A travel adventure

Sandra has decided to take a vacation. But where should she go? The question is best answered by making an appointment with a travel agent. She invites her friend, Donita to go with her. At the agency, they discuss possible journeys, the length of the travel and the cost of the trip. 

<PRE>
Sandra:		I would like to be gone at least 2 weeks, 
		but not more than three weeks.
Travel agent:	How about a trip to Alaska?
Sandra:		No, I’ve been there; I’d like to go 	
		somewhere tropical.
Travel agent:	Perhaps a trip to Hawaii?	
Donita:		No, I just went there for a wedding last 
		month.
Travel agent:	Maybe you would like a trip to Bermuda? 
		You could take a ship from Florida.
Sandra:		Yes! I’ve always wanted to go there.
Donita:		That sounds good to me; cruises are a lot 
		of fun.
Travel agent:	All right, let me check on the computer 
		about what is available. (She looks at the
		computer screen while typing). Hmm. This 
		doesn’t look good.
Sandra:		What do you mean?
Travel agent:	There is a cruise ship available for 
		the time you want, but... (She stops 
		talking and continues typing).
Sandra:		But what is the problem?
Travel agent:	I can’t find a flight from Portland, 
		which is the closest airport for you. Oh,
		Sorry. The computer screen shows that 
		someone just took the last reservation 
		for that cruise.
Donita:		There must be something else available. It 
		doesn’t have to be Bermuda.
Sandra:		I agree. We just want to get away somewhere 
		warm. This winter has been so long and cold.
Travel agent:	I’ll keep looking. How many days can 
		you be gone?
Donita:		I have the family trucking and ranching 
		business to manage, so I need to be back
		in two weeks.
Sandra:		I teach English at the college
		and am a visiting professor. I could be 
		gone for 15 days. Then I need to prepare
		for giving a lecture in Japan.
Travel agent:	I’m still looking for trips for you; I 
		have good news and bad news.
Donita:		Give us the good news first! (Everyone 	
		laughs.)
Travel agent:	The good news is that I found you a 
		wonderful cruise TO ARUBA. The bad news is
		that I can’t find a flight. At this time 
		of year, everyone wants to travel. If you 
		wait another week...
Sandra:		What if we drive to another airport?
Travel agent:	The next closest airport would be in 
		Seattle. (Looks at computer screen). Yes, I 
		can get you a flight from there.
Donita:		(To Sandra.) Let’s do that. We can drive 
		there and leave the car in long term parking. 
		It shouldn’t cost too much.
Travel agent:	There is one more problem.
Sandra:		What else?
Agent:		I can’t get you back to the same airport. 
		You would fly into Portland on the return trip.
Donita:		So I guess we couldn’t drive to Seattle. 
		What about taking the train?
Sandra:		It would take too long. Why don’t we rent a 
		car, and then return it at the airport?
Donita:		There are so many obstacles; maybe we 
		aren’t supposed to go on this trip.
Sandra:		But I think we can solve all of them; let’s 
		go for it!
Donita:		Only if you are willing to do the driving. 
		(Laughs.)
Sandra:		I don’t mind driving; how far is it?
Donita:		It’s about 250 miles from here.
Sandra:		(Groans.) Oh well, it will be an adventure 
		for us. Maybe we will leave early in the 
		morning stop a few times to sight-see.
Travel agent:	Well, there is another problem….
Sandra and Donita:	No, now what?
Agent:		The flight leaves at 7:00 a.m.
		You would have to be there one hour before, so
		it means you would be driving in the middle 
		of the night.
Sandra:		I don’t want to drive that far in the dark. 
		What about a later flight?
Agent:		It isn’t a non-stop flight and you would 
		miss the other connections.
Donita:		O.K. Let’s do this: find us a hotel with 
		shuttle service to the airport. We will go to
		Seattle the day before, get a good night’s rest
		and be at the airport in plenty of time.
Sandra:		Good idea!
Agent:		That would mean you get to Florida the day 
		BEFORE the ship leaves. Do you want me to 
		make a hotel reservation in Florida, also?
Both:		Yes! 
Donita:		So, as I understand all of this: We need to 
		rent a car on Thursday, drive to Seattle, stay 
		over-night, fly to Florida, stay over-night 
		again, then board the ship on Saturday, right?
Agent:		Correct. Then when you return, you might 
		want to stay overnight again as the best flight
		for you would leave the next morning.
Sandra:		What time would we get to Portland? 
Agent:		There is a time change of three hours, so 
		you would get there around 3 in the afternoon.
Donita:		That would be a great time to get home! I 
		can ask my grandson to pick us up at the 
		airport. 
		It’s only an hour and a half drive from there.
Sandra:		That would be great! Make the reservations 
		for us.</PRE>

Where should we go on holiday?

<PRE>
travel agent a professional trip planner

tropical a hot, humid climate

cruise ship passenger ship for leisure

vacation period of time for rest or recreation</PRE> 

<PRE>
obstacles something in the way

trucking carrying freight on trucks

ranching working on a ranch

flight flying through the air

reservation an arrangement made beforehand

lecture speech made before an audience
</PRE>

Vocabulary words and expressions

<PRE>
Comprehension questions

 1. Why does Sandra want to go on a vacation?

 2. Does she want to go to Alaska?

 3. Why doesn’t Donita want to go to Hawaii?</PRE> 

<PRE>
 4. How many days can the women go on vacation?

