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4. Do you ever meet British tourists? What do you think of them?

Talking:

1.Where would you spend your ideal holiday? What kind of accommodation would you stay in? How would you spend your time?

2.Holidaymaking in Britain and in Russia. What makes them alike and different?

3.Speak about the weekend plans of the following people:

a)a married couple with children;

b)a young businesswoman ;

c)a student living away from home;

d)a football fan;

e)a breakfast-in-bed and Sunday paper enthusiast.

Reading

When I was very young and the urge to be someplace else was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked. Four hoarse blasts of a ship's whistle still raise the hair on my neck and set my feet to tapping. The sound of a jet, an engine warming up, even the clopping of shod hooves on pavement brings on the ancient shudder, the dry mouth and vacant eye, the hot palms and the churn of stomach high up under the rib cage. In other words, I don't improve; in further words, once a bum always a bum. I fear the disease is incurable. I set this matter down not to instruct others but to inform myself.

When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a builtin garden of reason to choose from. Next he must plan his trip in time and space, choose a direction and a destination. And last he must implement

the journey. How to go, what to take, how long to stay. This part of the process is invariable and immortal. I set it down only so that newcomers to bumdom, like teen-agers in new-hatched sin, will not think they invented it.

Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. The masters, schedules, reservations, brass-bound and inevitable, dash themselves to wreckage on the personality of the trip. Only when this is recognized can the blown -in-the-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like marriage. The certain

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way to be wrong is to think you control it. I feel better now, having said this, although only those who have experienced it will understand it.

Ex. 1. Answer these questions.

1.When did John Steinbeck fall in love with travelling first?

2.What did his acquaintances say about his passion for travelling?

3.Was he ever cured from this passion?

4.What was his reaction to the prospects of another journey?

5.What does one need to start another journey?

6.What is particular about a journey?

7.Why does the writer think that "we do not take a trip; a trip takes us"?

Ex. 2. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following.

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Ex. 3. Which form of transport — ship, plane, train, car, spaceship — do you associate the following words and phrases with?

quayside, spacecraft, runway, platform, check in, to sink, economy class, compartment, splashdown, express, terminal, voyage, orbit, charter flight, commute, motorway, seasick, hitch-hike, departure lounge, gravity, traffic jam, mission

Talking

What is the furthest you have traveled in one 24-hour period? Describe the journey.

Jane: Not really. I thought of going to Spain again, but I’ve already been there twice and I’d like to try somewhere new.

Mary: My brother’s just gone to Mexico for two weeks. I had a card from him yesterday and he seems having a good time. Why don’t you go there?

Jane: That’s OK for you well-off people, but I couldn’t possibly afford it. I’m much too hard at the moment.

Mary: The air-fare is quite expensive, I admit, but you needn’t spend a lot when you get there. Jane: I’ve spent a lot of money this year. My flat was done up last month, so I haven’t got much to spare for expensive holidays abroad.

Mary: Oh, I see.

Jane: Perhaps, I’ll just go to Scotland or Ireland in the end. I’ve heard they’re both beautiful, and I haven’t been to either of them.

Mary: We went to Ireland two years ago to pay Jill and her husband a visit. They are in Dublin now. Jane: Oh, yes, so they are!

Mary: If you decide on Ireland, you can call in on them. Jill would willingly put you up for a few days, I’m sure.

Jane: That’s a good idea. I haven’t seen Jill for more than three years now and I’d like to know how she’s getting on.

Make up a conversation in which three friends argue about how they should travel to a distant city for a long weekend. One thinks it would be best to go by car, the second is for going be train, the third would prefer to go by coach.

Writing

Write a dramatic paragraph from your latest novel, as the hero desperately tries to get to the airport in time to catch his plane to Prague. It begins:

Jackson jumped into his waiting Porsche and…

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Part 2. HOME AND AWAY

Vocabulary Exercises

Ex. 1. Find the equivalents of the following words and phrases in the thematic vocabulary and use them in sentences of your own.

