TÀI LIỆU ÔN THI HSG KHỐI 12 - TUẦN 1

I. LISTENING (5 points)
Part 1. For questions 1-6, listen to part of a radio arts programme, in which two people, Arthur and Carla, are
discussing a book called Windworld and decide whether the statements are True (T) or False (F) according to what
you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided (1.5 pts)
1. Both agree that the portrayal of key individuals in the story is not confidently handled.
2. Authur thinks that the historical information fits the period in which the novel is set.
3. To Carla, the inclusion of too many scientific facts undermines the story.
4. According to Carla, Windworld is aimed at a different audience to that of Swallow’s other books.
5. There is an agreement between Authur and Carla that the story benefits from the inclusion of autobiographical
elements.
6. Carla believes that a film version of this novel should only focus on personal elements.
Your answers:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Part 2. For questions 7-15, you will listen to an interview about HIV. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS
taken from the recording for each answer (2.25 pts).
The patient has not been affected by HIV over a course of 18 months without taking any (7) ____________. There are a
host of similarities between the London patient and the (8) ____________ patient, who was treated around 10 years ago.
The London patient underwent both pretty rigorous (9) ____________ and a stem cell transplant as part of the treatment.
It is the (10) ____________ that has taken hold in the London patient, thereby his HIV (11) ____________.
Doctors are cautious about giving this procedure the name “a (12) ____________” .
There’s a demand that doctors pinpoint the reason why this (13) ____________ transplant has the effect in some cases
whereas not in others.
The Berlin patient was being treated actually for a very aggressive (14) ____________ .
The adjectives used to describe the treatments for the London patient were “advanced”, “rigorous” and (15)
“____________”.
Part 3. For questions 16-20, you will hear a radio interview with Olivia Glydon and Ron Partridge, who are
hyperpolyglots, people who can speak many languages. Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D which fits best
according to what you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided (1.25pts).
16. Olivia and Ron both say that their motivation for learning so many languages is
A. the possibility of communicating with people around the world.
B. their fascination with language systems.
C. their ability to master languages extremely quickly.
D. the challenge of achieving native speaker fluency.
17. What did Ron learn about hyperpolyglots when he was researching his book?
A. They do not have any special genetic features.
B. They usually have a history of multi-lingualism in the family.

C. They are part of a relatively recent phenomenon.

D. They usually focus on the same group of languages.

18. When discussing reactions to their hyperpolyglotism, Ron agrees with Olivia that
A. people often make the wrong assumptions about their personalities.
B. it is surprising how much attention they attract.
C. people cannot see the point of learning so many languages.
D. it is touching how eager people are to help them.
19. How does Olivia feel about spending so much time on the internet?
A. proud of the intensity with which she studies
B. defensive about the choices she makes
 C. worried that she is becoming isolated from her friends
D. embarrassed about her enjoyment of soap operas and chat shows
20. What point does Ron make about one East Asian language?
A. He finds it particularly appropriate in one situation.
B. He hopes to keep it alive for posterity.
C. It has not kept up with modern developments.
D. It has a special religious significance among its speakers.

