Lesson 12
Seeing the World
Text A
If someone offered to pay all my expenses for a month's
holiday anywhere in the world, I would feel very surprised and very
excited. It would be difficult to decide where I wanted to go. Should I go
to one place or to lots of different places? If I went to one country, I
could see and understand a lot about it. If I went to lots of countries,
my holiday would be more interesting and more exciting. I think I would
decide to fly around the world and to visit three different countries. The
countries I would visit would be Australia, the United States of America
and Kenya.
If I went to Australia, I would stay there for about
two weeks. I am sure it would be very interesting to visit a country which
is so very different from my own. Before I went, I would write to one of
my Australian friends. I would suggest that if it were possible, he should
spend a week with me visiting Aboriginal tribes in the northern part of
Australia. I would really like to find out how the Aboriginal people live
in Australia today. My friend could explain what we saw and he could
translate what people said because he majored in Aboriginal Studies at
Queensland University. While I was visiting Australia, I hope I could also
see some of the large cities , such as Sydney and Melbourne.
If I went to the United States , I would stay there
about a week. I expect I would start by visiting New YorkS. I have heard
that New York is a very exciting city. I imagine that there are, lots of
tourist attractions, that the buildings are spectacular and that the food
is very varied. After I had stayed two or three days in New York, I would
fly to San Francisco. I hope I could stay with my relations who live there
and I would visit the city and other parts of California.
Finally, I would fly to Kenya where I would stay for
about a week. There are three things I would like to do in Kenya. First ,
I hope I could visit the coast because I would like to see the old Arab
cities and enjoy the beautiful beaches. Next, I would like to visit a Game
eserve. I imagine the wild animals of Africa- the lion, elephant and
hippopotamus- are very exciting and beautiful. Finally, I would like to
visit the Mountains of Kenya where you can see snow on the Equator.
If someone offered me this money, I would be amazed.
Unfortunately, I do not think this will ever happen and I doubt if I shall
ever visit these countries.
Text B
Ann started work last summer, so she didn't have a
holiday.She saved as much as she could and, in January, she booked a
package trip to Rosas, in Spain. She left London airport early on the
norning of the-first Saturday in August. She was very excited, as this was
her first trip abroad. During the flight they had a snack , and when they
arrived at Barcelona airport,a special bus was ready to take them to their
hotel in Rosas. The weather was beautiful and Ann enjoyed the bus trip.
At the hotel, she checked in, and then went to her room
to change before dinner. She was just ready to go downstairs, when she
found that her Spanish money wasn't in her handbag. She carefully looked
in all her luggage, but she couldn't find it. All she had was a small
purse with ten English pound notes in it!
Ann found a place to change her English money. She had
very few pesetas, and she would be here for two weeks. On her way back to
the hotel, Ann bought some cheese, some bread and some oranges. When she
got back, she told the manager that her doctor had told her not to eat
Spanish food; she'd just have breakfast each day. This was all right , as
she knew the price of hotels included breakfast.
For the rest of her holiday, Ann swam in the hotel
swimming-pool, or lay on the beach and got a suntan. She also went for
long walks with one of the other tourists, a Scottish girl called Jane.
However, when the others went to interesting places, she always said she
wasn't well. In fact, her holiday wasn't bad, except that she was always
hungry. After all, a piece of fruit for lunch, and bread and cheese for
supper isn't very much. . . especially not for two weeks !
Late in the afternoon of their last day, Ann and Jane
were on the beach. Jane asked her why she never ate with them in the hotel
restaurant. The food was excellent. Ann told her all about her money
problems. Jane looked at her for a minute, and then said, "But didn't
you know? The price of this holiday includes absolutely everything!"
Additional Information
TRAVEL BOOKS
There are several ways you can find out aboiit the
countries and places you wish to visit. You can talk to friends who have
travelled to the places. Or you can go and see a colour film about them.
Or you can read travel books.
It would seem that there are three kinds of travel
books. The first are those that give a personal, subjective account of
travels which the author has actually made himself. If they are
informative and have a good index then they can be useful to you when you
are planning your traves. The second kind are those books whose purpose is
to give a purely objective description of things to be done and seen.
If a
well-read, cultured person has written such a book then it is even more
useful. It can be classified as a selective guide book. The third kind are
those books which are called 'a guide' to some place or other. If they are
good, they will, in addition to their factual information, give an
analysis or an interpretation. Like the first kind they can be inspiring
and entertaining. But their primary function is to assist the
reader who wishes to plan in the most practical way.
Whatever kind of travel book you choose you must make
sure that it does not describe everything as 'marvellous' , 'fabulous' or
'magical' . You must also note its date of publication because travel is a
very practical affair and many things change quickly in the twen tieth
century. Finally, you should make sure that the contents are well
presented and easy to find.
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