Fill in each gap with one word only

Since its invention in the late 1970’s, the mountain bike (1) ……… become incredibly popular. Its attractions (2) ……… obvious: mountain biking combines the excitement of a fast sport (3) ……… the perfect excuse to get (4) ……… and really enjoy the countryside.

Mountain biking (5) ……… invented in California in the 1970’s by people looking (6) ……… a new thrill. They took traditional bicycles and started trying to find ways of making them strong (7) ……… to take off the roads and into the countryside. At (8) …….., mountain biking was only a downhill sport, but (9) ……… the sport developed, people began making the bikes lighter and fitting them with more gears, allowing them to ridden uphill as (10) ……….

Some environmentalists claim that careless cyclists (11) ……… destroying the countryside, and want to see the sport banned. This could (12) ……… avoided by creating marked tracks for the cyclists to use, and making (13) ……… that they do not just cycle anywhere. Then perhaps the sport could continue to grow (14) ……… affecting the numerous others (15) ……… enjoy the outdoors as well.

Read the text and decide which answer a, b, c or d best fits each gap.

Suriname

The Republic of Suriname shares a border with Brazil and is the smallest country in South America. It has (1) ......... inhabitants, less than half a million. Suriname used to be part of the Dutch Republic and many famous football players, such as Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit, come from Surinamese families and have (2) ......... land and homes there. It has been developing as a tourist (3) ......... for a number of years, particularly its (4) ......... regions on the Atlantic ocean and the capital, Paramaribo. The (5) ......... city of Paramaribo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with lovely old buildings and parks to stroll and relax in for a few hours. Visitors to Suriname should not miss the New Year’s Eve celebrations, which start in the morning and are full of dancing, music and street parties. At midnight, people light red firecracker ribbons in every town square, which is an impressive (6) ......... . In addition, Suriname (7) ......... a wide range of (8) ......... plant and animal life in its largely (9) ......... Amazonian rainforest. At the moment, approximately 30% of (10) ......... country is protected by law as nature reserves. However, some people (11) ......... tourism as having a negative affect on traditional ways of life and would like the government’s environmental (12) ......... to protect the country’s natural heritage.

1. a) few	b) little	c) any	d) a little
2. a) managed	b) approached	c) purchased	d) modified
3. a) destination	b) budget	c) space	d) sight
4. a) convenient	b) coastal	c) active	d) corporate
5. a) dormant	b) homesick	c) grateful	d) picturesque
6. a) decor	b) request	c) wonder	d) spectacle
7. a) features	b) corresponds	c) browses	d) considers
8. a) all-inclusive	b) remarkable	c) valid	d) temporary
9. a) gentle	b) spare	c) untouched	d) plain
10. a) a	b) much	c) the	d) -
11. a) take	b) think	c) believe	d) see
12. a) resources	b) policies	c) privacy	d) counselling

Practice 5.

Read and translate the text. Write 6 questions to the text.

Social tourism

Although tourism seems to be the most natural of activities to many people around the world today, to many others it seems an almost impossible dream. This leaves large sections of society unable to benefit from tourism even in countries in the developed world. The programmes and measures carried out by both public and private sector groups in order to help those that are marginalized in this way are jointly known as social tourism. Marginalization typically affects:

a) the young, families, single-parent families, and the unemployed, who all lack the financial means to travel;

b) disabled people, who can suffer mobility, hearing, visual, or mental impairment;

c) elderly people, who may lack the necessary finance, or suffer problems of age-related disability, or a combination of both.

The origins of social tourism are often associated with the policies the Belgian government put in place after the Second World War to facilitate tourism for the young and for families. Similar policies were being implemented at the same time, however, by the government and the Catholic church in Argentina. Possibly the earliest organised attempts at organized social tourism date back to the work of the state and the trade unions in Russia, where paid holidays were a right from 1918. In 1988, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, 42 million USSR citizens benefited from these programmes.

The international non-profit association BITS (the International Bureau of Social Tourism) has worked since its foundation in 1963 to favour ‘the development of social tourism in the international framework’. To do this it coordinates the tourist activities of member states, and promotes access to leisure, holidays, and tourism for marginalized groups.

For the tourism industry itself, social tourism brings a number of benefits. In Spain, for example, the heavy seasonality of the Mediterranean resorts is compensated for by offering accommodation and other resort facilities at reduced prices in the low season. Government-backed programmes for the elderly take advantage of these off-season tariffs, and hotel employees benefit from an extended season.

The recent boom in low-cost travel is seen by some as another step towards making tourism available to everybody, but some critics argue that such cheap transport only serves to transport the social problems of richer nations to dumping grounds in the cities and on the beaches of (usually) poorer countries in the same area.

Choose the right word.

The Taj Mahal in Agra, northern India, and the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, are two of the most beautiful 1) dwellings / monuments in the world today, and are visited by thousands of people every year. The Taj Mahal is relatively new construction 2) compared / opposed to the Parthenon. The Taj Mahal was built in 1631, 3) whereas / still the Parthenon dates back to 447 BC. Another difference between the two is the reason they were built. The Taj Mahal was built by the emperor Shah-Jahan in 4) memory / commemoration of his favourite wife, while the Parthenon is actually a 5) temple / church dedicated to the goddess Athena, where the ancient Greeks would come tp worship. One similarity between the two buildings is that they both consist entirely 6) from / of marble.