UNIT VIII

TRAVEL

A. READING

Reading 1

Preview

1. Which form of transport do you usually use to go to work/travel on business/go on

holiday?
2. Do you often travel on business? On holiday?
3. What is your favorite destination?
4. What do you like about travelling? What do you not like?

Yotel: the ultimate experience in airport hotels

Yotel is a new chain of budget airport hotels where guests stay in small individual
cabins. Situated in one of the terminal buildings at Gatwick Airport, the first Yotel in the UK
offers passengers a place to catch up on their sleep if they have an early flight, a delay, or a
long wait between connections. You can check in for a four-hour block and you don’t have to
make a reservation.

Check-in happens at a machine in Reception where guests pick up a key card to their
cabin. Facilities include a techno wall containing a TV screen with a wide selection of films,
radio, games, and the internet. The 10m2 premium cabins have a double bed which converts
into a comfortable sofa and the 7 m2 standard cabins have a single bed instead. Both cabins
have shower rooms, and luggage can be put under the bed. There is no need for a safe.
 To check out guests use a credit card in the machines to pay their bill. While guests in
other hotels have to take a shuttle bus to the airport, Yotel guests walk straight to the check-in
desk, through the departure lounge, and waste no time in boarding their plane.

Answer the following questions:

1. How are Yotels different from other hotels?

2. When might passengers want to use a Yotel?
3. What facilities are there?
4. How do Yotels save passengers time?

Reading 2
In the past, business travel was cool and exciting. But interviews with 1,600
travelers show modern travel is stressful and boring.
Nowadays, this rarely happens. Most modern travelers expect to be late. The
problems start at check in. There are long queues at passport control and the gate.
Then if the planes aren’t late, they can often be cancelled.
Everyone agrees this is important, but the rules for bags and hand luggage are
making journey longer.
47% don’t get proper sleep. Business class helps, and the difference between a
window or aisle seat can improve a journey, but more and more companies are
saving money and choosing economy class for their employees.

The successful business trip includes high-speed connections to the internet at

the airport terminal and hotel.

Answer the following questions

1. How was business travel in the past?
2. Based on the interview, why is modern travel stressful and boring?
3. What problems can arise with the procedures of traveling by plane?
4. What must hotels and terminals have to make the successful business trip?

B. VOCABULARY

Exercise 1
Math the word in bold in the text to these definitions.

1. Show your ticket and passport here and get your boarding card. ---------------------
-------
2. Get on the plane here. -------------------------
3. Show your passport here. -------------------------
4. Two types of tickets. -------------------------
 5. Pack this and carry it onto the plane. --------------------------
6. Pack these and check them in. ---------------------------
7. Building where you arrive and leave. -------------------------
8. Lines of people. -----------------------
9. When the plane doesn’t go. ---------------------------
10. Two places to sit on the plane. ---------------------------

Exercise 2

Complete the sentences using the words given on the list

credit card room table room service

internet access reservation breakfast wake-up call

1. I have a ………………………. for tonight.

2. Can I see your………………………., please?
3. Your ………………………. Is on the fifth floor.
4. What time is ……………………………… served?
5. Do I need to book a ………………………………?
6. This is Mis Chiang in room 501. Can I have a …………………………?
7. Do the rooms have ……………………………? I can’t log on.
8. I’d also like dinner in my room. Do you have………………………….?

Exercise 3
Choose the best word to fit the gap

1. You need to ……………. your seat 24 hours before departure or they may cancel
your reservation.
A. book C. reconfirm
B. register D. arrange

2. Their flight was delayed due to engine ……………….

A. failure C. collapse
B. defeat D. crash

3. Please send us a copy of her ……………… so that we can arrange transport.

A. Journey C. map
B. itinerary D. route

4. The hotel restaurant is not open 24 hours, but room ……………. is always
available.
 A. menu C. catering
B. waiter D. service

5. The journey took ages. We were stuck in a traffic …………… as soon as we left
the airport.
A. stop C. accident
B. light D. island

6. Before negotiating a deal make sure you know the strengths and weaknesses
of………………. product.

A. competing C. conflicting
B. commanding D. connecting

7. A good salesperson can …………… almost anybody to buy anything.

A. satisfy C. appeal
B. persuade D. adapt

8. Once they agreed terms the deal was pushed …………… very quickly.
A. over C. through
B. in D. by

9. The goods will be delivered by Wednesday at the …………

A. last C. longest
B. least D. latest

10. The most effective sales technique is one which tells the customer how the
product will ………..
A. better C. improve
B. profit D. benefit

C. Structure

Comparatives and Superlatives

Study these examples:

Comparatives

Let’s go by car. It’s cheaper.

