Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.

Word Pretest

For each italicized word or expression, choose the best meaning below.

1. What a nuisance! I've forgotten my ticket.
A. something that causes annoyance or inconvenience
B. something that brings joy or comfort
C. something that brings destruction or disaster
2.  She slung her coat over her shoulder.
A. hung loosely
B. hung beautifully
C. hung strangely
3. He checked in at the hotel at 9 o'clock in the evening under a false name.
A. searched
B. stayed
C. arrived
4. The sales director is preparing the company's advertising budget for next year.
A. plan of how to make money
B. plan of how to spend money
C. plan of how to improve quality
5. Diligence is an important factor of success in the field of scientific research.
A. rule
B. element
C. skill
6. Since Jim came to be the general manager, our company has really flourished.
A. failed
B. succeeded
C. mined
7. She skipped out of the restaurant without paying the bill.
A. left secretly
B. left noisily
C. left happily
8. You may deposit your valuables in the hotel safe.
A. place
B. get
C. change

Text A
Travel Around U. S. A.

　　

To travel abroad, we often meet the problem of what to take and how to take it. Take as little as possible, choose clothes for their use in a variety of situations and when you have made your final selection, halve it!
It is always a nuisance to have too much, and anyway if necessary, you can purchase what you need in America. Items like jeans, shirts, T-shirts and casual clothes are good buys in the US. If you hunt around you can usually find something on sale.
Whatever luggage you take, make sure it's easy to handle. Getting on and off  bu3es and trains, even just changing planes, can be a test if your bags are too heavy or too many. The best solution is to take one hold-all, be it a suitcase or a backpack, and then a smaller bag which you can sling from your shoulder. Even when you have to check in your hold-all at the airport or bus station, you can keep all your documents, travelers' cheques and your paperback novel safely and conveniently by your side. It is also a good idea to keep a change of clothing in your shoulder bag in case your suitcase or backpack gets lost by an airline or bus company.
For extra security many travelers also wear a neck (or belt) wallet for passport,   cash, travelers' cheques and other valuables. It is also a good idea to photocopy your   passport and other important documents and keep the copies SEPARATE. Should you lose your passport you should immediately contact your nearest national consulate.
The means you choose to travel around USA will depend on your budget, your time, your adventurousness and a number of other factors. Since there are certain   discounts available to travelers who buy their tickets outside USA, it is a good idea to give careful consideration to travel plans before you go. Also, when you buy your   tickets outside the US, you save the eight percent sales tax. Basically, travel is like everything else in America -- you have to shop around for the best buys. Never be  afraid to ask for the cheapest fare. There are always variations and the clerk selling     you a ticket is not necessarily about to offer you the cheapest one.
Bus. Traveling long distances cross-country by bus has become a part of American mythology. For natives and overseas visitors alike bus remains the most  popular method of cheap travel in USA. Despite competition from comparatively  inexpensive air fares which has resulted in the cutting back on bus routes and    facilities in recent times, the major nationwide company, Greyhound, and the many  regional, smaller companies, survive and flourish and will no doubt still be the chief means of inter-city transportation for most budget travelers to USA in the near future.
The bus passes often give you discounts at station restaurants, nearby hotels and on various sightseeing tours. It's in fact cheaper to eat away from the stations, but you might not always have the time to do so. Most bus routes are meant solely to get you from A to B; scenic considerations rarely come into it. At bus stations in particular, make absolutely certain that your bag is going on your bus and that you get a check-in ticket for it. You would be amazed at the number of times bag and body go off in different directions. And if you're a backpacker and just arrive in a big city, you can usually leave your pack at one of the museums for free and then skip off to look for a room.
Car. The car remains the most popular form of travel and the vast system of     super-highway enables you to cover great distances at high average speeds, despite  the nationwide imposition of a 55 mph speed limit.       
It is always convenient to call the car rental companies to get a car. The renter must usually be 21 or over, sometimes over 25. If you don't have a credit card then a    strong cash deposit will be required, and for foreigners a passport may also have to be deposited as security. Many rental companies offer discount rates to foreign visitors, though sometimes only when bookings are made abroad.
Air. The vast distances of USA have resulted in the popularity and relative    cheapness of domestic air travel. There are air travel bargains to be had but it is often hard to keep track of what is available. If you plan to fly, check with a travel agent, phone around the airlines and keep an eye on newspaper and television advertising- and always ask for the cheapest available fare.
There are still some possibilities: night flights are sometimes cheaper than day flights; some airlines from time to time offer off-peak, cheaper fares. Other airlines make discounts if you travel on a flight making stops en route and, if planning to travel great distances, it may pay to investigate the air passes. There may be considerable price competition on major routes such as New York to Florida and New York to the West Coast. Once again, the clear message is shop around!
Urban Travel City buses and subway systems generally offer good services   throughout USA. Many cities have a transfer system allowing you to change from one bus line to another, or even from bus to subway, without paying extra. Taxis can be pretty expensive unless shared. The present Gray Line company ensures that nearly every city has its bus tour, and some have boat tours as well.

