практика английского языка
методическая разработка на тему

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HN

Nick McIver? Sorry to have kept you waiting.

NM

No problem. My pleasure, actually! I was just thinking to myself what a large selection of destinations you have on offer.

HN

Yes, that’s true – and it increases every day. It’s strange, if you go back to the 1960’s you find that the British were really very unadventurous in their holiday habits. Very few went abroad – most of them stayed in seaside resorts here. They were scared of ‘abroad’ – of foreign food, foreign water, foreign languages… you name it!

NM

So what happened?

HN

Well, I suppose you could say that the British discovered the European continental resorts, mainly Spain, then Italy, Greece and so on. And they found that many of these places catered for British tastes. As they became more adventurous, they also discovered that foreign food and customs weren’t as bad as all that!

NM

So the British started to travel.

HN

Yes, but the major revolution was in the cost of a holiday abroad. Foreign travel used to be the preserve of the rich, but with the rise of the package holiday industry, prices became cheaper and cheaper.

NM

Perhaps you could just explain to me what a ‘package holiday’ actually is?

HN

Sure. Essentially, it’s a holiday where everything is arranged for you: travel, the hotel – even meals.

NM

So the typical customer wants you to arrange everything for them?

HN

Many do, but then at the opposite end of the spectrum are the people who want us just to get them there. They do everything else themselves. There are more and more of these adventurous types, often going to far-away destinations – the jungles of Peru, the mountains of Nepal and so on.

NM

Anyone visiting a British town or city can’t help noticing the number of travel agencies that exist. It’s a big business. And you see the same companies, like Thomas Cook and Lunn Poly, in every town. Are you a member of a chain?

HN

No, we’re independent. But most travel agencies do belong to a chain. It’s a multi-million pound business, started by Thomas Cook, who invented the package tour.

NM

It must be very complicated, organizing holidays. Does anything ever go wrong?

HN

Sometimes we do get a few complaints – you know, the elderly couple who end up in a hotel next door to a disco that keeps them awake all night. We try to prevent this by having one of our staff visit the destinations we recommend. And then there are other problems. One of the more memorable was a lady who went to a resort and found the food absolutely disgusting. To make her point, she brought some of it back in a bag and emptied it on my desk!

NM

Oh dear! But tell me, Hugh, what is the trend in holidays today?

HN

The British traveler seems to be becoming more inquisitive, more adventurous. For example, more and more people are going to Russia for their holidays. They have a real interest in visiting a country which is largely unknown to them.

NM

So you make all these arrangements for your customers. Are you a well-organized traveler yourself?

HN

To be honest, I’m a bit of a disaster! It’s always a last-minute rush when I go abroad. In fact there was one occasion when I, the so-called organized travel agent, arrived at Heathrow airport to fly to Bologna in Italy and found I’d forgotten my passport. I missed my flight, had to get a plane to Rome, fell asleep on the train and missed my destination, and finally arrived twelve hours late! I can organize others, but not, it seems, myself.

NM

Hugh, you speak with a great enthusiasm about your work. I presume you enjoy it?

HN

Love it, absolutely love it. I came into the business because I have always been a keen traveler, and this allows me to combine business with pleasure. Nowadays we think we know the world, but we don’t. And there’s no more joy for me than to find a new place, a new area, a new country and then to see other people sharing the enjoyment by going there themselves.

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