 5. Who is helping them plan the trip?

 6. Name some of the problems the agent has.
</PRE>
 
 
<PRE>
Cloze activity

Use the vocabulary words to complete the sentences

 1. The __________ had difficulty planning their trip.

 2. They had to be at the airport at nine o’clock for the 
 __________.

 3. The cold weather made them want a __________ vacation.

 4. Another name for a passenger ship is a __________.

 5. When there are problems to solve, the agent had 
 __________ to overcome.

 6. The __________ company owned fifty trucks.

 7. My boss will give me a two week __________ this year.

 8. John has cows, chickens, and sheep. He has been 
 __________ many years.

 9. It is necessary to make a __________ at that famous 
 restaurant.

10. The professor gave a very interesting __________ in front 
 of the large audience.
</PRE>

Questions and exercises

<PRE>
Answers
(Comprehension questions)

 1. It has been a very long, cold winter.
 She wants to go somewhere warm.

 2. No, she has been there already.

 3. She went there for a wedding last month.

 4. They can be gone for two weeks (14 days)</PRE> 

<PRE>
 5. A travel agent is helping them plan the trip.

 6. They can’t find a flight from the nearest city 
 (Portland).
 The flight is very early in the morning (7:00 a.m.).
 They have to drive 250 miles.
</PRE>
 
<PRE>
Answers
(Cloze activity)

 1. travel agent

 2. flight

 3. tropical

 4. cruise ship

 5. obstacles

 6. trucking

 7. vacation

 8. ranching

 9. reservation

 10. lecture
</PRE>

Keys to exercises

The next day, Sandra receives a call from the travel agent. She wonders if there are more problems. However, the agent is only calling to give her some information and to ask a few questions. 

<pre>
Travel agent:	Hi, this is your travel agent, Jan.
Sandra:		Hi, Jan. Is there another problem?
Jan:		No, everything looks great; I just need some 
		information from you.
Sandra:		That’s a relief; I thought sure something 
		had to be cancelled! What information do you 
		need?
Jan:		I need your passport numbers, emergency 	
		telephone contacts, what type of stateroom you
		prefer, and what hour seating you want.
Sandra:		I don’t know Donita’s passport number, but 
		I can give you mine when I come to the office 
		to get our documents. Write us down for the
		late dinner seating. Then we won’t have to rush
		back to the ship if we are in port. My emergency
		contact number will be my daughter, Jenny. Her
		number is 530-1862. 
Jan:		What about the stateroom? I can reserve one in 
		the middle of the ship on the 3rd or 5th deck. 
		There is a price difference. 
Sandra:		Let us have the least expensive one. I 	
		know we won’t be in our room very much, as there
		is so much to do onboard.
Jan:		You’re right, and most of the rooms are about 
		the same size. When I travel, I like to get a 
		room as far below deck as possible because you
		don’t feel the ship moving quite as much. 
Sandra:		That’s a good idea. I don’t get sea-sick, 
		but I think Donita does. She plans on taking
		motion sickness medication with her. 
Jan:		That reminds me. Any medicine you take with 
		you needs to be in the original container. Don’t
		pack it in your suitcase, just in case it is 
		delayed or lost.
Sandra:		Thanks for telling me that; I’ll pass on 
		that information to Donita. Is there anything
		else we should know?
Jan:		Well, I thought you might like to know a 	
		little about the dress code on the ship. During
		the day, you can wear comfortable clothes, but 
		you need to dress-up for dinner. There are 3 
		formal nights, 3 semi-formal nights and the rest
		are dressy-casual.
Sandra:		Hmm. I might have to go shopping for 	
		another formal dress. What is meant by
		dressy-casual?
Jan:		It just means to dress in good taste, no 	
		bathing suits or short shorts in the dining 
		room. Skirts or pant suits for the woman. The
		men need to wear slacks and shirts. I’ll give
		you more details when you stop for the 
		tickets.
Sandra:		What if there are people who don’t want to 
		dress-up? What do they do?
Jan:		There is another dining room where food is 	
		served cafeteria style. It is close to the
		swimming pool, so guests have to wear a cover-up
		over their suits to eat inside. There is also a
		self-service kiosk next to the pool with tacos, 
		pizza, and salad. It’s a very popular place for
		families. Kids don’t like dressing-up for dinner
		and sometimes parents don’t want to either.
Sandra:		It sounds like the staff has thought of 
		something to please everyone.
Jan:		I agree. There’s even a suggestion box onboard
		to improve or add services. I like the idea that
		kids have their own club and planned activities.
Sandra:		I’m really looking forward to this trip. 
		It’s like taking all of the conveniences of home
		with you while exploring different countries.
Jan:		I couldn’t agree more. There’s a library, 	
		jewelry store, gift shop, tobacco and liquor
		store, beauty salon, physical fitness center,
		nightclubs with dancing, laundry rooms, and so
		many planned activities.
Sandra:		Planned activities?
Jan:		Yes, there’s a cruise director who will 	
		announce the activities for the day or week.
		There is everything from golf, to tennis, and
		shuffleboard to lots of inside games, too.
Sandra:		I wish we were leaving tomorrow 
		instead of in two weeks! We’ll be in the office
		in the afternoon for our appointment at 2 for
		more information.
</pre>

A call from the travel agent

<pre>
passport document issued by government to prove
 citizenship of owner

emergency an unexpected event that must be
 handled immediately

stateroom a furnished cabin on a ship or train</PRE> 

<PRE>
cancelled stopped an event from happening
 (past tense verb)

documents official papers as a record of events 
 or arrangements

reserve to set aside for future use

container an object used to hold something

difference state of being unlike something or
 someone else

medication treatment for illness

formal correct in behavior, ceremony or dress
</pre>

Questions and exercises

Read article

New words and expressions

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