Your answers:
16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

II. LEXICO-GRAMMAR (2 points)

Part 1. For questions 21-35, choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to each of the following questions. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided (1.5pts).
21. In the middle of his eloquent ________, the audience suddenly broke into applause.
A. provocation B. oration C. illusion D. ovation
22. Nick’s mom has turned her home into a halfway house for _________ relatives and stray dogs.
A. tumble-down B. down-and-out C. run-down D. downcast
23. Those naughty boys went on making terrible noise in the park even though they had been ________ by the annoyed
constable.
A. beavered away B. weaseled out of C. ticked off D. clammed up
24. The collapse of the company will have ____________ for the whole industry.
A. enigmas B. repercussions C. propensities D. affinities
25. She had the _________ habit of saying exactly what she thought.
A. disembodied B. disconcerting C. dismissive D. discordant
26. The graduates of this medical school are considered to be _______ in cardiology.
A. the icing on the cake B. the big cheese
C. the cream of the crop D. the captain of industry
27. The eyewitness said that she had seen a man ________ around outside the factory just before the fire started.
A. prowling B. lumbering C. languishing D. rummaging
28. Among bees ________ a highly elaborate form of communication.
A. do occur B. occurs C. it occurs D. they occur
29. I am just speaking ________ here – I haven’t seen the results yet.
A. beyond the pale B. in deep water C. off the cuff D. on the hop
30. It was a difficult concept to grasp, but I soon ________.
A. latched onto B. chalked up C. churned out D. leafed through
31. I am __________ aware of the difficulties we face.
A. acutely B. gregariously C. woefully D. garrulously
32. This insect is completely _______, I have never seen anything like that before.
A. out of the way B. out of sight C. off the way D. off the track
33. Did you see Jonathan this morning? He looked like ________. It must have been quite a party last night.
A. a wet blanket B. a dead duck
C. death warmed up D. a bear with a sore head
34. When will you realise that it was your self-righteous and ________ attitude that prevented you from learning better
ideas from other people?
A. vociferous B. impeccable C. intact D. bigoted
35. The Government is trying to _________ when it says it will spend more on the health service without raising taxes.
A. chew the fat B. wave the flag C. square the circle D. put the lid
Part 2. For questions 36-40, write the correct form of each bracketed word in each sentence in the numbered space
provided in the column on the right (0.5pt).
Your answers:
36. Steroids often help reduce the ______ (FLAME) and itching in 36. _______________ the skin.
 37. There is a strong smell of ______ (INFECT) in the hospital. 37. _______________
38. His last book is a bold, at times _________(REAL) mixture of fact and fancy. 38. _______________
39. The winners gave themselves a ______ (CONGRATULATE) round of applause. 39. _______________
40. He is such a ______ (STRONG) person. He is determined to do things his own way and refuses to listen to
advice. 40. _______________
III. READING (5 points)
Part 1. For questions 41-50, read the passage and fill in each of the following numbered blanks with ONE suitable
word. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided (1pt).
ART HISTORY
People who enjoy paintings are sometimes (41) ________ to analyse them for fear of spoiling the richness and spontaneity
of their experience. It has been suggested that some of the work done by art historians, whose concern is (42) ________
theory rather than practice, ignores and indeed denies the aesthetic experience, the fundamental pleasure of looking, as
well as the very special act of artistic creativity. This view is a bit like the notion that knowing the (43) ________ of the
recipe, recognising the method of cooking and seeing the utensils
(44) ________ detracts from the taste of the dish.
Acknowledging the importance of enjoying something does not, of course, preclude a thorough knowledge of the object
that is arousing pleasure. It might in fact be more pleasurable if we know more about the object we are viewing. (45)
________, pleasure is not a simple matter. The arousal of our senses – and how we recognize and register it – is itself (46)
________ to interrogation. It is also historically located. Why we like particular characteristics of certain sorts of objects at
any one time is not simply the (47) ________ of our genes or our own particular personalities but is determined by values
promoted within the society of which we are a part. So, while no one seeks to underestimate the importance of sensuous
and instinctive (48) ________ to art objects, the notion that the sensuous is undermined by the intellectual is a (49)
________ from a period in the past which promoted art as a(n) (50) ________ to thought.
Your answers:
41. 42. 43. 44. 45.
46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

