Tourist attractions

1 SHARE YOUR IDEAS 
Tourist attractions

What do you know about the places and monuments in the photos? Where are they? What are the most popular tourist attractions in your country?

2 READING

A Reading skills Predicting the topic of a text
Look at the picture and the title of the text. What do you think it might be about?

B Read the text about a ‘con man’ called Arthur Furguson. What did he try to do? Were your predictions correct?

For sale?

One morning in 1923, a Scottish actor called Arthur Furguson was standing in Trafalgar Square in London when he saw a rich American tourist and suddenly had an idea. The tourist was admiring Nelson’s Column, so Furguson pretended to be the official guide to the square. He told the American all about the history of the statue, the lions and the fountains. Then he said that, unfortunately, the British Government had to sell them, because they needed the money.

  

Furguson was a very good liar, so his first ‘customer’ believed him completely. He asked the price. ‘Thirty thousand dollars,’ Furguson replied. The delighted tourist immediately wrote a cheque. Furguson gave him a receipt and the name and address of the company that would move Nelson’s Column to America for him. Then he disappeared.

Later that summer, Furguson sold Big Ben, the famous clock, to another American tourist. His third ‘customer’ gave him a deposit of $10,000 for the home of the Royal Family, Buckingham Palace.

His customers eventually realised that Furguson had conned them but, by that time, he had moved to France. While he was in Paris, he managed to sell the Eiffel Tower to another American tourist.

In 1925, Furguson decided to emigrate to the United States to continue his successful new career. He went to Washington DC. There he sold the White House to a visitor from Texas, who gave him a deposit of $100,000.

After that, he moved to New York, where he tried to sell the Statue of Liberty to an Australian tourist. ‘It would look wonderful in Sydney Harbour!’ he said. But the Australian went to the police. Finally, Furguson was caught and he spent the next five years in prison.

It has been said that the con man Arthur Furguson never actually existed and that the stories about him are, like his business deals, a hoax.

C Comprehension check 
Listen, and read the text again. Are these sentences true or false?

3 WORD WORK 
because, so

Look at the examples. Then join the pairs of sentences. Use because or so.

He was a good liar, so everyone believed him.
They believed him because he was a good liar

4 WRITING 
An imaginary sale!

Use what you know

Think of a famous place or monument in your country and imagine you’re trying to sell it to a rich tourist. What would you say? Write your ideas.

If you prefer, imagine you’re selling a large, luxurious house.

WRITING GUIDE 
‘Sales talk’!

  • Give details about the place you’re selling.
    It’s the most beautiful ... in the country!
    It was built in ...
    The views are fantastic. 

  • Say why you think it would be a ‘good buy’. Use the second conditional.
    If you bought it, you’d live like a king!
    You’d be able to have some fantastic parties. 

  • Give the price.
    You can have it for $800,000. A bargain!