Comprehension

Task 10. Choose the right answer to the following questions.

1) What are the main advantages of trains?

A. speed and comfort;

B. comfort and safety;

C. price and comfort.

2) What is the fastest way of travelling?

A. by train;

B. by car;

C. by plain;

D. on foot.

3) If you are a city-dweller, how would you like to spend your holiday?

A. visiting museums and art galleries;

B. walking by the sea or in the mountains;

C. looking at shop windows.

4) What makes travelling by car popular?

A. cheap fuel for cars;

B. safety and comfort;

C. no tickets, free stops.

5) How do people choose means of travelling?

A. according to their family budget;

B. according to the children’s wishes;

C. according to their plans and destinations;

D. according to the weather forecast.

Task 11. Complete the sentences.

1) Travellers are usually reminded by ___________.

2) __________ new things, different ways of life.

3) The best way __________________ is to travel.

4) Modern trains have ____________.

5) _____________ is popular mostly for pleasure trips.

6) A very popular method of travelling is __________.

7) _____________ are very healthful.

8) _____________ usually like a quiet holiday by the sea or in the mountains.

Task 12. True or False statements.

1) Holiday-makers travel only to enjoy picturesque places.

2) Hiking is travelling on foot.

3) City-dwellers like to travel to a big city and spend their time visiting museums and art galleries.

4) The worst way to get to know and understand people is to meet them in their own homes.

5) Travelling by car is very popular, because you can stop when and where you like.

Task 13. A. Match the following titles with the corresponding passages of the text.

1) How to spend holidays if you live in the country or in the city. 2) Means of travelling can mean a lot! 3) Why do people travel? 4) Happy memories of your holiday!

A. Millions of people all over the world spend their holidays travelling. They travel to see other countries and continents, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns, they travel to enjoy picturesque places, or just for a change of scene. It is always interesting to discover new things, different ways of life, to meet different people, to try different food, to listen to different musical rhythms. B. Most travellers and holiday-makers take a camera with them and take pictures of everything that interests them – the sights of a city, old churches and castles, views of mountains, lakes, valleys, plains, waterfalls, forests; different kinds of trees, flowers and plants; animals and birds. Later, perhaps years later, they will be reminded by the photos of the happy time they had. C. All means of travelling have their advantages and disadvantages. And people choose one according to their plans and destinations. If we are fond of travelling, we see and learn a lot of things that we can never see or learn at home, though we may read about them in books and newspapers, and see pictures of them on TV. The best way to study geography and foreign languages is to travel, and the best way to get to know and understand people is to meet them in their own homes. D. Those who live in the country like to travel to a big city and spend their time visiting museums and art galleries, looking at shop windows and dining at exotic restaurants. City dwellers usually like a quiet holiday by the sea or in the mountains, with nothing to do but walk and bathe and laze in the sun.

B. Now think, how would you title these passages?

Task 14. Put the sentences into the right order.

1) They want to see other countries and continents.

2) All means of travelling have their advantages and disadvantages.

3) Most holiday-makers take a camera with them and take pictures of everything that interests them.

4) People choose different means of travelling according to their plans and destinations.

5) Millions of people spend their holidays travelling.

6) People have a great choice of means of travelling.

7) Travelling is the most effective way to study geography and foreign languages.

8) Some people stay at home and do sightseeing in their own city, others go to the country to spend their holidays in an active way.

9) They can travel by air, by land or by sea.

Task 15. Make up the summary of the text using tasks 13B and 14.

Task 16. Read the additional text about types of holiday. After reading it try to remember what other types of holiday you know. If there is no any, try to create your own types of holiday.

Holiday is an extended period of recreation, especially spent away from home or travelling. This means that holiday is a kind of tourist activity that is not connected with work or business. Therefore, to make out which types of tourist activity refer to holiday one should exclude all kinds of business travelling and then it’s quite possible to compose a list of types of holiday according to different criteria: duration of holiday, its geography, tourists’ mobility, their age, transportation, seasons, value for money, etc.

But the main criterion is the aim of holiday. Different people take holidays on various purposes. Some go hunting, others prefer to climb mountains. A lot of people have holidays relative to sport activities, such as hiking, cycling, horse-back riding, rowing and canoeing, as well as scuba-diving or even bungee jumping. There are also such purposes as recreation, treatment and medical care. In this case people can choose resort or a spa. Today a great attention is paid to ecological tourism.

One of the tourist activities is studying. You can not be sure if it is a type of holiday, but one should not forget that for some people studying is more recreating and relaxing than for example hunting or climbing mountains.

Nowadays there are many kinds of work and each of them requires its own type of holiday. So the number of types of holiday is steadily growing.