Part 2. Read the following passage and do the tasks that follow (1.3pts).
For questions 51-54, read the passage and choose the correct letter A, B or C. Write your answers in the
corresponding numbered boxes provided.
THE MAGNETIC ATTRACTION OF PHYSICS
It’s amazing what you can do with a few paperclips and margarine tubs, says Richard West, head of science and
physics at St Peter’s school in Wolver Hampton. A group of his students has been taking part in the annual “paperclip
challenge” at Leicester University, part of the school’s attempts to get pupils interested in physics. These extend to an
after-school animal club for year 7s, with a posse of rats, rabbits and geckos to look after. Efforts to “sell physics very
hard” to the younger pupils has paid off, and this year the school has a record forty students studying A-level physics, and
helping to make the science results the best of any subject in the school. “Success breeds success,” West explains. “We’d
like more girls doing physics, but we are proud of what we are achieving. Physics is successful in this school, first and
foremost because of the people who teach it.” And the animal club?” It makes the pupils love science, so they go on to
love physics.” What this school is doing goes against the national trend, where the take-up of physics – at school and
university level – has been in free-fall for the past two decades. It has become a big concern to the scientific and business
communities, and to education ministers. Even given the likelihood of extra funding and new initiatives to boost the take-
up of science in tomorrow’s budget, the reality is that physics is seen by many teenagers as too difficult.
There is a widening gender gap, and attempts to encourage more girls to study physics have stalled.
Two reports funded by the Gatsby charitable foundation and carried out by the Centre for Education and
Employment (CEE) have analysed the trend. They have noted that, amid the general drift downwards, there are schools
where the numbers taking physics are holding up at twice the national average. Most are grammar and independent
schools, which select their intakes and can attract high-quality teachers. However, there are a sizeable number of
comprehensive schools enjoying a healthy take-up. Today the Buckingham University-based CEE publishes its third study,
Bucking the Trend, reporting on visits to such state schools, to discover what they are doing right, and what other schools
can learn from them. The report, by Professor Alan Smithers and Dr Pamela Robinson, has a practical aim: to suggest what
might be done to reverse the swing away from physics in schools. The new study contrasts with the first two, both of
which made gloomy reading. The first carried the results of a survey which indicated that physics – through redefinition
and teacher shortages – was in danger of dis-appearing as an identifiable subject from much of the state sector. The second
showed that A-level physics entries have halved since 1982. This has impacted on universities: more than a quarter of them
have stopped teaching physics since 1994. With fewer students studying physics at university, the pool of prospective
teachers is also shrinking. For the new report, Smithers and Robinson visited fourteen comprehensives with the highest
proportions of A-level physics students in the earlier national survey (including the two mentioned above), and three at the
bottom. In “high-physics” schools, they found physics being taught as a recognisable subject from year 9 onwards, by
expert and enthusiastic teachers. For this to happen successfully, they say, a number of things have to come together: a
desire to do it, good leadership, a core of well-qualified teachers, a focused and fun curriculum, good results, and a critical
mass of able pupils. The head of science at a “low-physics” school that has recently achieved science specialist status told
the researchers: “At the moment there is precious little specialist physics at key stage three, which leaves year 10 with the
mind-set that they can’t do physics. When a physicist says to a student “you are good at this”, the student will believe it.
They have confidence in our comments, when they might not have if they were coming from a non-specialist”. For the
decline in physics to be reversed, it has to be important to the schools, the authors of the report say. The top physics school
in the study (which is not identified) had turned itself around by appointing a determined head of physics, who restructured
the curriculum and brought together a strong team of staff. In contrast, a school with hardly any pupils doing A-level
physics prided itself on its performing arts; pupils were frequently taken out of science lessons for drama and music
rehearsals. The report warns that, because there are not enough good physics teachers to go around, some schools may be
teaching science, rather than physics as a separate subject, simply because they are unable to recruit specialist staff. “It is a
chicken-and-egg situation,” says Smithers. “The physicists teaching tend to gravitate to schools where they can teach their
subject, rather than the sciences generally. If a school declares itself for physics, and offers specialist teaching, it will find
it more possible to attract high-quality physics teachers. For there to be a major revival of school physics, teacher shortage
must be addressed. Not only is it difficult to recruit physics graduates to teaching, it is hard to retain them.” Robinson adds:
“One reason is that they sometimes find themselves the only physicist in a school straight after training, and all the
responsibilities are heaped on their shoulders before they are ready. Improving retention would do much to reduce the
shortage of physics teachers”. Several of the successful schools suggested that they could play a part in smoothing the
entry of the newly qualified into teaching. “We’d love to provide a specialist training centre for the newly qualified,” says
West. The report recommends a feasibility study leading, in the event of a favourable outcome, to the funding of a pilot
scheme along these lines.
51. Teachers at St. Peter’s school have failed to
A. help students to achieve better results in physics.
B. persuade students to enjoy physics more than biology.
C. persuade as many girls as they would like to study physics.
52. Not enough students are studying physics because
A. there is not enough money to fund courses.
B. it is perceived as too difficult.
C. people do not see the value of studying it.
53. The third CEE report
A. says that more schools are teaching physics well.
B. says that it is inevitable that the teaching of physics will decline further.
C. focuses on how the teaching of physics can be widened and improved.
54. Physics teachers tend to go to schools where they
A. are paid more money.
B. can teach physics rather than science.
C. can work alone.
Your answers:
51. 52. 53. 54.

