Read the text about reasons why people travel. What do the words in bold mean?

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 734.

TOPIC 5 Is travelling a new world religion?

Around the world

MODULE 3

1.Answer the questions.

What is travelling itself?

What are other names for this activity? Find synonyms and the peculiarities of their meaning.

What is tourism?

Millions of people consider traveling to be the greatest experience in their lives. It is always great to escape from the routines of home and see something new and exciting. Besides traveling, you can also enjoy shopping, unforgettable sightseeing, meeting new acquaintances, eating exotic cuisine and, of course, diverse foreign cultures.

So, if you want to get away from the tedium and break loose from your studying or career, a package holiday is a good idea. Traveling is a great way to escape from it all. From the moment you board the plane you forget everything: your problems, depression, a broken heart – it seems like all your worries seem to vanish.

But of course, these are not the only reasons for traveling. Some people travel to broaden their experience of the world. For this reason they commonly visit historical places or travel historical routes. In addition more and more people these days are choosing “Cultural tourism”. It gives holiday makers an excellent opportunity to get to know how other people live, visit world-famous galleries, ancient temples, enjoy traditional food or take photos of spectacular views.

Most people still fancy the idea of a beach holiday. The idea of swimming in the azure Mediterranean Sea can be very alluring. If you want to relax and get a golden suntan, you should go to Spain, Turkey, Sicily or Greece. Just think about sandy beaches and clear warm water. The only sound is the breaking waves and the wind in the palm trees. Isn't it an extremely tempting idea? Sounds just like Paradise.

Let's not forget about young travelers. They are mad about places with vividnight life. The best destination for young tourists is Ibiza, Spain. There they can rave all night at disco parties and clubs. Some of them, who are keen on doing extreme sports, might also enjoy special resorts providing scuba diving, snowboarding, surfing, mountain skiing and skydiving. No word can describe the adrenaline rushyou undergo when doing an adventurous sport.

To summarize, it is necessary to mention that living out all your dreams and visiting all the places in a lifetime may seem impossible but, “If there is a will, there is a way.”

Why do people travel?

What kinds of tourism are mentioned in the text?

3.Read about different points of view on holidays and travelling and answer the True/False questions after the text. What do the words in bold mean?

Mr. and Mrs. Brown: "For our family camping is the purest form of recreation and the best source of enjoyment. For our big family of six (we have 4 children) it is out of the question to spend our holidays in hotels as it is far beyond our means. By camping we solve one of our financial problems. But besides that there are other advantages: we use our own car to travel and for Mr. Brown it is an idea of a perfect holiday. Cooking on the open fire is not a chore but a real pleasure for Mrs. Brown. Pitching tents, blowing up the air beds/preparing sleeping bags, unpacking cooking utensils and provision in a record time is an enjoyable challenge for our boys and girls. Fetching water and collecting brushwood for the camp fire is usually turned into a game or a competition and we are never bored as there are always so many things to do in the woods and at the river. Fishing and mushrooming are only two of the hobbies that we enjoy while we are camping."

Sheldrake, an expert on tourism: "I always hated holidays, even as a kid. Such a waste of time, sitting on the beach, making sandpies, when you could be at home, doing some interesting hobby. Then when I got engaged, we were both students at the time, my fiancee insisted on dragging me off to Europe to see the sights: Paris, Venice, Florence, the usual things. Bored the pants off me, till one day, sitting on a lump of rock beside the Parthenon, watching the tourists milling about, clicking their cameras, talking to each other in different languages, it suddenly struck me: tourism is the new world religion. Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists — the only thing they have in common is they all believe in the importance of seeing the Parthenon. Or the Sistine Chapel, or the Eiffel Tower."

Sally, an English teacher: "For me the world is a classroom. When I travel, I can learn so much. A visit to an aquarium can introduce me and my students to a great variety of fish and other water animals, while a walk through a garden will help us to discover interesting and unusual plants. Hike in a national park and you will become acquainted with even more plants, trees and wildlife. Somewhere during your holiday, you will most likely notice a monument, perhaps a building or a statue cut of stone or marble honouring a person or event. Go into a museum and you will see important works in the areas of art, history or science. In some countries you can tour palaces and castles where rulers or other important people live or used to live. In some places they may be completely destroyed and you can walk around the picturesque ruins and dream about the people who lived there and the historic events that happened there."

Jeremy Freeman, a Green Party member: "The footpaths in the Lake District have become trenches. The frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are being damaged by the breath and body heat of spectators. A hundred and eight people enter Notre Dame every minute: their feet are eroding the floor and the buses that bring them there are rotting the stonework with exhaust fumes. Pollution from cars queuing to get into Alpine resorts is killing the trees and causing landslides. The Mediterranean is like a toilet without a chain: you have a one-in-six chance of getting an infection if you swim in it. In 1987 they had to close Venice for one day because it was too full. In 1963 forty-four people went down the Colorado River on a raft, now there are a thousand trips a day. In 1939 a million people travelled abroad, last year it was 400 million.

By the year 2010 there were 650 million international travellers and five times as many people travelling in their own countries."

Decide whether the following statements are true or false:

1. The Browns don't have enough money for expensive holidays.

2. Mr. Brown doesn't enjoy driving.

3. Mrs. Brown doesn't mind cooking on the open fire.

4. The Browns' children took after their parents in their love of active rest.

5. Sheldrake used to be an enthusiastic tourist.

6. Sheldrake had a more interesting hobby than travelling.

7. Sheldrake thinks that all tourists have the same religion.

8. For Sally travelling is an important source of getting knowledge.

9. Mr.Freeman is very much concerned about the state of the Lake District and the Sistine Chapel.

10.Cars and buses exaust fumes that damage historic places of interest.

11.According to Mr.Freeman it is still safe to swim only in the Mediterranean Sea.

12.Mr. Freeman offers to take some urgent measures to decrease the number of international tourists.

What kinds of tourism are mentioned in the text?

Underline advantages and disadvantages of travelling that are given here.

Comment on the statement from the text “Tourism is the new world religion”.