Travelling

Millions of people all over the world spend their holidays travelling. They travel to see other countries and continents, modern cities and the ruins of ancient towns, they travel to enjoy picturesque places or just for a change of scene. It's always interesting to discover new things and different ways of life, to meet different people, to try different food, to listen to different music.

Those who live in the country like to go to a big city and spend their time visiting museums and art galleries, looking at shop windows and dining at exotic restaurants. City residents usually like a quiet holiday by the sea and in the mountains with nothing to do but walk and bathe and lay in the sun. Most travelers and holiday-makers take a camera with them and take pictures of everything that interest them - the sights of a city, old churches and castles, views of mountains, lakes, valleys, plains, waterfalls, forests, different kinds of trees, flowers and plants, animals and birds. Later, perhaps years later, they will be reminded by the photos of the happy time they had.

People travel by train, by plane, by ship or boat and by car. All means of travel have their advantages and disadvantages. And people choose one according to their plans and preferences. The fastest way of travelling - is travelling by plane, but in my opinion the most comfortable is travelling by ship and the cheapest is travelling on foot.

If we are fond of travelling, we see and learn a lot of things that we can never see or learn at home, though we may read about them in books and newspapers and see pictures of them on TV. The best way to study geography is to travel and the best way to get to know and understand the people is to meet them in their own homes.

Nowadays people mostly travel by air, as it's the fastest means of travelling. Passengers are requested to arrive at the airport 2 hours before departure time on international flights and an hour on domestic flights, as there must be enough time to complete the necessary airport formalities. Before passengers get on board the plane, they have to register their luggage. Each passenger is given a boarding pass to be shown at the departure gate and again to the stewardess when boarding the plane. Landing formalities and custom regulations are more or less the same in all countries: while still on board the plane the passengers are given arrival cards to fill in. After the passengers have disembarked, officials will check his passport and visa. Then the passengers go to the custom for an examination of their luggage. As a rule personal belongings may be brought in duty-free. In some cases the custom inspector may ask you to open your bag for inspection.

As for me, I prefer to travel by plane. And now I would like to tell you about my first travelling by plane. It was in 1998 when I travelled to Italy. I travelled without parents, but with guide and other children. I don't remember exactly how much time it took to fly from Minsk to Venice, but I think it must be about 2 or 3 hours. During the flight I communicated with my neighbours, I admired the view from my window and slept a bit. When we are were landing in Venice I looked out of my window and saw the entire city at my hand. It isn't true, that there is no one road in Venice, but only water channels. I can say that only the third part of the city is covered with water. Then the plane landed. So, it was my first travelling by plane.

And in the end I'll say that traveling is a nice hobby and a great thing if you want to know more about the world and certainly if you are studying a foreign language. 

Read the text again, make some necessary notes and talk about travelling in your country.

Language development