For questions 55-59, read the following sentences and fill in each blank with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
taken from the passage. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
55. Students at St. Peter’s school take care of _______________ .
56. There is a _______________ even though there have been attempts to get more girls to study physics.
57. The number of _______________ is decreasing because fewer people are studying physics at university.
58. The latest CEE report looked at _______________ “high physics” schools.
59. The CEE report suggests that a _______________ be done to see if it is worth funding a programme to give specialist
training to newly qualified physics teachers.
Your answers:
 55. 56. 57. 58. 59.

For questions 60-63, decide whether the following statements are True (T), False (F), or Not Given (NG). Write
your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
60. The paperclip challenge is designed to see how creative physics students can be with paperclips.
61. Grammar and independent schools can choose their students.
62. A-level physics entries have gone down every year since 1982.
63. Keeping physics teachers at many schools is also a problem.
Your answers:
60. 61. 62. 63.
Part 3. In the passage below, seven paragraphs have been removed. For questions 64-70, read the passage and
choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap. There is ONE extra paragraph which you do not need
to use. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided. (0.7 pt)
SOCIAL CHANGE DOWN IN BLACK AND WHITE
We are increasingly being led to believe that advances in communications technology have brought us to the threshold of
the paperless society, one in which the book may be seen as a museum piece. However, for many of us, our progress down
this path may involve much dragging of heels.
64.
As soon as people discovered the secrets of paper-making, the communication of ideas and values really took off in an
unprecedented way. Scientific theories could be explained to a wider audience, knowledge could be more readily
accumulated by scholars, and literature, which had relied on oral tradition, gained a new lease of life in an ever-expanding
role.
65.
Within a thousand years, China well outstripped Europe in wealth. This was not only achieved through papermaking, but
also by virtue of other Chinese scientific achievements like gunpowder and developments in astronomy and navigation,
which helped the Chinese become the leading military and trading power.
66.
Such was the importance of paper to the wealth and power of the Chinese emperors that they were determined to keep the
process of paper-making a closely-guarded secret. But, as with other profitable knowledge, it was just a matter of time
before the secret became known, and other countries were then empowered to flourish through the spread of knowledge
and ideas that paper could facilitate.
67.
The principles of printing had, in fact, been known in China for several hundred years before the European ‘invention’ of
printing. The Chinese had been working with clay, but found that this wore down, so printers constantly had to make new
type. From there, they went on to wooden type. In fact, they did proceed to metal type, but were at a disadvantage, due to
the complexity of their language, which required many different types for the characters.
68.
It did not take long for this invention to catch on as the modern means to spread knowledge and ideas. By the end of the
fifteenth century there were sixty paper mills in Germany to satisfy the demands of the printing presses and printing had
been introduced to other European countries.
69.
As a result, books and knowledge were more accessible to the less well-off and, accordingly, the importance of literacy
was more widely recognised. This became the impetus for a virtuous cycle: with the availability of cheaper books,
education and literacy grew, and with the increase in the literate population there was a further rise in the demand for
books.
70.
None of the social or intellectual revolutions of the past few hundred years would have taken place with such rapid success
had it not been for paper. Likewise, paper and cheap printed material are responsible for the increasing growth of
education and the ascendancy of democratic principles. It is therefore no exaggeration to state that paper has played a
major role in shaping the modern world.
Missing paragraphs:
A. No sooner did this cultural advantage find its way into western hands than its exploitation began to be realised. The first
paper mill in Germany was set up towards the end of the fourteenth century, and it didn’t take long for the church to
 appreciate the potential role of paper in the expansion of its activities and teaching. From producing paper, it didn’t take
long for Europeans to make the next great leap that would open the floodgates to advances in civilisation.
B. The next consequence was the use of paper and printing to fuel revolution and social upheaval. The availability of
