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.