Why be a tourist?

(From “BBC English”)

In many countries of the world when the time for holidays comes, people want to get away from home. I agree it’s nice to have a change, but I do think being a tourist is a silly occupation.

Have you ever asked yourself what you really learn from going abroad just for two or three weeks? Not much, I suspect. You wander around looking at buildings and people in different clothes with eyes wide open. You eat different food and sit in the sun but you don’t really get to know the people. And the local people don’t really like you – you are spoiling their normal way of life.

Wall, you don’t agree with me? All right, count up all the advantages for you and the country you visit.

Now, what about the disadvantages? Do you know any places in your country that have been spoilt by too many hotels, too many cars, too many souvenir shops, and too many people with cameras and ice-creams? Tell about these places. I can think of plenty of places like this in Britain. If you were a Minister for Tourism in your government how would you prevent places from being spoilt?

Class 2 planning holidays

6. Read the text Planning Holidays

Planning holidays

Everyone needs at least one holiday a year, so when you begin spending sleepless nights thinking about the sun and the sea, when you think longingly of the green countryside and forget the mosquitoes and the boredom, there’s no doubt about it – you’re ready for a holiday.

Even a week-end is better than nothing. You need to get away from all your usual routines and get some fresh air and a change of perspective.

You should also take occasional holidays without the family. Husbands and children can do very well without you for a limited time and, if they cannot, they must learn to. It will be good for them to realize how much you do for them during the rest of the year. It is necessary for children to realize at a very young age that they can do without their parents. It teaches them independence.

Go somewhere quiet, where the climate is pleasant and invigorating. For the first couple of days, rest and sleep as much as you can. If you are in the mountains, give yourself a day or two to get used to the altitude; by the sea, have a daily swim.

Do things the way they are done in the country you are staying and eat the local food. Get to know the natives and their customs. Do a little sightseeing, even if you do not like it. Always have a dictionary of the local language, and pick up a few words. It is a good idea to get to know the place as well as you can.

If you prefer complete solitude, take some books and catch up on your reading.

Be sure to take the necessary clothes and equipment, but don’t burden yourself with a mountain of luggage full of things you will never use. Dress simply and in accord with the climate. Bring whatever sporting equipment you plan to use.

The sun is good for some people, and very bad for others. Don’t overdo it; your skin will turn to leather and age much faster if you get it too brown. Protective oils and creams are a very necessary part of your holiday equipment.

You should try and store up energy and vitality to see you through the winter months. Be willing to put up with small inconveniences, and don’t allow yourself to be annoyed. Things will not be done in the way you do them. Take note of the good, and pass over the bad in silence.

Try and learn something useful from your holiday. Bring back an unusual peasant recipe or local pottery jug. Don’t burden yourself with a camera unless you are a genuine enthusiast; you will be always looking through instead of directly at what is around you. And don’t indulge in that useless habit of sending holiday postcards – if you forget all about home, you will come back with far more interesting tales to tell.

1. Find statements in the text you agree with.

2. Find statements in the text you disagree with.

3. Give your reasons for and against.

4. Discuss the text with a friend. Work in pairs.

5. Speak of your own experience in planning a holiday and spending one.

6. Discuss advantages of planning holidays in advance. Use the topical vocabulary from the box.

to spend sleepless nights thinking about the sun and the sea to think longingly of the green countryside to forget the mosquitoes and the boredom to be ready for a holiday to get away from all your usual routines to get some fresh air and a change of perspective to take occasional holidays without the family to do very well without smb./smth. for a limited time pleasant and invigorating (the climate) to eat the local food to get to know the natives and their customs to do a little sightseeing/ to go sightseeing/ to do the sights to pick up a few words to catch up on one’s reading. to take the necessary clothes and equipment to overdo smth. (your skin) to turn to leather and age much faster if you get it too brown protective oils and creams to be a very necessary part of one’s holiday equipment to store up energy and vitality to see smb. through the winter months to put up with small inconveniences to be annoyed to learn something useful from a holiday to burden oneself with a camera to be a genuine enthusiast to indulge in smth. To come back with far more interesting tales to tell.

7. Comment on the following statements:

1. Everyone needs at least one holiday a year.

2. Even a week-end is better than nothing.

3. You should also take occasional holidays without the family.

4. Do things the way they are done in the country you are staying.

5. Do a little sightseeing, even if you do not like it.

6. It is a good idea to get to know the place as well as you can.

7. The sun is good for some people, and very bad for others. Don’t overdo it.

8. Take note of the good, and pass over the bad in silence.

9. Try and learn something useful from your holiday.

10. Don’t burden yourself with a camera unless you are a genuine enthusiast.

7. Read the instructions on planning a trip with your partner or friend. Can travelling together be really tiring and test your patience, particularly if you end up arguing over money or itineraries? Discuss the ideas with your partner.