cheap printing technology enabled the Protestant Reformation to take off, with the publication of hundreds of thousands
of copies of Martin Luther’s writings. Recognising the power of the printed word, the Catholic church resorted to
desperate retaliatory action by attacking booksellers and destroying works that they did not approve of.
C. This should come as no surprise. After all, we have had over a thousand years to form a strong emotional attachment to
paper, which has, along with writing and printing, comprised the basis for the development and progress of society.
D. It was not long afterwards that William Caxton, an English merchant, retired from his business and went to Germany to
learn about printing. He took part in producing the first book to be printed in English, which was printed on a Flemish
press, and he went on, in 1477, to publish the first book printed in England.
E. However, such inventions and discoveries cannot, in themselves, account for the phenomenal growth of Chinese power
and influence. Credit for this progress must go to those tools at the disposal of the Chinese which enabled them to
exploit their discoveries and build on them: writing paper and another Chinese invention, block printing.
F. The massive surge in the production of books which followed as a result of the change from writing books by hand to
printing them enabled Europe to overtake China as the most advanced civilisation. Knowledge which has previously
been in the hands of the church, rulers and a handful of scholars soon became more widely available.
G. At the forefront of this great step towards civilisation were the Chinese. Around 105 AD, they invented paper and, from
the time of that crucial achievement, their civilisation developed in leaps and bounds. With the secret of paper-making
in their hands, the Chinese soon had the most advanced civilisation and China enjoyed hundreds of years of prosperity.
H. This lost knowledge was not only rediscovered when Johannes Gutenberg invented the type mould in the middle of the
fifteenth century, but vastly improved upon. His press used metal type, and was not only a revolutionary invention, but
was also one of the earliest precision instruments. The letters were of a uniform shape and size and could be locked
together in neat, even lines of text. It was a fairly straightforward matter to set up and print a few pages then rearrange
the type and use it again for other pages.
Part 4. For questions 71-80, read the following passage and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D which fits best
according to the text. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided (1pt).
Anthropology distinguishes itself from the other social sciences by its greater emphasis on fieldwork as the source
of new knowledge. The aim of such studies is to develop as intimate an understanding as possible of the phenomena
investigated. Although the length of field studies varies from a few weeks to years, it is generally agreed that
anthropologists should stay in the field long enough for their presence to be considered ‘natural’ by the permanent
residents.
Realistically, however, anthropologists may never reach this status. Their foreign mannerisms make them appear
clownish, and so they are treated with curiosity and amusement. If they speak the local language at all, they do so with a
strange accent and flawed grammar. They ask tactless questions and inadvertently break rules regarding how things are
usually done. Arguably this could be an interesting starting point for research, though it is rarely exploited. Otherwise,
anthropologists take on the role of the ‘superior expert’, in which case they are treated with deference and respect, only
coming into contact with the most high-ranking members of the society. Anthropologists with this role may never witness
the gamut of practices which take place in all levels of the society.
No matter which role one takes on, anthropologists generally find fieldwork extremely demanding.
Anthropological texts may read like an exciting journey of exploration, but rarely is this so. Long periods of time spent in
the field are generally characterised by boredom, illness and frustration. Anthropologists in the field encounter unfamiliar
climates, strange food and low standards of hygiene. It is often particularly trying for researchers with middle-class,
European backgrounds to adapt to societies where being alone is considered pitiful. It takes a dedicated individual to
conduct research which is not in some way influenced by these personal discomforts.
Nonetheless, fieldwork requires the researcher to spend as much time as possible in local life. A range of research
methodologies can be utilised to extract information. (1) These can be classified as emic or etic. (2) While emic
descriptions are considered more desirable nowadays, they are difficult to attain, even if the researcher does his utmost to
reproduce the facts from the natives’ point of view. (3) More often than not, aspects of the researcher’s own culture,
