. The picture describes an imaginary place
using tiny, barely visible brushstrokes, so that the surface of the painting is almost
perfectly smooth. What appears to be a strange city, naturalistically shaded to suggest
space, fills the bottom of the composition. The rest of From Green to White looks like
sky. The lower part of this section contains dark, wavy, horizontal bands, with streaks of
red, green, pink, and blue. Above that is an area of white, slightly blue. Streaks of bright
white within it give the impression of being light, or reflections from a block melted ice.

These streaks fade out about halfway up the picture, leaving what appears to be a blue
sky with a few white clouds in it.

The strange city at the bottom of the composition consists of many rounded shapes that
suggest oddly proportioned structures made out of grey rock: cylinders, cubes, etc. One
at the left edge of the picture is the tallest element. A flat low form in the middle, which
extends across nearly a third of the width of the picture, has a blue roof with what look
like strange waves and a single orange oval on it. These are the only things that are not
some kind of grey color. To the left of this structure is a tower with grey-green vertical
tubes along its sides. Window-like openings go around it. To the right is the largest
structure of them all. Between it and the blue roofed form are 8-10 tall, dark, flat spires.

A thin grey cylinder rises along the right edge of the composition.

The title, “From green to white”, gives no hint of what Tanguy meant to represent in this
painting. The picture itself also provides no clues. The shapes and forms that are so
carefully described do not suggest an interpretation that makes sense of what we see.

Therefore, the work remains a mystery, a precisely detailed view of an imaginary world
we can never know. It may mean going from the green nature of trees and forests to the
white rock of the skyscrapers of the city. (Munsterberg, s.f.)

Useful expressions to describe objects and places

Fuente: Pixabay (2017a)

56
A: What does Cartagena look like?

B: It is an old, coastal city. It has beautiful beaches.

To answer this question, remember the formulas:

It is + adjective + noun.

It has + adjective + noun.

Fuente: Pixabay (2013a)

A: What is Cartagena like?

B: It is fun and relaxed.

To answer this question remember the formula:

It is + adjective.

57
 Fuente: Cardona (2007)

A: What does Nevado del Ruiz look like?

B: It is a high, snowcapped mountain. It has amazing landscapes.

To answer this question remember the formulas:

It is + adjective + noun.

It has + adjective + noun.

Fuente: Pixabay (2016a)

58
A: What is Nevado del Ruiz like?

B: It is peaceful and amazing.

To answer this question remember the formula:

It is + adjective.

Fuente: SENA

A: What does your car look like?

B: It is small, old and blue. It has new wheels.

A: What is your car like?

B: It is nice and comfortable.

To answer this questions remember the formulas:

It is + adjective + noun.

It has + adjective + noun.

Giving directions

When we want to ask about directions to get to a place, we can use the following
expressions:

59
 To ask for directions

Where is the supermarket?

Excuse me, Is there a post office near here?

How do I get to the bank?

Fuente: SENA

When we want to give directions to get to a place we can use these expressions:

On the corner of Take the second

Across the Street. Turn left.
_____ and _____. right.

Take the second

Turn right. Down the Street. Next to.
left.

Fuente: SENA

Now, let’s see some verbs we can use for shopping:

60
Fuente: SENA

61
Geography terms

Fuente: SENA

62
 References

Arwin, J. (2010). Oilbirds. Recuperado de https://commons.wikimedia.org

Banco de la República. (2013). Archaeological heritage. Recuperado de
http://www.banrepcultural.org
Caquetá. (s.f.). “Cueva de los Guácharos” Natural National Park. Recuperado de
http://www.caqueta.travel
Cardona. (2007). Valle lunar, al fondo pico nevado del Ruiz. Recuperado de
https://commons.wikimedia.org

Chaves, D. (2017). Indoamericanto en su participación del Carnaval de Negros y

Blancos 2016. Recuperado de https://commons.wikimedia.org

Chaves, D. (2017a). Indoamericanto en su participación del Carnaval de Negros y

Blancos 1998. Recuperado de https://commons.wikimedia.org
Colombia info. (s.f.). Gold Museum. Recuperado de http://www.colombiainfo.org
Eandres. (2009). Participantes. Recuperado de https://commons.wikimedia.org

E reading worksheets. (s.f.). Summary and main idea worksheet 2. Recuperado de

https://www.ereadingworksheets.com
Macia, A. (2017). Medellín Flower Festival-Feria de las Flores Medellín 2017.
Recuperado de http://medellinbuzz.com
Medellín info. (s.f.). Welcome to: Plaza San Antonio. Recuperado de
http://medellininfo.com

Melt. (s.f.). Yves Tanguy. Recuperado de http://visualmelt.com

Munsterberg, M. (s.f.). Writing about art. Nueva York: Columbia University.

Pérez, C. (2016). Flora de la Cueva del Guácharo. Recuperado de
https://commons.wikimedia.org

Pixabay. (2008). Medellín. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2011). Veneno del sapo dorado. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2011a). Rana. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2013). Valle del Cauca. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2013a). Cartagena. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2015). África. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2015a). Jarrón. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

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Pixabay. (2016). Cueva. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2016a). Nevado del Ruiz. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2017). Metro. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Pixabay. (2017a). Fuerte militar. Recuperado de https://pixabay.com

Proaves. (s.f.). Ranita Terribilis Bird Reserve. Recuperado de

http://www.proaves.org
Revolvi. (s.f.). Cueva de los Guácharos. Recuperado de
https://chinawww.revolvy.com
Robson, S. (2007). Gold object. Recuperado de https://commons.wikimedia.org

Thompson, C. (2005). Huila, Colombia (localización). Recuperado de

https://commons.wikimedia.org

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (s.f.). Carnaval de

Negros y Blancos. Recuperado de https://ich.unesco.org
Your holiday homes. (s.f.). Museo de Antioquia. Recuperado de
http://yourholidayhomes.com

Control del documento

Nombre Cargo Dependencia Fecha

Centro de Gestión
de Mercados,
Autor Logística y
Julián David Experto Agosto de
Tecnologías de la
Mejía Vargas técnico 2017
Información.
Regional Distrito
Capital
Rachman Guionista - Centro
Agosto de
Adaptación Bustillo Línea de Agroindustrial.
2017
Martínez producción Regional Quindío

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