📙 Part 2: Describe a place that is not visited by many tourists

This episode's vocabulary

To frequent (verb) - to be in or visit a particular place often.

Misleading (adj.) - causing someone to believe something that is not true.

Artefact (noun) - an object that has been made by a person, such as a tool or a decoration, especially one that is of historical interest.

Rightly or wrongly (phrase) - used to mean that something may or may not be morally correct, but it is a fact.

Misnomer (noun) - a name that does not suit what it refers to, or the use of such a name.

To festoon (verb) - to decorate a room or other place for a special occasion by hanging coloured paper, lights, flowers, etc. around it, especially in curves.

Exhibit (noun) - a collection of objects that is shown to the public in a museum, etc.

Outreach (noun) - an effort to bring services or information to people where they live or spend time.

To draw (verb) - to attract attention or interest.

Questions and Answers

R: I suppose the place that comes to mind most easily is the McManus Galleries in the centre of my hometown Dundee. That's not to say it's not frequented by tourists, it's just that it's not always the first stop whenever they choose to come and visit, even though I think it really should be. Despite the name, it's actually more of a museum than a gallery. And perhaps that's why many people don't go. Since the name is a little bit misleading. It's full of different artefacts from around the world, which makes sense since it was built in Victorian times when the British Empire was a real force in the world, and explorers were bringing back all kinds of things, rightly or wrongly. Like I said, the name is a bit unclear in relation to what it actually offers. But it's not a total misnomer, since the walls are festooned with paintings of all kinds of styles from across history, including modern and classical art. I think there might actually be some postmodern stuff in the new exhibits, but I'm not entirely sure. When it comes to why not many people go, I'm not entirely sure about that either, frankly. It's not like the building is hard to miss. It's like a huge Victorian building done in what I think is called a Neo-Gothic style, but no architecture expert. No, the real reason might be that it's not well-advertised and doesn't seem to do much outreach. Or like I say, it doesn't seem to do this anyway. So it doesn't really draw people in. And that's a real shame. Because I've been a few times this year, and I think it's one of the best things about my hometown. It's got a real sense of history behind it. And it's not like you see buildings or contents like that every day. My favourite one is this necklace that's made of bear claws from the Americas. It's absolutely fascinating. And I have no idea what it's for, or what it symbolizes or anything. I just think it looks really cool. Whatever the reasons for its lack of series popularity, this is the building in general, I hope more people go there more often.

M: And what about your friends? Do they enjoy this place?

R: I don't know many that go, to be honest.