Class 3 ways of holiday-making ways of holiday-making

15. Read the text Ways of holiday-making.

Ways of holiday-making

If you are tired of your usual holiday routine, there are many things you can do to vary it. Some take a certain amount of physical energy, but thing of the good it will do you.

People say there’s nothing to compare with a camping holiday. Personally I think it’s only for the young, and will make them appreciate home comforts. Be prepared for damp, mosquitoes, beetles and cow dung, which is never noticed until the following morning. This sort of holiday teaches the young how to survive, and strangely enough they seem to enjoy it, finding great pleasure in making bonfires and cooking barbecues.

Bicycle holidays are an excellent way of taking exercise. Bear in mind that you are not a professional, and don’t try to do more than thirty or forty miles a day. Keep to side roads wherever possible, and don’t overtire yourself.

A walking holiday, in good weather with a pleasant companion or two, will do you more good than any other. Select your shoes carefully. Your rucksack should contain a change of everything, but nothing that is not absolutely essential.

The seaside is good for most people, but definitely bad for some. Take the sun and the sea gradually, and don’t stay on the beach for too long. In fact, short holidays taken often probably do you more good than an annual long one. After the first week or two, you begin to get bored, sunburnt, and lazy.

It’s a good idea to have a hobby or interest at the seaside. Take a skin diving mask and see how many sorts of fish you can find. Walk along the beach collecting shells or interesting pebbles.

On this sort of holiday you should be thoroughly relaxed, and soak in the sun and sea air. There is nothing better for giving you vitality and energy to keep you going through the winter.

A winter holiday is probably even better for you than a summer one. You need it more at that time of year.

Once you learn to ski, you can go on doing to a very advanced age, as long as you don’t do it too strenuously and break a leg. If this happens it will take a long time to heal and you may never be able to ski again.

There are many other things to do besides skiing. Skating is amusing, and not all that difficult to learn. You can walk on snowshoes, and the mountains are particularly lovely when you get away from the crowded ski slopes.

It is even easier to sunburn in the snow than on the beach, so be careful, but do get some sun – it will keep you healthier for the rest of the winter.

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 pair.

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 vary one’s usual holiday routine to take a certain amount of physical energy to make smb. appreciate home comforts to find great pleasure in doing smth. to be an excellent way of taking exercise to overtire oneself to do smb. good to contain a change of everything, but nothing that is not absolutely essential. to take the sun and the sea gradually to get bored, sunburnt, and lazy to have a hobby or interest at the seaside to be thoroughly relaxed, and soak in the sun and sea air. to give smb. vitality and energy to keep going through the winter to get away from smth. to keep smb. healthier for the rest of the winter

16. Read the text about Modern holidays in Britain. Why, do you think, have the two traditional types of holiday (at seaside boarding houses and at holiday camps) in Britain become less popular in the last quarter of the twentieth century? Is the modern pattern of British holidaymaking the same as it is for people in your country?