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a. Minh: Hey Lan, have you ever actually been inside the Citadel in Hue?

b. Minh: Good point. I really want to see the old king's palace and take some photos.

c. Lan: Yeah, I went last summer. It's huge, so you definitely need to wear comfy shoes!

a. Duc: I know, right? Many of these buildings have been here for over two centuries.

b. Emma: It's crazy that people still live and work in such historic places.

c. Emma: I'm obsessed with these old yellow houses. Hoi An is so pretty at night!

a. Tuan: Honestly, I didn't think I'd like Quan Ho singing, but those voices are incredible.

b. Linh: Right? And I love how the singers invite each other to eat betel nut—it's so polite!

c. Tuan: It's definitely different from pop music, but the melody stays in your head all day.

a. Hanh: Haha, yeah! It's a Tet tradition—we sit by the fire, talk, and eat snacks.

b. Ben: Are you guys seriously staying up all night just to boil some rice cakes?

c. Ben: Phew, that's a long night, but it sounds like a great way to hang out with your family.

a. Nam: Yeah, now it's just a big pile of bricks. They're putting up a boring apartment block instead.

b. Nam: I can't believe it—they finally tore down that old French villa on the corner.

c. Trang: Wait, seriously? I loved that place! It had so much character.

a. Elena: That's so annoying. It feels like the local vibe is totally disappearing.

b. Duy: Since everyone started posting it on Instagram! Everything is a "tourist price" now.

c. Elena: 5 dollars for a coffee? Since when did Sapa become more expensive than downtown Hanoi?

a. Mai: It's actually Han-Nom. It's how people in Vietnam wrote hundreds of years ago.

b. Nick: That's wild. It looks more like a bunch of beautiful drawings than an actual alphabet.

c. Nick: I'm totally lost. Is this Chinese? I can't read a single word of it.

a. Hanh: My grandpa actually has some old family scrolls at home written on special "Do" paper.

b. Hanh: For sure! He keeps them wrapped up in a box so the bugs and the moisture don't ruin them.

c. Josh: Really? You should be careful—the humidity in Vietnam is a nightmare for old paper.

a. Bao: It's so cool, but honestly, it looks like we're driving across the surface of the moon!

b. Bao: Okay, I've never seen so many gray rocks in my entire life. Is it all like this?

c. Mi: Pretty much! That's why they call it the "stone plateau." It's basically a giant rock forest.

a. Duc: Me too! It's much better than seeing it in photos, right?

b. Emma: I can see why! I just want to sit by the river and watch the boats all night.

c. Duc: Pretty much. Since it's a World Heritage site, it's busy every single day now.

d. Emma: I'm so glad we came to Hoi An. The lanterns make the whole town look like a dream.

e. Emma: Definitely. But wait—is i t always this packed, even on a Tuesday night?

a. Tom: I've got to go there. My phone gallery definitely needs some of those colors.

b. Tom: It's so pretty. Does the whole village smell like, I don't know... cinnamon?

c. Tom: I just saw your Instagram—why is the whole ground covered in red sticks?

d. An: Pretty much! It's a bit strong, but it's amazing to see the families working outside together.

e. An: Those are bundles of incense drying in the sun. From far away, they look like giant flowers!

a. Sarah: This scarf is so soft! Is it like, real silk from a local shop?

b. Sarah: Wow. I can't believe they still use those big wooden machines to weave everything.

c. Sarah: That's awesome. It feels much more "real" than the stuff you find in malls.

d. Hanh: I know, right? And they use plants to make the dyes instead of using chemicals.

e. Hanh: It is! I got it in Van Phuc. It's basically the oldest silk village in the country.

a. Leo: Is it actually good, or is it just like clicking through some old photos?

b. Leo: I really want to check out the Hue Citadel, but I'm totally broke right now.

c. Leo: Good call. It's definitely cheaper than a train ticket and a hotel!

d. Duy: It's pretty decent, actually. You can "walk" through the main gates and zoom in on the carvings.

e. Duy: Why don't you just try the 360-degree virtual tour on their website first?

a. Long: I know, right? Now we can actually understand what the ancient poems are about while we walk.

b. Long: Yeah, it's a new AI tool. It changed those complex characters into modern Vietnamese in two seconds.

c. Hoa: No way, is that an AI app? Hán-Nôm is usually so hard to read.

d. Hoa: That's a lifesaver! Usually, we'd have to wait for an expert to tell us what it says.

e. Long: Hey, look at this! I just pointed my phone at this old temple sign and it translated it instantly.

