Holiday Plans

Mary	Have you had your holiday for this year yet, Jane?
Jane	Not yet. I’m taking it at the end of September.
Mary	Where are you going? Have you made up your mind?
Jane	Not really. I thought of going to Spain again, but I’ve already been there twice and I’d like to try somewhere new.
Mary	My brother’s just gone to Mexico for two weeks. I had a card from him yesterday and he seems to be having a good time. Why don’t you go there?
Jane	That’s O.K. for you well-off people, but I couldn’t possibly afford it. I’m much too hard up at the moment.
Mary	The air-fare is quite expensive, I admit, but you needn’t spend a lot when you get there.
Jane	I’ve already spent a lot of money this year. My flat was done up last month, so I haven’t got much to spare for expensive holidays abroad.
Mary	Oh, I see.
Jane	Perhaps, I’ll just go to Scotland or Ireland in the end. I’ve heard they’re both very beautiful, and I haven’t been to either of them.
Mary	We went to Ireland two years ago to pay Jill and her husband a visit. They’re in Dublin now.
Jane	Oh, yes, so they are!
Mary	If you decide on Ireland you can call in on them. Jill would willingly put you up for a few days, I’m sure.
Jane	That’s a good idea! I haven’t seen Jill for more than three years now and I’d like to know how she’s getting on.

2. Using the active vocabulary of the dialogue speak about Jane as if you were Mary. Give plenty of details.

3. Speak as Jane

Exercise 4.

The text you are going to read has no title. Can you give it a title?

When I was a boy every holiday that I had seemed ideal. All day, I seem to remember, I played on the sands with my friends. We made sandcastles with yellow walls, and watched the tide destroy them; we played football, we splashed each other in the water.

In those far-off days the sun seemed to shine constantly and the water was always warm. Sometimes we left the beach and walked in the country, exploring ruined houses and dark woods and climbing trees.

Although I am now an adult, my idea of a good holiday is much the same as it was. I still like the sun and the warm sand and the sound of waves breaking on the beach. I no longer want to build sandcastles, but I love sunbathing and the sand running through my fingers, and I look forward to sitting down to a good meal in the evening. I think too, that I prefer travelling. I want to smell different smells; I want to see different kinds of trees, flowers and plants; and I also want to see people wearing different kinds of clothes. Above all, I want to listen to different musical rhythms.

But I still need my companions – not, of course, to play on the sands and eat ices with, but to talk to on warm moonlit nights.

Sometimes I wonder what my ideal holiday will be when I am old. All I shall want to do then, I expect, will be to lie in bed, reading books about children who make sandcastles with yellow walls, who watch the tide, who make themselves sick on too many ices…

Comprehension exercises

1. Multiple-choice questions. Choose the right answer:

• When I was a boy every holiday I had seemed (too short, too dull, ideal).

• I played on the sands with my friends making (sandcastles, much noise, various toys).

• In those far-off days the sun seemed to shine (too seldom, dimly, constantly).

• I still like the sound of (waves breaking on the beach, children crying, buses rushing along the streets).

• I’m now an adult, and I still need my friends to (play with, talk to, quarrel with).

• I’m hungry, I’m looking forward to (meeting my friends, going for a walk, sitting down to a good meal).

1. Answer the questions:

• When does every holiday seem ideal, when you’re a child or when you’re an adult?

• What did the author of this story like to do with his boy-friends on the sands?

• What did they make?

• How long did their sandcastles live?

• What did they sometimes explore in the country?

• Has the author’s idea of a good holiday changed?

• What does he still like?

• Why does he like travelling?

• Why does he still need his companions?

• Years change our ideals. What does the author think his ideal holiday will be like when he grows old?

3. Use the text and make up your own story about your ideal holiday.

Exercise 5.

Read the text and be ready to speak about the British holidays.