11.4 Places in Town, Services and Simple Technology

Cambridge A2 Key KET

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 What Is Cambridge A2 Key (KET)? 1.2 Exam Format: Three Papers 1.3 Who Takes A2 Key and How It Is Delivered 1.4 Study Hours and Preparation Path

2 Scoring, Grades & Results

2.1 The Cambridge English Scale 2.2 Grades A, B, C and Certificates 2.3 How Your Overall Score Is Calculated

3 Reading Parts 1–3: Understanding Texts

3.1 Reading Overview (Parts 1–5) 3.2 Reading Part 1: Short Texts and Main Message 3.3 Reading Part 2: Multiple Matching 3.4 Reading Part 3: Longer Text Detail and Gist

4 Reading Parts 4–5: Vocabulary and Grammar Cloze

4.1 Reading Part 4: Multiple-Choice Cloze 4.2 Collocations and Phrasal Verbs for Part 4 4.3 Reading Part 5: Open Cloze 4.4 Grammar Words for Open Cloze

5 Writing Part 6: Guided Message

5.1 Writing Overview (Parts 6–7) 5.2 Part 6 Guided Writing Task 5.3 Model Emails and Content-Point Checklists

6 Writing Part 7 & Assessment Criteria

6.1 Part 7 Picture Story 6.2 Narrative Language and Connectors 6.3 Writing Assessment: Content, Organisation, Language

7 Listening Parts 1–3

7.1 Listening Paper Overview 7.2 Listening Part 1: Short Dialogues and Pictures 7.3 Listening Part 2: Gap Fill Notes 7.4 Listening Part 3: Conversation Multiple Choice

8 Listening Parts 4–5 & Detail Skills

8.1 Listening Part 4: Gist and Main Message 8.2 Listening Part 5: Matching 8.3 Numbers, Times, Prices and Spelling

9 Speaking Test

9.1 Speaking Test Format 9.2 Speaking Part 1: Interview 9.3 Speaking Part 2: Discussion 9.4 Speaking Assessment Criteria

10 A2 Grammar Essentials

10.1 Present and Past Tenses 10.2 Future Forms, Modals and Obligation 10.3 Comparatives, Superlatives, Adverbs and Word Order 10.4 Questions, Negatives and There Is/Are

11 A2 Vocabulary Topics

11.1 People, Home and Daily Routines 11.2 Free Time, Hobbies, Travel and Transport 11.3 Food, Shopping, Money and Health 11.4 Places in Town, Services and Simple Technology

12 Functional Language for Exam Tasks

12.1 Requests, Offers, Invitations and Suggestions 12.2 Opinions, Agreeing, Disagreeing and Preferences 12.3 Describing People, Places and Events; Simple Narration

13 Exam Day and Test Strategy

13.1 Digital vs Paper-Based and the 2026 Change 13.2 What Happens on Exam Day 13.3 Full Practice Tests and Timing Plans

14 Results and Next Steps

14.1 Interpreting Your Statement of Results 14.2 From A2 Key to B1 Preliminary

11.4 Places in Town, Services and Simple Technology

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Town facility words (library, post office, bank, pharmacy, sports centre) power directions, Speaking Part 2 choices, and Listening place matching.

Service verbs—send a parcel, open an account, borrow a book, cash a cheque—work as Part 4-style collocations, not isolated nouns.

Weather and seasons language supports small talk in Speaking and detail in Listening forecasts or weekend plans.

A2 technology English focuses on phones, internet, email, and simple media actions: text, call, download, charge, go online.

Connect places + weather + tech when you practise: where you meet, what the weather is like, and how you message friends.

Last updated: July 2026

11.4 Places in Town, Services and Simple Technology

Quick Answer: Learn town places + what you do there , weather and season phrases , and simple phone/internet/email/media chunks. Together they let you handle directions, public services, small talk about the weather, and modern contact language in Speaking , Listening detail , and Reading Part 4 .

Sections 11.1–11.3 gave you people, free time, food, and health. This section is the map and the tools : where things are in town, how public services work at elementary level, what the weather is doing, and how you use phones and the internet without advanced IT vocabulary.

Exam Connections

Task How this vocabulary appears

Speaking Part 1 Where is your town? What’s the weather like today? Do you use social media?