                      Total words: 924
Total reading time: __ minutes     seconds       

             
The text is based on The Moneywise Guide to North America, Bunac, 1993.

◆Reading Skill ­—Outlining
Write an outline of the text in Section A. Certain items have been provided as a clue to the structure.

Title:
Main Idea:
I.
A.
B.
II. Means of transportation
A.
B.
C.
D.

◆ Reading Comprehension
Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. When you travel abroad, it is wise to take          .
A. as many things as possible
B. as few things as possible
C. all the clothes you have
2. When you arrive at a big city with heavy bags, you might                .
A. leave them on the bus
B. leave them in some museum for free
C. leave at the bus station for free
3. Many travelers wear a neck wallet for the sake of                    .
A. security
B. decoration
C. economic reasons
4. Both foreigners and natives are most willing to travel by                  .
A. air
B. train
C. bus
5. Bus routes are cut down because of competition from                     .
A. airline companies
B. taxi companies
C. car rental companies
6. It might be cheaper to take                   .
A. a flight at night
B. a flight during the daytime
C. a flight without stops en route
7. Which of the following ways of travel is possibly the cheapest?
A. By car.
B. By air.
C. By bus.
8. Which of the following statements is not true?
A. The transfer system allows people to change from one bus line to another without paying extra.
B. Taxi is not expensive in big cities.
C. If you shop around, you can usually save money.

◆Vocabulary Building
Word Search
Find a word in the texts which means:

1.  reduce by half(A: 3)
2.  obtain by paying a price (A: 5)
3.  the residence of a consul (A: 18)
4.  money paid for transportation in a train, taxi, plane, etc. (A: 25)
5.  a reduction from a usual price (A: 34)
6.  a place to which people go for rest or recreation, as on a vacation (B: 3)
7.  exclusive control of a commodity or service in a given market (B: 26)
8.  chief, main (B: 48)
9.  public enjoyment and merrymaking (B: 76)
10. dullness (B: 97)

② Use of English
Rewrite each of the sentences so that it will means the same, using the words on the left together with the correct form of the verb PUT.

1. ON             They are producing a version of "Cinderella".
They are...

2. OFF            The opening of his one-man show has been postponed until he recovers from his illness.
The opening of his one-man show has...

3. MY FINGER ON  I can't specify exactly what it was that I disliked about the performance.
I can't...

4. BEHIND    Never mind your previous failures -- try to forget them and think of                   what your next venture might be!
Never mind your previous failures -- try to...

5. FORWARD  A plan has been suggested to prevent valuable paintings being sold to collectors and galleries abroad.
A plan has...

6. PRESSURE ON They tried to persuade the Arts Council to support the newly- formed orchestra.
They tried to...

③Stems
Study the following stems and their meanings. List some more examples in the space provided.

dic(t)       1.           2.           3.           4:                         
frag/fract    1.           2.           3.           4:                          

Read each of the following sentences, and write down the meaning of the italicized word in the space provided.

1. The main job of a shorthand typist is to take down shorthand from dictation and then to type it.
dictation:

2. Ten thousand dollars was only a ;fraction of money he owned.
fraction:

3. There are clear indications that the weather is changing. 
indication:

4. The weather report predicted rain for tomorrow.
predict:

5. Your statements today are in contradiction with what you said yesterday.
contradiction:

6. The boy dropped the cup on the floor, and it broke into fragments.
fragments:

④ Synonyms
On each line in Column Iii there is one word which is a synonym of the word in Column I. Circle the synonym.
I                    II
1. major           insignificant       chief                minor
2. investigate      examine                cover            conceal
3. reputation       position              power           fame
4. regional         national           cosmic             local
5. unique          common             sole            ordinary
◆Cloze
Fill in each of the blanks with a word given blow. Change the.form of the word if necessary.

    find          trade         famous       spread        discovery
idea          support       offered       valued        salt

Portuguese interests were largely in the East Indies. Vasco da Goma had                 the way to India round the Cape of Good Hope in 1497, and the Portuguese were developing the          in spices and the other luxury goods of India and the East Indies.  Magellan served the king of Portugal and was soon             as a navigator and as a brave seaman and fighter. His fame          to Spain, the great rival of Portugal in sea voyages, trade and                    
In Europe, people still had the         of reaching the East Indies by sailing west. Magellan agreed with them, although he knew that the great land masses of the Americas lay between. He asked for Portuguese          for a voyage of discovery.
The support was not            He felt that his services in the past were not properly         by the king of Portugal. He turned to Charles V of Spain.
Charles gave orders for an expedition. Five ships were prepared. In there, with about 270 men and food in the form of casks of         meat and hard ship's bread, the expedition sailed from Seville in August 1519.