Don’t go by train. It’s more expensive.

It’s cheaper to go by car than to go by train.

Cheaper and more expensive are comparative forms.

After comparatives we use than.

We use – er for the comparative of short adjectives and adverbs.

Cheap/cheaper hard/harder large/larger thin/thinner

We prefer – er with some two syllable adjectives, especially adjectives ending in –y.

Lucky/luckier funny/funnier easy/easier pretty/prettier

Quiet/quieter clever/cleverer narrow/narrower simple/simpler

Early/earlier

We use more…… (not – er) for other two-syllable adjectives and longer adjectives.

More modern more serious more comfortable more careful

More carefully more quietly more seriously more slowly

Superlatives

What’s the longest river in the world?

What was the most enjoyable holiday you’ve ever had?

Yesterday was the hottest day of the year.

 Longest and most enjoyable are superlative form.

We use – est or most….. to form the superlative of adjectives and adverbs. In

general we use –est for shorter words and most…. for longer words.

long/longest hot/hottest easy/easiest hard/hardest

But:

most famous most boring most difficult most expensive

Exercise 1

Complete these sentences by the correct form of comparatives or superlatives

1. More expensive hotels are usually …………………… (comfortable) than

………………… (cheap) ones.
2. Could you speak a bit ……………… (slowly)?
3. This jacket is too small. I need a ………………………(large) size.
4. Passengers are asked to wait in the departure lounge and watch the screens for
…………(far) information.
5. A …………(expensive) option is to take a taxi.
6. They would be ………. (happy) in their jobs and so they’d be …………..(polite) to
customers.
7. The hotter the food is, ……………(hard) it is to eat.
8. Alaska is ……………(cold) of all the states in the United States.
9. The directions to the exercise say to choose ………………. (appropriate) response.
10. Protein molecules are ………………. (complex) than the molecules of carbohydrates.

Exercise 2
Choose the correct word to complete the sentence

The (1later/latest) report from the Executive Watch Foundation shows that executive
pay is becoming the (2biggest/bigger) worry of corporate governance even
(3most/more) worrying than the question of the independence of auditors. In the USA
the SEC is already proposing new and significantly ( 4tough/tougher) rules that are
designed to make it (5more easily/easier) for shareholders to nominate candidates to
company boards. It is hoped that this will lead to ( 6greater/more greater) independence
for directors and to (7lowest/lower) remuneration packages for executives. Company
directors and senior managers may also be about to receive far ( 8 less/lower) benefits
such as stock options. The research has also be shown that the companies that provided
 the (9greatest/greater) number of stock options to executives were also those whose
performance was the (10 worse/worst).

D Language function

Hi, Jana. Hope you’re feeling better.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to see you on Thursday.
Let me know when you’re next going to be in town.
Look forward to hearing from you.

Your training manager has asked me to write to you.

It’s about organizing language training.
I’ll call you at the end of the week.
If you have any queries, please call me.

Saying thank you

Many thanks for helping out with the conference.

I would like to apologize for the problems we had.
Let’s hope we have better luck next time.

I would like to invite you to lunch next week.

Are you free for lunch for Friday?
Let me know if you can come.
Many thanks for the invitation.
I’d love to come.

We are sorry to inform you that Raj Singh has left the company.
I was very sorry to hear about Raj.
Please pass on my best wishes.

E Dialogue

Match the two parts of the sentences

1. I am sorry to inform you that I

2. I’ll call you when I
3. Let me know when you are next
4. I’d like to thank you for
5. I look forward to
6. I hope that the party
7. Unfortunately, the event clashes with
8. It was very kind of you
9. I need to tell you what is

a. hearing all your news.

b. goes well.
c. all your help.
d. (going to be) in London.
e. will be out of the office next week.
f. to invite me.
g. happening next week.
h. get back to Cairo.
i. an important meeting.