B2 English Listening Practice - U.S. Geography

[0:00]Hey everybody, welcome to this B2 English Listening Practice video! You can use this video to train your listening and comprehension as I speak. You ready? So today, I'm going to talk about the geography of the U.S. I'm by no means an expert on geography, so don't quote me on any of this. I'm going to try to talk in general about a few of the regions of the United States with the little knowledge that I do have. And of course, I haven't been to most of the country, so I won't be able to tell you a whole lot about some of the places anyway. I'll skip over what I don't know. So, let's start with my region, the southwest. Of course, I'm biased, because I'm from here, but in my opinion, this is coolest region in terms of geography. I'm sure very few others would agree with me, though, because it's mostly desert here. In San Diego, my home town, the terrain could be classified as kind of a coastal desert. San Diego's on the coast, so it's coastal, and I don't think it's actually considered part of the desert, but it has that type of weather. It doesn't rain too often. San Diego has a lot of hills and valleys, and this helps the temperature stay in a good range. It's doesn't get that hot. But a lot of other parts of the southwest are definitely considered to be desert terrain. You've got the Sonoran Desert, the Mojave Desert, and the Chihuahuan Desert that stretch across parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Now, the reason I say that the geography of the southwest is my favorite is that I've always found the American desert landscape to be really beautiful, hauntingly beautiful. Sure, there are a lot of stretches of the southwest that are just plain and ugly, but there are a ton of places where you can see naturally beautiful desert terrain. Alright, so now let's talk about the Pacific Northwest. I lived in this region for a couple of years when I was in college. I lived in Oregon, which is one of the states in this region along with Washington, Idaho, and maybe parts of Montana and Northern California. This region is also super beautiful, with its expanses of lush coniferous forests and snowy mountains. This would probably be considered as the most "foresty" region of the country. It's definitely worth the trip out there if you have the time. Then you've got the Great Plains in the middle of the country, which includes North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and parts of other states too. There are a lot of flatlands here, and so this is tornado country. Then you've got the Midwest, which includes places like Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and about five to ten other states, depending on who you ask. This region can have some pretty harsh weather in the winter, with a lot of snow. I've never been to the Midwest, but there are plenty of places there that I'd love to go to. Next, you've got the South. The South of the U.S. includes a lot of states, probably somewhere between 10 and 14, depending on who you ask. I've been to Florida before, but this state isn't always associated with the South, but it is the south of course. The weather there is hot and humid, and of course Florida is famous for its beaches as well as the Everglades, which is a huge area of tropical wetlands. There are a lot of cool animals there. I probably don't need to say much more about Florida. The rest of the southern states are kind of foreign to me, but I really want to take a road trip through there at some point. But yeah, you've got all kinds of terrain in the south. Then you've got the northeast, which includes some of the most famous places like New York and Boston. This region is also known for having some pretty harsh weather in the winter. Just ask someone from there and they'll tell you. They've also got some beautiful forests up there, where you can watch the leaves change color in the fall. Lastly, you've got Hawaii and Alaska. Hawaii, of course, is a beautiful tropical island with incredible beaches and lush forests. Alaska is the coldest state, of course, but I hear it also has nice summers. I hope I can make it up there at some point to see some of the incredible mountains, forests, and glaciers they've got there. Okay, that's all for today. Leave a comment and tell me which region of the U.S. you'd like to travel to.