perspective and literary style seep into the narrative. Moreover, research generally involves translations from one language
to another and from speech into writing. In doing this, the meaning of utterances is changed. (4) The only truly emic
descriptions can be those given by the natives themselves in their own vernacular.
The least invasive type of research methodology is observation. Here, the researcher studies the group and records
findings without intruding too much on their privacy. This is not to say, however, that the presence of the researcher will
have minimal impact on the findings. An example was Richard Borshay Lee, who, in studying local groups in the Kalahari
refused to provide the people with food so as not to taint his research, leading to an inevitable hostility towards the
researcher which would not otherwise have been present.
A variant on the observation technique, participant observation requires that the anthropologist not only observes
the culture, but participates in it too. It allows for deeper immersion into the culture studied, hence a deeper understanding
of it. By developing a deeper rapport with the people of the culture, it is hoped they will open up and divulge more about
their culture and way of life than can simply be observed. Participant observation is still an imperfect methodology,
however, since populations may adjust their behavior around the researcher, knowing that they are the subject of research.
The participatory approach was conceived in an attempt to produce as emic a perspective as possible. The process
involves not just the gathering of information from local people, but involves them in the interpretation of the findings.
That is, rather than the researcher getting actively involved in the processes within the local community, the process is
turned on its head. The local community is actively involved in the research process.
71. The main premise of the text is
A. the steps to be followed when undertaking anthropological fieldwork.
B. a history of anthropological fieldwork methodology.
C. the effects that an anthropological fieldwork has on local communities.
D. the problems with conducting anthropological fieldwork.
72. The main reason for anthropological researchers remaining in a community for an extended period of time
is that
A. they can gather as much information as possible.
B. they can try out a range of different research methodologies.
C. they want local people to behave naturally around them.
D. they need time to become accustomed to the conditions.
73. What does the passage say about researchers who are considered a ‘clown’ by locals?
A. They do culturally unacceptable things without realising it.
B. They do not gain respect among high-ranking members of the community.
C. They cannot conduct any research of value.
D. They do not study the language and culture of the region before their arrival.
74. What does ‘gamut’ mean?
A. idea or impression B. prohibition or taboo C. range or extent D. secret or mystery
75. The writer believes that the most difficult aspect of fieldwork for educated westerners is
A. the lack of companionship. B. poor sanitary conditions.
C. failure to meet expectations. D. never being left alone.
76. In paragraph 3, it is implied that
A. the fieldworker’s emotions and mood prejudice the research.
B. the longer a researcher spends in the field, the more depressed he gets.
C. middle-class Europeans find field research more difficult than researchers from other backgrounds.
D. anthropological texts tend to exaggerate the difficult conditions that researchers experience.
77. Where in paragraph 4 does this sentence belong?
A native’s point of view of his own lifestyle is emic, while the analytical perspective of the outsider is etic.
A. (1) B. (2) C. (3) D. (4)
78. Why is the example of Richard Borshay Lee given in paragraph 5?
A. to demonstrate that observation is an ineffective method of gathering data.
B. to highlight why it is important that researchers minimize their impact on a community.
C. to show the dangers of researchers trying to lessen their impact on a community.
D. to show how a researcher’s choice of methodology can influence the validity of his findings.
79. How does participant observation differ from straightforward observation?
A. It requires the researcher to become actively involved in the daily lives of those being studied.
B. It allows the subjects of the research a greater degree of privacy.
C. It eradicates the problem of research subjects altering their behaviour towards researchers.
D. It takes longer to perform this type of research effectively.
80. Which of the following is NOT true of the participatory approach?
A. It attempts to reduce etic accounts of a culture to a minimum.
B. It does not require a researcher to be present.
C. It aims to involve the subjects in both information gathering and analysis.
D. It is the reverse of the participant observation technique.
Your answers:
71. 72. 73. 74. 75.
76. 77. 78. 79. 80.

