Answer Page

Once Upon a time

Read the following text attentively

      Travelling in the old days was more dangerous and eventful than now. People would travel on horseback or stage-coaches. All roads were not safe. Robberies were frequent and travellers were often attacked by highwaymen. And only few travelers escaped without being robbed of their purses.

      Nowadays, cars, buses and other means of transportation have replaced stage-coaches and ply between all large towns. Thanks to the evolution of technology. Tokyo becomes only six hours far from the furthest town in the world. Trains of great speed and huge planes besides ships and lorries as well as trains make it possible to carry not only passengers but also furniture and any other luggage whatever weighty it might be.

      However traveling is now so easy and comfortable that everybody young or very old can go everywhere and at any time. Some people favour conducted tours, and apply to a travel agency. Others prefer to organize their own journeys and choose their own route. Nevertheless all these means are costly. So tourists who are short of money prefer hiking and always argue that the cheapest way of traveling is walking .. even if it is a little bit slow.

I. COMPREHENSION
A/ Numbers and letters are matched correctly:
1.   Robberies------>a.   thefts
2.   highwaymen------>b.   thieves
3.   costly------>c.   expensive
4.   weighty------>d.   heavy

B/ Say if these sentences are true or false and justify.

  1. [FALSE] because travelling in the past was dangerous and roads were not safe.
  2. [TRUE] They can carry people as passengers; as well as furniture, and any other luggage.
  3. [FALSE] Walking is the least expensive way of traveling.

C/ Complete these sentences with ideas from the text:

  1. In the past, travelling on horseback was dangerous because of highwaymen who used to steal travellers.
  2. Nowadays everybody can travel easily thanks to the diversity of modern means of travel such as, trains, planes, cars, buses, lorries etc.

D/ Answer these questions about the text

  1. They used to travel on horsebacks or by stage-coaches.
  2. Because of robberies and highwaymen.
  3. By applying to travel agencies.


II. LANGUAGE:
A- Choose the correct answer:

  1. We should have thought of alternative sources of energy before now.
  1. Those people were worse at driving big cars.

B- What is the appropriate expression?
      WALKER: Can you give me a lift to the next village, please?
      DRIVER: I wish I could, but I'm not going there.

C- Rewrite the following sentences as indicated

  1. They have never thought of a means of travel as suitable for future needs as a flying saucer.
    - The flying saucer is the most suitable means of travel for future needs ever thought of.
  2. If you don't go by train, you won't arrive on time.
    - Unless you go by train, you won't arrive on time.
  3. Cowboys keep their horses in the stable.
    - Cowboys' horses are kept in the stable.
  4. The helicopter is not as cheap as a bicycle.
    - We wish the helicopter were as cheap as a bicycle.


III. WRITING:

Write about the advantages and disadvantages of the modern means of travel.

A SAMPLE
      The modern means of travel are the most interesting invention man has ever been able to think of and successful to realize. They make life easier, comfortable and less eventful than the past. People nowadays can travel long distances in very short time without even feeling exhausted. They really save time and a lot of effort.

      It is true that these modern means of travel such as planes, trains, ships, buses, trucks and cars to name only but the most important, make life easy and save a lot of time and effort; but their drawbacks are as numerous and dangerous as those of weapons themselves. The great speed of some vehicles has been the cause of many deaths. You can hear about plane crashes and car accidents from time to time. These things happen very so often. The dead toll of roads is inconceivable and considerable as that of wars. I don't think speed is a good thing vis-à-vis the means of travel. It is a dreadful thing but comfort isn't. So if we take people's lives into consideration, we can easily get aware of the fact that the disadvantages of these means of transportation overweigh their advantages.

       In addition to accidents which kill some people and render some others disabled, the means of transportation hurt us through hurting our environment. They all of them emit carbon dioxide in the air. They are the major dangerous pollutants. They threaten our planet's ecosystem as well as our own health. Smog, which is the result of the combination of smoke and water molecules, causes various lung diseases and has got bad effect on flora and fauna in general. In brief we should reconsider the safety measures when constructing our means of travel for our own security and that of our environment.

BACK AGAIN                           Next