Рикша, стать друзьями по переписке, остановиться у кого-л, поменяться домами, выгодно с экономической точки зрения, быть привитым от чего-л, испытывать тоску по дому, испытывать недостаток в удобствах, специальный тур, скучать по близким, усилиться (достичь пика), вырваться из рутины, пансион, разгар сезона, мертвый сезон, налагать ограничения

Ex. 2. Find equivalents of the following.

to plan smth in advance, a reduced price, a temporary roadside dwelling for motorists, a trip with visits to points of interest, reliable, the point or place which someone dreams of visiting, a common tour, a specially designed tour, a booklet.

Ex. 3. Fill in prepositions or adverbs where necessary.

(1) Normally people plan their holidays …advance. (2) You are … a loss which travel agency to choose … … a large amount … agencies offering similar services. (3) You want an enjoyable holiday … some reasonable price. (4) Here are some hints … you. (5) Their names should be familiar … you: their ads regularly appear … travelogues and … mass media. (6) If you are still not disappointed, make an appointment … the travel clerk … the agency office.

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(7) Purchasing a tour you should pay … cash or… credit card. (8) Bear … mind that … high season the prices are… …25 per cent higher than … low season.

Lead-in

To really enjoy a round-the world trip you need to spend quite a long time in each place. This probably means being away from home for much longer than one month.

What problems do you think you would have being away from home for up to one year, for instance?

Talk to your partner about the following things:

Reading

Ex. 1. This article is about a couple who spent a year travelling round the world. Read it quickly and underline the parts where these things are discussed:

Ex. 2. Talk to your partner about the problems Carole and Berry had with each of the things in Ex. 1.

Ex. 3. Find the words and expressions which mean:

aescaped (para 2)

bslow and relaxing (2)

cdoubts and fears (5)

dleave completely (5)

ereached crisis point (5)

fdirty and untidy (5)

gpoint of view (7)

hfashionable (7)

imost important (9)

jfit and healthy (12)

1Berry Ritchie and his wife, Carole, did it: they packed their bags, rented out their home and travelled the globe.

2We fled our semi-detached nest in safe, suburban, Richmond some 18 months ago. We bought round-the-world air tickets and left London early in October. Our journey took us in leisurely stages to New-York and California, over the Pacific to Australia, through Hong Kong, Bali, Singapore, Thailand and Southern India and back through Europe.

3We visited some of the most exotic places in the world and some of the least. We stayed with friends in some places, and in hotels, motels and guest houses. We travelled in taxis, buses, cars, vans, jeeps, rickshaws, trains and planes. We ate well and we ate badly.

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And all the time we were together. After more than twenty-five years. Just each other. Alone at last.

4I will pass over the day that we were supposed to fly to New York and didn’t because my wife lost her passport. We discovered this on the way to the airport. Several hours passed before we found it, stored for safe keeping along with her diaries in my mother’s attic. It was something that could have happened to anyone.

5At the end of the first fortnight we felt desolate. We both missed our daughter. My wife, Carole, suffered from homesickness and missed her friends and colleagues. And we were consumed with misgivings about giving up our jobs, though the desire to make a break from the routine had been one of the motives behind the trip. Out feelings came to a head one morning in the rather shabby room we were renting in Brooklyn. We looked each other in the eye. “Shall we go home?” we said together.

6It was a rhetorical question, as we had let our house for the year and in any case the moment passed. It recurred, but with less and less intensity, though we never did stop missing our near and dear ones.

7Less emotional and more predictable was the problem of living out of suitcases. My theory that we could buy disposable clothes as we went along was wrong, at least from the perspective of a style-conscious Englishwoman. The truth is that you get what you pay for, which is in the Far East is often not much.

8Another pressure point was accommodation. It is hard to say which is worse, a hotel room or one belonging to friends. The former lacks home comforts, the later imposes behavioural constraints.

9We learned that floor space, a view and a private bathroom were vital for a stay of any length. Usually we found all three, though sometimes not before a search. We wouldn’t recommend you staying in the Transit Hotel in Jakarta.

10We didn’t miss television, but books were a problem, solved by begging, borrowing, and stealing. Books were also a major contribution to the weight of our luggage. Much of out reading was escapist, but we did discover that books about their history and culture added to

our appreciation of the countries we visited.

