TOEFL Topic: Travel Go Back

Exercise 1 - Look at the words and phrases in the box, then answer questions 1 – 16. Some of these questions ask you to explain what a word or phrase means, and some of them ask you to complete a sentence with the appropriate word(s) or phrase(s).

  1. What does the expression persona non grata mean?
  2. Complete this sentence: _____________ is the nervous or confused feeling that people sometimes get when they arrive in a place that is very different from the place they normally live.
  3. What is the difference between a travel agency and a tour operator?
  4. Complete this sentence: An _____________ is a short trip somewhere, usually for one day or part of a day.
  5. Complete this sentence: A _____________ seat is the cheapest type of seat on a plane or train. The most expensive type of seat is called _____________. Between these two, there is _____________.
  6. Would you be happy if the country that you were staying in deported you?
  7. Complete this sentence: _____________ refers to the large numbers of people that travel for their vacation, usually over long distances.
  8. What is the difference between a package tourist and an independent traveler?
  9. Is a refugee the same as an expatriate?
  10. What do you think the letters UNHCR stand for?
  11. Complete this sentence: _____________ is the business of creating and selling holidays that give people the chance to learn about a natural environment, and which cause little damage to the environment itself.
  12. If someone has been repatriated, what has happened to them?
  13. What is a cruise? What is a safari?
  14. Why might someone want a green card?
  15. If someone is trafficking something, are they doing something that is legal or something that is illegal?
  16. Complete this sentence: A person who has been _____________ has been forced to move from one part of their country to another (often because of a war or other threatening situation).
  1. Persona non grata is a Latin expression that is used in English. It is most commonly used to refer to someone who is not allowed in a country because they do not have formal permission to be there (for example, their visa for that country has expired, or their passport is no longer valid)
  2. culture shock
  3. A travel agent is someone whose job is to help people plan holidays and make travel arrangements (they usually work for a travel agency). A tour operator is a company that organizes holiday tours and then sells them, usually through a travel agency.
  4. excursion
  5. coach class (called economy or tourist class in British English) / First Class / Business Class (sometimes also called by other names, including Club Class)
  6. You would probably not be happy. If you are deported, you are sent out of the country you are in (maybe because you have done something wrong)
  7. mass tourism
  8. A package tourist goes on a package tour, where they pay for all flights, transfers, accommodation, etc., together and in advance, usually through a travel agency. An independent traveler books different aspects of their trip separately (for example, they might book their flight on the Internet, then get a taxi from the airport to their hotel, pay for their hotel when they arrive at their destination, etc.) and does not usually rely on an agency
  9. No. A refugee is someone who leaves their country because they have to (usually because of a war or other threatening event). An expatriate is someone who chooses to live and work in another country
  10. UNHCR = United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the department of the United Nations that deals with the problem of refugees (see number 9) and other displaced people (= people who have been forcibly moved from their home, town, country, etc.: see number 16)
  11. Ecotourism (also called green tourism or sometimes responsible tourism)
  12. Someone who has been repatriated has been sent back from one country to the country that is legally their own (possibly because they have been deported – see number 6).
  13. A cruise is a journey on a ship for pleasure, especially one that involves visiting a series of places. A safari is a journey taken in order to watch or take pictures of wild animals
  14. If a person is not from the United States, but wants to live and work there, a green card is an official document that allows them to do this.
  15. They are doing something that is illegal: trafficking involves buying and selling things such as drugs and weapons illegally, usually between countries.
  16. internally displaced

Exercise 2 - Read this essay and complete the gaps with one of the words or phrases from the box in Exercise 1. You may need to change the form of some of the words.

‘There are two types of traveler: those who do it because they want to, and those who do it because they have to’ Discuss this statement, using specifi c examples.

Most of us have, at some point in our lives, experienced the joys of travel. We go to a (1) _____________ to pick up some brochures, or look on the Internet for a cheap holiday deal. We book a two-week (2) _____________ with fl ights and accommodation included, (or if we are (3) _____________ , we make our own way to the country and travel around from place to place with a rucksack on our back). We make sure we have all the right currency, our passport and any (4) _____________ that are necessary to get us into the country. We go to the airport and (5) _____________ . We strap ourselves into our tiny (6) _____________ aircraft seats and a few hours later we (7) _____________ from the aircraft, strange new sights, smells and sounds greeting us. Nowadays, it seems, the whole world goes on holiday at once: the age of (8) _____________ is in full swing! But for the great majority of people around the world, travel for them is done in the face of great adversity and hardship. They never get to indulge in an (9) _____________ holiday in a luxury hotel with all meals and drinks included. They never get to explore the lush Amazon rainforest or the frozen wastes of the Arctic on an (10) _____________ holiday. For them, travel is a matter of life and death. I refer, of course, to all the (11) _____________ escaping from danger in their own countries, or the (12) _____________ moved from one part of their country to another by an uncaring government, or (13) _____________ forced to fi nd a job and seek a living wherever they can. Can you imagine anything worse than the misery these people must face? Let us not confuse them with those (14) _____________ who choose to live in another country and often have nice houses and high salaries. These people are simply desperate to survive. As well as losing their homes because of war or natural disasters, they must come to terms with their new environment: for many, the (15) _____________ can be too great. And while many countries with an open policy on (16) _____________ will welcome them in with open arms, others will simply turn them away. These people become (17) _____________ , unwanted and unwelcome. Even if they manage to get into a country, they will often be (18) _____________ or repatriated. Their future is uncertain. Perhaps this is something we should all think about the next time we are (19) _____________ to our fi ve-star hotel by a palm-fringed beach or sitting in a bus on an (20) _____________ to castle or other historical site in the countryside.

Most of us have, at some point in our lives, experienced the joys of travel. We go to a (1) travel agency to pick up some brochures, or look on the Internet for a cheap holiday deal. We book a two-week (2) package tour with flights and accommodation included, (or if we are (3) independent travelers , we make our own way to the country and travel around from place to place with a rucksack on our back). We make sure we have all the right currency, our passport and any (4) visas that are necessary to get us into the country. We go to the airport and (5) check in . We strap ourselves into our tiny (6) coach class aircraft seats and a few hours later we (7) disembark from the aircraft, strange new sights, smells and sounds greeting us. Nowadays, it seems, the whole world goes on holiday at once: the age of (8) mass tourism is in full swing! But for the great majority of people around the world, travel for them is done in the face of great adversity and hardship. They never get to indulge in an (9) all-inclusive holiday in a luxury hotel with all meals and drinks included. They never get to explore the lush Amazon rainforest or the frozen wastes of the Arctic on an (10) ecotourism holiday. For them, travel is a matter of life and death. I refer, of course, to all the (11) refugees escaping from danger in their own countries, or the (12) internally displaced moved from one part of their country to another by an uncaring government, or (13) economic migrants forced to fi nd a job and seek a living wherever they can. Can you imagine anything worse than the misery these people must face? Let us not confuse them with those (14) expatriates who choose to live in another country and often have nice houses and high salaries. These people are simply desperate to survive. As well as losing their homes because of war or natural disasters, they must come to terms with their new environment: for many, the (15) culture shock can be too great. And while many countries with an open policy on (16) immigration will welcome them in with open arms, others will simply turn them away. These people become (17) persona non grata , unwanted and unwelcome. Even if they manage to get into a country, they will often be (18) deported or repatriated. Their future is uncertain. Perhaps this is something we should all think about the next time we are (19) checking in to our fi ve-star hotel by a palm-fringed beach or sitting in a bus on an (20) excursion to castle or other historical site in the countryside.