a. Dung: I know, it's a total shame. The roof is literally falling apart because there's no budget to fix it.

b. Lam: Can't the city do something? I mean, it's one of the oldest buildings around here.

c. Lam: I get that, but if we wait too much longer, the whole thing is just going to collapse.

d. Lam: Have you walked past the old temple lately? It looks in really bad shape.

e. Dung: They want to, but honestly, they're putting all the money into the new bridge instead.

a. Jack: I tried Bún Chả for the first time today, and honestly, the grilled pork smells amazing.

b. Hanh: People all over the world know it now, especially after President Obama tried it in Hanoi.

c. Hanh: It's great, right? It's officially a cultural symbol now, just like Phở.

d. Jack: I can see why! The mix of the smoky meat and the sweet and sour dipping sauce is perfect.

e. Jack: True. It's cool that a simple street food dish can represent a whole country's history.

a. Tuan: Yeah, it was unreal. The way those giant limestone towers just pop up out of the rice fields is wild.

b. Tuan: I finally made it to Ninh Binh last weekend. Have you ever been?

c. Lan: I know, right? People call it "Ha Long Bay on land" because the mountains look almost exactly the same.

d. Lan: Oh, I love it there! Did you do that boat trip through the caves?

e. Tuan: Totally. It was so quiet just floating between those huge cliffs. I didn't want to leave!

a. Linh: Honestly, if it keeps going like this, those old wooden houses are going to start rotting.

b. Linh: Oh no, not again! It feels like every time it rains now, the river just takes over the streets.

c. Tâm: That breaks my heart. I really hope they find a way to stop the water before it's too late.

d. Tâm: It's definitely getting worse. I read that the sea level is rising a little bit every single year.

e. Tâm: Did you see that video of Hội An this morning? The water was like, halfway up the yellow walls!

Fill in the blanks to complete the conversation.

A. She says the city is more "modern" and exciting than village life.

B. To be honest, I'm worried that soon nobody will know how to use those old looms.

C. It's hard to survive on silk weaving when the factory pays double.

D. I'd hate to see our heritage disappear just because everyone wants a factory job.

E. He actually moved to Bac Ninh last month to work in a phone factory.

__________

An: Hey, have you seen Trung lately? I went to his family's silk workshop, but he wasn't there.

Hoa: Oh, didn't you know? (1)

An: No way! I thought he was going to take over the business from his dad.

Hoa: He wanted to, but he told me he was tired of working ten hours a day for so little money.

An: I mean, I get it. (2)

Hoa: Exactly. Plus, the factory has insurance and a stable schedule. It's just easier for him.

An: It's still a bummer, though. His family's silk patterns are famous in the whole province.

Hoa: I know, right? (3)

An: My cousin did the same thing. (4)

Hoa: True, but if all the young people leave, our traditional villages will just become empty.

An: Do you think there's any way to make them stay? Like, maybe using the internet to sell more?

Hoa: Maybe! If they could sell their crafts on TikTok or Instagram, they might make more money.

An: That's a good point. They need to turn the traditional craft into a "cool" brand.

Hoa: For sure. (5)

An: Me too. Anyway, I hope Trung is doing okay in the big city. It's a huge change for him.

Fill in the blanks to complete the conversation.

A. It's better than the houses being empty and falling apart.

B. I really want to see those famous laterite walls in person.

C. You just don't get that "vibe" in a regular museum, you know?

D. Isn't it a bit annoying for them to have strangers walking around?

E. I'm honestly a bit jealous. Was it hard to get there from Hanoi?

__________

Duy: Hey, check out these photos I took at Đường Lâm. It's such a cool place.

Mai: Oh wow, those old houses look amazing. But wait, do people actually live there?

Duy: Yeah, that's the best part! It's a "living museum," so families are still cooking and working in them.

Mai: That's kind of wild. (1)

Duy: I asked an old man there the same thing. He said he's proud to show off his family's history.

Mai: I guess that makes sense. (2)

Duy: Exactly. I even saw a lady making "chè lam" right in her front yard.

Mai: No way! Did you get to try any? I've heard it's delicious with hot tea.

Duy: I did! It was still warm. (3)

Mai: Totally. I mean, regular museums can be a bit boring because you can't touch anything.

Duy: Right? Here, you can sit on the wooden porch and actually feel how people lived 200 years ago.

Mai: (4)

Duy: Not at all, just a short bus ride. We should go together next time the weather is nice.

Mai: I'm totally down for that. (5)

Duy: Sweet. I'll let you know when I'm planning the next trip!