Viva Las Vegas!

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to  the West Coast of the United States to Las Vegas, Nevada.The weather was beautiful in Las Vegas. The name Las Vegas translates to "The Meadows" in English because of is fertile land.The skies were clear and sunny and there didn't seem to be any humidity. This time of year the temperature ranged from about 75 to 85 degrees. I was told I came at the perfect time because during the summer months, this desert area could reach the triple digits, making all outside activities completely unbearable. I traveled with a few of my friends who are  teachers are as well, so we enjoyed sharing our  teaching experiences and being away from the school environment during our break. While there I visited  The Grand Canyon, The Hoover Dam, a Motown show and various restaurants along the Las Vegas Boulevard strip. Everything was in walking distance so there was no need to rent a car.

 My favorite part of the trip was venturing out to The Grand Canyon. Since my friends were a little afraid to leave the state, I accepted the challenge of going alone. I traveled on a charter bus with other tourists for the nearly five hour trip. I never imagined how huge the Grand Canyon is. The Grand Canyon measures 277 miles long and 18 miles wide.  Aside from being a national park, there are restaurants, a hotel, mule rides, white water rafting and helicopter tours available.

While on our way to the Grand Canyon, we made a stop at the Hoover Dam. The Hoover Dam is a concrete dam located on the Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed during the Great Depression in 1931 and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over 100 lives. The dam was named after the United States' 31^st President, Herbert Hoover.

Although I didn't gamble in the casinos like most do when they come to Las Vegas,   I thoroughly enjoyed the trip! I hope this won’t be last time I come! 

Vocabulary

1. helicopter-(noun)-an aircraft that can stay in the air without moving forward and that has metal blades that turn around on its top.
2. The Hoover Dam- (noun)-  is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada
3. Motown-(noun)-s an American record company. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. it is known fora style of soul music with a distinct pop influence.  
4. West Coast- (noun)-is the term for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, Nevada and Washington. 
5. casinos-(noun)-a building or room that has games (such as roulette or blackjack) for gambling.
6. fertile-(adjective) capable of growing or developing.
7. canyon-(noun)-a deep valley with steep rock sides and often a steam or river flowing through it. 
8. dam-(noun)-a structure that is built across a river or stream to stop water from flowing.
9. The Grand Canyon-(noun)  a huge steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the state of Arizona in the United States. 

Vocabulary Exercise

 Unscramble each of the words below. The first one has been done for you.

1.	twse socta	West Coast
2.	ritlfee
3.	nycona
4.	dma
5.	montwo
6.	pircoehtle
7.	saoincs
8.	eht gdran nanocy
9.	eht revooh amd

   

Grammar Point
When speaking about something that has occurred in the past, we use verbs in their past tense form. The above passage has been written in the simple past tense form. English uses verbs in the simple past tense to refer to actions, situations, or events that are finished and that happened before now. Regular verbs make their past tense by adding - d, - ed, or (if the verb ends in a consonant + y), changing the y to an i and then adding - ed. Irregular verb follow different rules when put in their past tense.