Part 5. You are going to read a text about technology and travel. For questions 81-90, choose the best answer from
sections A-E. Some of the choices may be required more than once. Write your answers in the corresponding
numbered boxes provided (1pt).

HAS TECHNOLOGY ROBBED TRAVEL OF ITS RICHES?

We asked five experts.

A. Jan Morris
I began travelling professionally just after the Second World War, and I travelled mostly in Europe, where famous old
cities lay ravaged. Travelling in this disordered region was not easy. Currencies were hard to come by, visas were
necessary almost everywhere, food was often scarce, trams were grimy and unreliable and air travel was reserved largely
for privileged officialdom. I'm sorry to have to say it, because those times were cruel indeed for many Europeans, but I
greatly enjoyed my traveling then. The comfort and safety of modern transport means that while travel is a lot less fraught
than it used to be, it has lost some of its allure for me. Partly, I am almost ashamed to admit, this is because everybody else
does it too! Travelling abroad is nothing unusual, and even if we haven't actually been to the forests of Borneo or the
Amazon jungle, most of us have experienced them via television or the internet.
B. Pico Iyer
The world is just as interesting — as unexpected, as unvisited, as diverse — as it ever was, even though the nature of its
sights and our experience of them have sometimes changed. I once spent two weeks living in and around Los Angeles
airport — that hub of modern travel — and, although it wasn't a peaceful holiday, it offered as curious and rich a glimpse
into a new era of crossing cultures as I could imagine. Places are like people for me and, as with people, the wise, rich,
deeply rooted places never seem to change too much, even though they might lose some hair or develop wrinkles...
Though the tides of history keep washing against a Havana or a Beirut, for instance, their natural spiritedness or resilience
or sense of style never seems greatly diminished. My motto as a traveller has always been that old chestnut from the
writings of Marcel Proust: 'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new sights, but in seeing with new eyes'.
C. Benedict Allen
Now, the world is open to us all. Grab your camera or smartphone and hike! So these couldn't be better times for the
average person — we may all share in the privilege. Is it exploration? Well, if it's not advancing knowledge, no. Those
who today flock to the Poles are not explorers, they are simply athletes. Yet, exploration isn't entirely about assembling
proven fact. Dr David Livingstone made many discoveries in Africa but his biggest role was actually as communicator,
giving nineteenth-century Europeans a picture of the continent. Take Ed Stafford's recent walk along the length of the
Amazon. Not a greatly significant journey in itself, with twothousand miles of it along what is essentially a shipping lane.
Yet the journey was saved from irrelevance and self-indulgence because along the way he documented the Amazon for his
time, which is our time.
D. Vicky Baker
Personally, I relish the fact that we can forge new contacts all around the world at the click of a button and a quick email
can result in the type of welcome usually reserved for a long-lost friend. I also relish the fact that we're less likely to lose
touch with those whose paths we cross on the road and that we get to explore places we wouldn't have stumbled across had
we left it all to chance. Does all this detract from the experience? I hardly think so. There's nothing to stop you following a
random tip you saw on an obscure blog and ending up who knows where. Sure, it's a far cry from what came before, but
one day these will be the current generation's 'good old days'. And if you have the time and the money to go off into the
back of beyond without so much as a guidebook let alone a smartphone, if haphazard wandering is your thing, those days
aren't over either.
E. Rolf Potts
Many of the older travellers I met when I first started vagabonding fifteen years ago — some of them veterans of the 1970s
hippy trail across Asia — argued that my travel experiences were tainted by luxuries such as email and credit cards. These
days I am myself tempted to look at younger travellers and suggest that smartphones and micro-blogging are
compromising their road experiences. Any technology that makes travel easier is going to connect aspects of the travel
experience to the comforts and habits one might seek back home — and can make travel feel less like travel. There are
times when a far-flung post office encounter or directions scribbled onto a scrap of paper can lead a person into the kind of
experiences that make travel so surprising and worthwhile. That means 21st-century travellers must be aware of when their
gadgets are enhancing new experiences, and when those gadgets are getting in the way.

Which writer ... Your answers

• suggests that places retain their essential identity despite the passage of time? 81. ______

• refers to a tendency for each generation of travellers to look down on the next? 82. ______

• expresses a personal feeling of nostalgia for some of the hardships in the past? 83. ______
• feels that travel can still be spontaneous and unpredictable in the age of the internet? 84. ______
• explains how even seemingly pointless journeys can have a worthwhile outcome? 85. ______
• questions the use of a term in relation to one type of traveller?
86. ______
• reveals a slight sense of guilt in an attitude towards the modern traveller? 87. ______
• offers a word of caution for those who want to get the most out of a trip? 88. ______
• mentions valuable insights gained from observing other travellers? 89. ______
• insists that modern travellers can do without modern technology if they 90. ______
so desire?