TEST. TOURISM

Complete the gap in the text with the missing sentence.

Staying in hotels and resorts has been a traditional part of travel since mass tourism began. But nowadays, many tourists want a more intimate experience. ...................... This often means staying in the kinds of places that local people inhabit. In big cities, try staying with the friend of a friend. You may end up sleeping on the couch or the floor, but the advantages outweigh the discomfort. The biggest plus is that you’ll be staying with a local and seeing the city from a local perspective.

CITY MAKES PROGRESS FOR DISABLED

This week is the first anniversary of mayor Alex Walker’s promise to make life in our city easier for disabled people. One year on, we asked disabled athlete Ayesha Omar to tell us about her experiences in the city.

Just over a year ago, City News invited me here for the day to do an interview; it turned out to be a visit I will never forget – unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons. As someone in a wheelchair, it was almost impossible for me to get around the city. There was not nearly enough access to public transport and I discovered that taxis were no better: none of them had the special doors I need to carry my wheelchair. The day was such a nightmare that I decided to write a story about my experience in the paper. After I wrote my story, mayor Alex Walker promised to make things better in the city and gave £6 million to the project. Last week, I returned to see if the city had improved.

I arrived at the train station early in the morning. One year ago, the station had only had stairs up to the exit. That meant that three men had to carry me off the platform which was by far the most embarrassing thing that happened to me during my last visit. This year, I saw immediately that they had built a new lift. ‘Wonderful!’ I thought – but then I remembered something – the buttons. On ‘normal’ lifts, the buttons are sometimes too high for a person in a wheelchair. That means that I have to ask someone to push the buttons for me. However, the lift in the station had buttons that were much lower so I was able to push them myself. I was really pleased with this.

I decided to take a taxi into the city centre, so first of all I needed to get some money from the bank. Again, I am very pleased to say that when I found the line of three cash machines outside the station, one of them was lower than the other two and so it was the right height for wheelchair users. Later that day, I took a bus and a tram and visited all the main museums, galleries and shopping centres. There was access for wheelchair users everywhere I went. Things are still not perfect and there is a long way to go but I can honestly say that Alex Walker has kept his promise to disabled people in the city!

Choose the true sentences

 Read Julia’s blog, Why I prefer to stay at home. What is her main point?

Why I prefer to stay at home

1   What was your last cinema experience like? I remember the expensive tickets, the long queues and the uncomfortable seats. Does this sound familiar? I love going out to see my friends, going to parties or clubs. I like having fun. However, I don’t really enjoy going to the cinema any more.

2  The other problem for me is the audience at cinemas. Although many people say that seeing a film at a cinema is a good chance to go out and be sociable, I really hate listening to other people’s comments. The last time I went to the cinema, there was a couple who commented loudly on everything in the film. They laughed at everything in the film, really loudly – even at things which weren’t funny! I politely asked them to be quiet. Despite this, they continued as if they were watching their own TV. If I watch something at home, I can invite my friends and spend time with people I know and like rather than sitting near noisy strangers.

3  Another reason for staying at home is convenience. I like to watch films or TV shows when I want to watch them, not at specific times. In spite of my love of films and TV shows, I don’t enjoy all of them. If I’m at home, I can stop the film and watch something else or I can fast-forward through the boring bits. For example, I was really disappointed with a film I saw last night – so I just switched it off!

4  While I watch a lot of films, I also watch a lot of TV shows online now. I really enjoy watching a whole series. It gives characters time to develop in interesting and unexpected ways. In fact, there are so many great TV shows to watch, I’ve hardly got time to go to the cinema.

5   So these days, when my friends invite me to the cinema, I usually say, ‘No thanks’. I really do prefer to watch films and TV series at home. I can choose what I want to watch, I can choose the time when I want to watch it and I can choose who I watch it with. The question really is: why should I go out?

Have you ever been on holiday without your parents?

Would you like to? Read this before you decide …

SAM

I come from a strange family. My parents have always believed that we should learn to look after ourselves from an early age. That included holidays. I remember my poor brother went on a canoeing trip on the River Thames with a cousin when they were both just twelve years old. They had a miserable time and have never really recovered from the experience. When I was fifteen, they decided I was old enough to go on holiday with just my best friend. ‘You’re going to hitch-hike to the Lake District with a tent and a backpack; you’re going to camp, up in the mountains, for a week; and then – if you’re still alive – you’re going to hitch-hike back again. ‘So we hitch-hiked for hundreds of kilometres, we camped, we got cold and wet and scared, and couldn’t afford to buy enough food. But, against the odds, we survived.

HARRIET

I’ve been on a number of holidays without my parents, but the first holiday was two years ago, when I was sixteen. Six of us decided to go backpacking in Wales during the school holidays. I booked cheap hotels before we left. The first two days were fine. But at the end of the second day, we lost our way. It was pouring with rain and it was getting dark. We eventually came to a farmhouse and knocked on the door. We were so dirty and wet that they didn’t let us into the house. We had to wait in the garage! But they let us phone the hotel. Anyway, the hotel manager kindly sent a car for us. But the next day it was still raining so we decided to take the train home. I’ve learned why no one goes backpacking in Britain in March – it rains non-stop and the fields are covered in deep mud. I’ve never had such a miserable time! My holidays since then have been in warm places with dry weather!

Choose true sentences.