Emelt szintű érettségi/8.

Utazás, turizmus

Travelling by train:

I hardly ever travel by train, perhaps once in a blue moon. I usually travel with my family or
friends I like to travel by car because this is the most comfortable means of transport.
When I need to cover long distances I like to travel by plane. This is the fastest. To tell
the truth, I don’t like travelling by rail because a seat in a first-class compartment is too
expensive for me, second-class carriages, however, are not always as clean as they should be.
They are likely to be crowded, stinky and noisy. On top of all that you have to be very time-
conscious throughout the whole journey so as not to miss your trains or connections and to be
everywhere on time. It is not terribly expensive and it is an excellent way to get to see the
countryside. On the other hand, the trains do not always leave and arrive on the dot. There
are cheap fares on trains especially for students, pensioners, large families and for those
working in the public services. When I travel by train, I like to sit facing the engine rather
than back to the engine. Last time I travelled by train when I ……………….. Fortunately, I
did not have to go to the ticket-office because I had bought the tickets in advance and had
reserved my seat. I took an inter-city train, which means that the train goes directly to the
destination and rarely stops. As it was an IC train, I did not have to change. The train pulled
into the station exactly on time. Types of trains: slow train, passenger train, fast train,
through train, direct train, non-stop express, freight train, goods train

Travelling by coach:

I hate travelling by coach. They are never on time due to traffic problems. Coaches are
likely to get stuck in traffic jams and it is quite bad that you cannot plan in advance because
you do not know for sure whether your coach arrives in time or not. Travelling by coach
during the summer can also be quite bad because coaches can be crowded and as people
sweat it smells rather unpleasant and I cannot stand that. Although there is air-conditioning
on some coaches, drivers want to save fuel, so they do not switch it on.

Travelling by plane:

I have never flown/I have flown to…… The greatest advantage is that air travel does save
time. It sometimes takes longer to get from a town to the airport than it does to fly from
Budapest to another capital a thousand or 2 kilometres away. It may not be the most
comfortable way of travelling though. It is definitely for those who are not afraid of flying,
but those who are nervous fliers think that it is tiring and exhausting. Also, during take-off
and landing your ears may pop, but if you open your mouth and swallow hard, this won’t
happen. A health risk that one has to face while travelling by air can be deep-vein
thrombosis. As I experienced, there is not much legroom in the economy class of an airplane,
which might result in the swelling of the calves, severe pains due to blood clots in the vein.
Low-cost airlines are the cheapast way of transport. It is possible to go from Budapest to
any European city just a few euros. The biggest difference is that these airlines do not serve
anything during the journey, but if you want to eat you have to pay a huge amount of money.
With low-cost airlines, even remote places are accessible for almost everybody. Such airlines
usually advertise themselves on the Internet and you can purchase your ticket on the
net, too. The earlier you order your ticket, the cheaper you can get hold of it. In the case of
some low-cost airlines you can also bargain for a cheaper ticket placing your offer to see
whether the company accepts it or not. Statistics show that air travel is safer than any other
way of travelling. Air crashes are rarer than serious accidents on the railways, let alone roads.

Travelling by ship:

I have travelled by ship several times on Lake Balaton, but most of these trips were pleasure
cruises on which I took my guests. A cruise on Lake Balaton is as delightful a pastime as one
might wish for. In Hungary you can also take one of the passenger boats which ply our big
rivers or the ferries that cross them regularly. From May to September there is a daily boat
service on the Danube between Budapest and Vienna, which takes about 5 hours. Big
ocean liners are real floating cities with all modern convenciences. They transport several
thousand passengers and together with the crew there are as many people on them as in a
small-sized town. The cabins are above and below deck. A cabin looks very much like a
compartment of a railway sleeping car. There ara many safety devices available on board a
ship, like lifeboat, lifebelts.