Speaking Part 2 Choose a place to meet / a free facility / a gift from a shop area
Listening “Meet me outside the library”; weather changing plans; text message times
Reading notices Opening hours of the post office; library rules; cinema app info
Reading Part 4 borrow books , send an email , charge my phone , heavy rain
Writing Part 6 Arrange a meeting place; mention weather; suggest messaging
Places in Town: Facilities Map

Study places as name + action + meeting language , not as a dry list.

Core facilities table

Place Typical actions / chunks
post office send a parcel/letter, buy stamps
bank open an account, pay in money, use the cash machine
library borrow / return books, study quietly
police station report a problem (recognition)
hospital / clinic see a doctor, visit someone
pharmacy / chemist’s buy medicine
sports centre / gym do exercise, swim
swimming pool go swimming
park go for a walk, have a picnic
museum / art gallery look at exhibitions, go sightseeing
cinema / theatre watch a film / play
restaurant / café eat out, meet for coffee
supermarket / shopping centre do the shopping
bus station / train station catch a bus/train
airport fly, check in
hotel stay, book a room
school / university / college study
town hall local government (recognition)
car park park the car
petrol station put petrol in the car
Location and meeting chunks

Chunk Example

in the town centre / city centre The library is in the town centre.

on the high street many shops
on the corner of… exact position
outside / in front of the… meeting point
at the entrance where to wait
near / not far from distance softener
How do I get to the post office? ask the way
Let’s meet at… Speaking Part 2 gold

Speaking Part 2 sample move: I think the library is better than the café because it’s quiet and free. We can meet outside the entrance at four o’clock.

Public Services: Collocations That Carry Marks

Nouns alone are weak. Verb + service object is what Part 4 and natural Speaking need.

Post office

Chunk Meaning
send a letter / parcel / package post something
buy stamps postage
post a card send by mail
airmail overseas post (recognition)
address / postcode where it goes
deliver post worker brings mail
Bank and money services

Chunk Meaning
open a bank account start banking
pay in / withdraw money put in / take out
use a cash machine / ATM get cash
check your balance see how much money
exchange currency change money (travel link)
bank holiday public holiday when banks close
Library

Chunk Meaning
join the library become a member
borrow a book take home for a time
return a book bring back
renew a book extend loan
pay a fine late fee
be quiet rule
online catalogue find books (modern libraries)
Other service micro-chunks

Place Chunks
hairdresser’s / barber’s cut my hair, make an appointment
dry cleaner’s clean a jacket
garage / mechanic repair a car
tourist information get a map, ask about opening times

Original Part 4 line: You can _____ books for three weeks, but you must _____ them on time or pay a fine. → borrow / return

Weather and Seasons

Weather is perfect Speaking Part 1 small talk and a common reason plans change in Listening.

Weather adjectives and phrases

Chunk Use
What’s the weather like? standard question
It’s sunny / cloudy / windy / foggy conditions
It’s raining / snowing -ing weather verbs
heavy rain / light rain intensity
a storm / a thunderstorm strong weather
hot, warm, cool, cold, freezing temperature feel
degrees (20 degrees) number + unit
shine (the sun is shining) bright weather
Seasons and clothing link

Season Typical weather / clothes (simple)
spring milder; rain possible; light jacket
summer hot/sunny; T-shirt
autumn (US fall) cooler; windy; jumper
winter cold; snow possible; coat
Weather collocations and plan language

Chunk Example
nice / lovely weather positive
bad weather negative
the weather forecast prediction
It looks like rain prediction softener
cancel because of the weather plan change
stay indoors avoid weather
put on a coat clothes + weather

Listening trap pattern: First speaker wants a picnic; second mentions rain → plan moves indoors . Always listen to the final decision .

Speaking models:

Today it’s cloudy and a bit cold. It might rain later.

In my country winters are freezing and summers are very hot.

If the weather’s nice this weekend, I’ll go for a walk in the park.

Simple Technology: Phones, Internet, Email

A2 tech English is about everyday digital life , not coding.

Phone language

Chunk Meaning
mobile phone / mobile / smartphone device
make a call / call someone phone someone
answer the phone pick up
hang up end call
text / send a text message SMS
miss a call not answer in time
charge the phone / charger battery power
run out of battery no power left
put on silent / turn off the phone sound settings
signal / Wi-Fi connection
app small program
Internet and online actions

Chunk Meaning
go online / use the internet connect
browse / look something up search info
search for try to find online
download / upload transfer files (basic)
click on select
password login secret
log in / log out start/end session
website site on the internet
social media online networks (light use)
post a photo share
follow / like (recognition) social actions
Email language (Writing-friendly)

Chunk Use
send / receive an email core verbs
reply to an email answer
attachment file with email
address (email address) name@…
check my email look at inbox
inbox where mail arrives

Part 6 transfer: I’m sending you the photo as an attachment. Please reply when you can.