11 We expected, of course, to be ill. Nothing serious, you understand, because we’d been inoculated against everything. But we confidently feared food poisoning, snake bites, insect stings and a variety of alien fevers. In the event I caught a cold and Carole had to have a filling replaced in Melbourne, the home of dentistry.

12One reason for our good health was that as our journey progressed we gradually became fitter. Neither of us was in very good shape when we left home. We hadn’t had time to get fit, what with all the stresses and strains of preparing to go.

13As the days turned into weeks the people we stayed with commented on how well we looked, and how young. We felt it. We also felt something else. We felt free.

14It couldn’t last, of course. As months and continents passed, the pull of home and loved ones strengthened. Again there came a moment when we asked each other “Shall we go home?” This time, though, it was because we’d had enough, not because we were afraid.

15We arrived back a year and a week after we left. After a month we recognized that being back home really had been hard!

Ex. 4. Read the article more carefully to find the answers to these questions.

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Ex. 1. Discuss with your partner:

Have you ever stayed as a guest in someone else’s house?

What are the good points and bad points about staying away from home? Have you ever had a guest staying in your house?

What are the good points and bad points about having guests?

Ex. 2. Think of 5 things you should do when you are a guest in someone’s house and 5 things you shouldn’t do. Use the topics in the box to help you.

Think of 5 things you should do when you have a guest in your house and 5 things you shouldn’t do. Use the topics in the box to help you.

meals television sleeping furniture bathroom kitchen music telephone

Ex. 3. Discuss with your partner:

1. What do you think the advantages of swapping homes with another family from a different country as a holiday?

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2. Are there disadvantages or dangers

Ex. 4. Read the text and choose the right heading for each part of the text.

CHANGING PLACES

ADAVANTAGES OF HOME-SWAPPING MAKING CONTACT

FINDING YOUR MATCH

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Hotels and tourist trips don’t always give you the freedom to enjoy a holiday the way you want it. Why not swap your home with another family and find out what life is really like in your dream destination.

A change may be as good as rest, but when it comes to holidays, more and more people are discovering that home exchange - swapping your house with another family - is a good deal better than a package.

For a start, it’s a financial winner. Compared with the daunting cost of even the most reasonable fortnight in the sun in a hotel or rented apartment, you will be paying literally nothing for accommodation.

There’s also the pleasantly reassuring feel that both houses are therefore occupied and not an open invitation to burglars and vandals.

And instead of a soulless hotel, you are part of a genuine community, probably with your host’s friends and neighbours helping to make you welcome.

If both families have children they will make local friends – and have the run of the resident toy cupboard. Experienced swappers agree that living as guests in someone else’s house encourages mutual respect for each other’s property – although it is probably sensible to pack away vulnerable treasures.

Some of the most successful home-swap holidays have made firm friends if the families involved – with the children becoming pen pals and even getting together to organize their own combined holidays in subsequent years.

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How do you set about house swapping? Unless you can make your own arrangements privately through friends and contacts, the most practical way is to use one of the specialist agencies who put potential clients in touch with each other, either around the UK or worldwide. These companies differ in the services they offer, but in most cases you pay a registration fee (from ₤15 upwards) to be included in a directory which is then circulated to prospective swappers in the country of your choice.

In some cases you will be asked to fill in a comprehensive form, listing everything about your home from the number of beds and bathrooms to whether there are pets to look after or plants to water. There will usually be a photograph of your house in the directory - and perhaps also of your family – as well as the holiday dates you have in mind and your particular preferences as to location: town, country, seaside and so on.

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Some agencies just put families in touch through their directories and thereafter leave all the arrangements to you; others will visit and vet individual properties, taking trouble to match every family’s requirements, and some will also arrange air travel for you – and obviously charge accordingly.

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Once you’ve received your directory and settled on some “possibilities” you like the look of, it’s sensible to write at once to several of them; all agencies stress the importance of getting your holiday arrangements made well in advance.

Having made initial contact with “your” family, you should start to establish a relationship by post or, if practical, by telephone. You can them exchange photos and appropriate information.