Travelling by car:

A lot of people use their cars when go to work or shopping. Cars are the fastest and the most
comfortable means of transport, but it is expensive to have a car today, because the petrol
is expensive. There are too many cars in the city, so there are lots of traffic jams –in the
rush hours- and cars pollute the air. Sometimes it is hard to find a parking place in the city
centre. If you want to drive a car, you have to learn the Highway Code and pass a test.
 Travelling by bike:

Riding a bicycle can be good, because it is fast, especially in the rush hours, moreover, bikes are
eco-friendly, they don’t pollute the air. However, cycling can be dangerous if there are not enough
cycle lanes in town. Luckily, in Debrecen there are more and more of them. It is very useful to wear a
crash helmet if you cycle in town, as it can protect your head in an accident.

Public transport: In big cities there is a network of public transport. For example, in Debrecen
there are different means of public transport:

- We can travel by bus. Buses go frequently in town, and there are many bus lines you can
choose from. You can buy a ticket or a monthly ticket. Monthly tickets are cheaper,
especially if you are a student, you can have a season ticket with 50 per cent discount . If you
use a ticket, you need to validate it in special machines on the bus, if you don’t, you
might have to pay a fine. Buses have some bad points: they are often crowded or even
overcrowded with passengers, and there are no empty seats, sometimes they don’t come in
time and we can be late for school or work.
- In Debrecen there are two tram lines. Both lines are very long, they go around the city in
different directions. The new trams are modern and accessible for disabled people. They are
more silent and more eco-friendly because they don’t use petrol, they use electricity. You
have to use the same ticket on trams as on buses.
- In Budapest you can use the underground to travel, it is fast and eco-friendly. There are four
underground lines in the capital, so it is easy to get around Budapest by underground.

Transportation and the environment:

Transportation activities support increasing mobility demands for passengers and freight,
while on the other, transport activities are associated with environmental impacts. These
impacts fall within three categories:

 Direct impacts: The immediate consequence of transport activities on the

environment where the cause and effect relationship are generally clear and well understood.
For instance, noise and carbon monoxide emissions are known to have direct harmful
effects.
 Indirect impacts:  They are often of a higher consequence than direct impacts, but the
involved relationships are often misunderstood and more challenging to establish. For
instance, particulates, which are mostly the outcome of incomplete combustion in an
 internal combustion engine, are indirectly linked with respiratory and cardiovascular
problems.
 Cumulative impacts: Climate change, with complex causes and consequences, is the
cumulative impact of several natural and anthropogenic factors, in which transportation
plays a role.

The complexities of the impacts have led to much controversy in environmental policy, the
role of transportation, and mitigation strategies. This is made even more complex by the fact
that priorities between environmental and economic considerations shift in time, which can
have an impact on public policy. The transportation sector is often subsidized, especially
through the construction and maintenance of road infrastructure, which tends to be free
of access. Total costs incurred by transportation activities, notably environmental damage, are
generally not fully assumed by the users. The lack of consideration of the real costs of
transportation could explain several environmental problems.

Holidays:

My best travelling experience is from ……… when I travelled to ……… to visit…….(5-6

sentences). My worst travelling experience is from ….. when I travelled to ….. to visit ….. (5-
6 sentences). My favourite place to go on holiday is …………. I would like to visit …. in the
future, because …….. (5-6 sentences).
I am a great traveller. In my opinion, travelling is the best way of relaxation and
recreation. When I am away, I am calm, balanced and undisturbed by anybody and I can
devote all my time to my family/friends/myself. In short, I take pleasure in travelling. I can
broaden my mind and learn about other people and cultures by visiting famous places,
leaning about customs and speaking foreign languages.
I quite often visit museums when I am on holiday. It is the best way
to learn about the history of the place that I visit. In Hungary, museums are open all week
except for Mondays. There are organised tours with well-prepared guides who show the
visitor every detail of the exhibit. I believe that Hungary, especially Budapest, has some
very interesting museums such as National Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts or the
House of Terror. I prefer individual travel to group travel. If you go on a package
tour, you have to be adaptable, you have no time to look at everything you are interested in
properly, and the worst thing is when you have a bad guide. He/She can spoil all your
holiday. Besides, the only thing that travellers seem to be interested in today is shopping.
Whereas on an individual tour, I am my own master, I depend on nobody and I can always
do what I like. On the other hand, if you travel individually, you can get lost.
How to prepare a journey? Before I go
on holiday, I like making preparations in advance. Fortunately, by now you have unlimited
possibilities to go practically anywhere in the world if you have enough foreign currency or
a credit card with a lot of money on your account. I usually go to several travel agencies to
enquire about. Buying some insurance and exchanging some money are important to me.
Most of the time I also buy or download maps or if I drive, I refresh my navigaton apps.
Finally, I always check the weather and pack my suitcase accordingly. As far as I know it
is enough to have a passport that entitles you to travel anywhere in the world without
any restrictions. For most of Europe, you don’t need a visa. Moreover, it is possible to have
only your identification card with you wish to travel whithin the European Union. There are
some countries which require you to have a visa, e.g. the USA.