Media at A2

Word / chunk Note
TV programme / show British programme
channel TV station number/name
news, documentary, series types
radio audio
podcast modern listening (recognition)
newspaper / magazine / online article reading media
advertise / advert / advertisement notices and Listening
video / clip short film online
stream a film watch online
headphones listen privately

Collocation care: watch TV , listen to the radio , read the news , see a film vs watch a film (both appear; match options in Part 4).

Combining Place + Weather + Tech (Exam Reality)

Real tasks mix topics. Practise combined answers .

Scenario: Friends want to meet, weather is bad, they use phones.

The forecast says heavy rain this afternoon, so let’s not meet in the park. How about the library in the town centre? I’ll text you when my bus arrives. If the Wi-Fi is working, we can look up train times for tomorrow’s trip.

Skills hit: weather forecast, place choice, transport, texting, internet lookup—exactly the multi-topic feel of A2 papers.

Worked Reading Part 4 Micro-Text (Original)

Our town [1] _____ a new sports centre last year near the station. You can [2] _____ books from the library next door, and the post office is opposite, so you can [3] _____ parcels easily. Many people [4] _____ online to book gym classes with their phones. In winter the weather is often freezing, so people [5] _____ indoors more. If you get lost, [6] _____ me a text and I will meet you outside the entrance.

Plausible answers: (1) opened / built (2) borrow (3) send (4) go (5) stay (6) send

Each gap is a life collocation , not a rare word.

High-Value Chunk Tables
Table A — Services

Verb Service partners
send a parcel, a letter, an email, a text
borrow a book, money (careful), a charger
return a book, an email call-back meaning differs
open a bank account, a file, an app
charge a phone, a laptop
book a class, a ticket, a table (multi-topic verb)
Table B — Weather + plans

If weather is… Useful decision language
sunny and warm go for a walk, have a picnic, eat outside
raining heavily stay indoors, take an umbrella, cancel the match
freezing / snowing put on a warm coat, be careful on the roads
very windy not ideal for beach / cycling
Table C — Digital contact

Goal Chunk
contact fast send a text / call me
share info send an email with an attachment
find info look it up online
power charge your phone
quiet place put your phone on silent
Directions + Facilities Drill (One Paragraph to Personalise)

Write and speak:

From the bus station, go straight on to the traffic lights. Turn right. The bank is on the corner. Next to the bank is the post office. Opposite the post office is the library. The sports centre is behind the library, near the car park.

Then add tech: If you can’t find it, call me or send a text.

Then add weather: Take a coat—it’s cold and windy today.

Practice Week

Day Task
1 Label a sketch map of your area with 10 A2 place words
2 Roleplay post office + library (send parcel; borrow book)
3 60-second weather report for today + weekend plan
4 Write six sentences with phone/internet collocations
5 Mixed quiz: partner asks for directions to three services
Common Errors

Error Better

I go to library for take book I go to the library to borrow a book.

The weather is rain It’s raining. / The weather is rainy / wet.

send a SMS message text mail (messy) send a text (message) / send an email
charge on my phone charge my phone
meet me in the outside meet me outside
borrow a book to the library borrow a book from the library / return a book to the library

Checklist: Topic Map Complete?

I can name 12+ town places and one action for each
I can use post office, bank, and library collocations
I can answer What’s the weather like? with season context
I can talk about phones, texts, email, and going online
I can combine place + weather + contact method in one Speaking turn
I recognise these chunks quickly in Reading Part 4 options
How Chapter 11 Fits the Whole Exam

Vocabulary cluster Strongest exam links
11.1 People, home, routines Speaking Part 1; Listening times; Part 4 life verbs
11.2 Free time, travel Speaking 1–2; Listening transport; holiday texts
11.3 Food, shopping, health Listening prices; restaurant talk; illness messages
11.4 Places, services, tech Directions; notices; weather; digital contact

You do not need a dictionary-sized word list to score well at A2 Key. You need dense, reusable chunks tied to real tasks. Keep a personal notebook with four sections matching this chapter. Each week, recycle old chunks in a new micro-story. That is how vocabulary becomes marks in Reading Part 4, secure detail in Listening, and fluent answers in Speaking—not tomorrow’s forgotten list.