When it comes for preparing for our guests, remember that they will be holidaying in a strange place, so it’s worth spending time putting together an information folder with phone numbers for emergency services, doctor, police and so on, as well as details of local shops, restaurants, travel timetables and availability of baby-sitters. Include any instructions they may find useful for dealing with pets, houseplants or refuse collection. If you have a burglar alarm or complicated kitchen equipment, leave clear how-to use details. It’s also a good idea to contact your local tourist office for brochures on excursions, stately homes, theme parks and other local interests, so that you can leave your visitors with plenty of ideas for things to do and places to see.

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Unless one family plans to arrive before the other has left, it’s vital that you make failsafe arrangements for someone to meet the new arrivals, hand over the keys and make them welcome. In any case, do ask your neighbours to take a helpful interest. It’s a nice idea to leave some basic provisions for the first couple of meals and perhaps a bottle of wine, but don’t overcater by filling the freezer and inviting them to help themselves; part of the fun of a holiday is exploring local shops and cooking “foreign” food, and although you may not think of your local Co-op as a treasure house of rare delicacies, it could well seem to your guests.

Remember, too, if cars are included in the swap, to make sure that insurance arrangements cover everything, and that there’s petrol in the tank. It’s usual for services such as gas and electricity to be paid by the host family in each case, but any extra expenses such as long-distance telephoning should be settled up before the end of the holiday.

The departing family should also make sure they leave the house exactly as they found it, and replenish dwindling stocks of household goods such as loo paper or light bulbs. And a vase of flowers’ (not from the host’s garden!) with a thank-you note will show your appreciation to the returning owner.

Ex. 5. Comprehension questions.

1.What two ways of making contact are mentioned?

2.What do you give to the agency? What can the agency do for you?

3.What are some important things to do once you have found a family who want to swap?

4.What information could be useful to the family?

5.What should you arrange or provide for the guest family before they arrive?

6.What should the guest family do before they leave?

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Ex. 6. Complete these two paragraphs in your own words to summarize the article.

AExchanging houses is a good idea for holiday because_____________

BThe best way of contacting a family is__________ because__________

COnce you’ve contacted a family you should ______________________

DBefore your guest family arrives you should______________________

Ex. 1. In this text 6 journeys are described. Unscramble the stories. Give a heading to each of them.

June 29th ... June 30th ... July 1st. And they're off. Suitcases packed. Notes left for the milkman. Arrangements made for the budgerigar to be looked after. They are all off.

Uncle Bill and Auntie Jane are on the quayside at the cross-channel port of

Dover - the first stage of their Mediterranean cruise - 'the voyage of a lifetime’ their travel agent called it. They've been through customs (half an hour's delay while suitcases were emptied in search of missing passports) and they'll be embarking soon. When they go aboard, Bill will finally be allowed to take boarding cards out of his mouth.

Granny's at the coach station armed with her special old-age pensioner's season ticket - a kind of awayday, runabout, extended period, half-price ticket rolled into one. Today she's off on a one-day sightseeing excursion to Stonehenge, Blackpool Tower and Canterbury Cathedral.

Julia's with her boyfriend at the airport, kicking their cases through the departure lounge of what they hope is Terminal 3 and the right place to be for the package holiday charter flight that their tour operator assured them leaving sometime this morning. To their right, the 1st class passengers are sipping champagne cocktails; to their left, those in economy and tourist class are drinking coffee from the machine and, under their feet, those on stand-by, are looking hopefully up from their sandwiches.

Mum and Dad are already on the open road. They decided to make an early start on their touring holiday through the Loire valley. ‘Your turn to drive now. Come on, let's get moving. Switch on, then. OK, it's all clear. Pull out, there's nothing coming. Well, take the handbrake off. Right, indicate. Come on, drive away. At last! Right, keep over. Keep to the right. Change gear, then. Come on, accelerate!'

'Porter!' 'Sir?' 'How much?' '50p.' 'No thanks; I'll manage my own luggage’. Uncle Mac is about to board the 10.40 inter-city express to Glasgow for a fortnight’s holiday back in the homeland. 'Do I have to change?' 'No, it's a through train, sir, non-stop all the way.' It looks as if quite a few expatriates have had the same idea. The compartments all look full - especially the non-smokers - and the already sounds like Glasgow on the night of a CelticRangers football match.

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