1. Read and discuss the texts. Learn the new vocabulary.

1. What’s the difference between traveling and tourism? Well, being a traveler is more than just being a holidaymaker. A holiday is just a short time away, and it normally involves relaxation. Tourists stay in holiday resorts, not travelers. Travelers go for the experience and their journeys are usually much longer and more challenging. For example, travelers tend to avoid tourist traps and like to go off the beaten track to discover new places. Travel is an age-old phenomenon, but tourism is a relatively recent invention. Thomas Cook is often described as the first travel agent because he arranged the first “package tour”: a 19-kilometre trip for 500 people, in 1841.

2. Going overseas in order to experience a different way of life is what many people think of as travel, but travel does not necessarily mean going abroad. How many people can say they have visited every part of their own country? Many people who live in vast countries such as Russia and the USA have only visited a small part of their own country, and so domestic travel is also very exiting. It’s a surprising fact that about 75 percent of US citizens do not own a passport, so travelling does not mean leaving the country for them.

3. Some people can’t travel or don’t like the physical reality of travelling to faraway destinations. These days it is easy to be an “armchair traveler.” People can visit distant corners of the world or even little known parts of their own country without leaving their living rooms. Television documentaries make the world a small place and some people argue that travel is no longer necessary. Perhaps soon people will use interactive computer programmes and virtual travel will become common. Enthusiasts argue that by doing this we will have all the benefits of travel without the inconveniences.

2. Complete the questions with the words in the box.

destination journey abroad trip package home

1. What’s the furthest you have traveled from _____?

2. Have you ever been ______? Where did you go?

3. Have you ever been on a business ______? Where to?

4. Do you like ______ holidays where everything is arranged for you? Why? Why not?

5. What is the longest ____ you have been on?

6. What are the most popular ____ for people from your country?

3. Read the paragraphs and learn the highlighted words.

Air travel

A Departures

First you go to the check-in desk where they weigh your luggage. Usually you are permitted 23 kilos? But if your bags weigh more, you may have to pay excess baggage (you pay extra). The airline representative checks your ticket and gives you a boarding card for the plane with you seat number on it. Then you go through passport control where an official checks ( not controls) your passport, and into the departure lounge. Here, you can also buy things in the duty-free, e.g. perfume, alcohol and cigarettes. About half an hour or forty minutes before take-off, you are told to go to a gate number, e.g. gate 14, where you waite before you get on the plane. When you board (= get on) the plane, you find your seat. If you have hand luggage, you can put it under your seat or in the overhead locker above your seat.

B the Flight

You may want or need to understand certai announcements, which come from the captain (= pilot) or from an air steward or stewardess /cabin crew/flight attendants.

Please fasten your seat belt and put your seat in the upright position.

C Arrival

When the plane lands, you have to wait for it to stop. When the doors are open, you get off the plane and walk through the terminal building and go to the baggage reclaim where you collect your luggage. You then pass through customs. If you are lucky, you can then get a bus, taxi or train to the centre of town without waiting too long. You can also hire a car (rent a car) at most airports.