Accomodations:

Camping is an ideal and cheap way of spending your holiday and it has become a great
pastime for holidaymakers all over the world. Campsites usually offer hot showers, flush
toilets, drinking water, cooking areas, washing-up facilities, guarded parking places,
electricity, bungalows, restaurants, bathing and washing facilities and sports grounds. It
is very romantic to sleep in a sleeping bag, looking at the stars hoping for a shooting star and
enjoying that you are absolutely free, far away from civilization and close to nature.
Popular forms of accomodations are private rooms and hotels. You can book a hotel
room on the phone or you might as well send an e-mail reservation. If they have vacancies
and they are not all booked up, they can usually offer you a choice of single rooms or
suites, rooms with or without showers or private baths. While booking, you have to make
sure what room you want to take. It is also good to ask about the price of the room per
night and what meals and facilities this price includes.

Crime: I think crime exist everywhere you go, but naturally people feel more secure in
their everyday surroundings. I normally pay much more attention to pickpockets when I
go to a crowded place, especially at a place I am not familiar with. If I stay at hotel, I always
lock my room and put my valuables into a safe. If I go camping, I never leave precious
things in my tent, because there is a bigger chance that they might disappear.
Tourism:

Accounting for over 10 % of the world’s GDP is an activity of global importance,

predicted to double in size every ten years. It is a multisectoral activity, in which
agriculture, construction, manufacturing, banking, catering and entertainment also
have their share in providing the necessary goods and services. Tourism plays a
significant role in many countries’s economic and social development. It is enjoyed
chiefly by the populace of developed countries. It is a booming business. The industry offers
a great variety of facilities and services, which range from package tours to the more unusal
kind: weather tourists (want to see tornadoes), training tourists (attend courses), snowbirds
(go south in the winter), agritourists (do farm work), nature tourists (observe animals and
plants), bird watcher or twicthers (specialise in watching birds), pot-holing fans (explore
underground caves), „Sun, sea and sand” lovers (relax ont he beach), Culture vultures (visit
museums, galleries and see all the sights), Activity holiday makers (enjoy „murder
weekends”), business tourists (take time to enjoy far-away places while on a business trip.
Tourism has significant positive impact
on country’s economy and culture: It makes profits, creates employment, improves
communication, stimulates investment, keeps alive and revives local traditions and crafts.
Unfortunately, it has negative impacts, too. The most significant environmental impacts
are the overuse of water and energy, and air pollution, noise pollution, sewage pollution.
Tourism my gradually erode a community’s identify and heritage. I really condemn people
who ruin all the wonders of the world including natural beauties, monuments, pictures, statues
and so on. It often causes in increase in the incidence of crime (theft, mugging,
prostitution, drug dealing and terrorism). The tourist industry may set unsatisfactory
working and employment conditions (long hours, low pay and poor chances of advancement).
Travelling is responsible for the rapid spread of diseases around the globe. Tourism frequently
increases prices, building costs and land values. Ecotourism responsible or
sustainable tourism, offers practical solutions to counteract the negative effect caused by
ever-expanding trend of tourism. Sustainable tourism aims to minimise adverse ecological,
cultural, economic and social impact and maximise benefits to conservation and to local
communities.