Activity 9.1: Reading Comprehension
Instructions: For items (1-3), read the passage silently and then match each of the main idea with the paragraph it refers to and choose the correct option. For items number 4 to 14, see the words from the passage and select their contextual meaning .
Reading: Travel Behaviors
- Travel is something which people do every day. It is very cumbersome to avoid the need to travel since it is one of the human behaviors. Travel may be a trip to school, university or to work. Travelling can often take a long time especially when great distances need to be covered. For some people, travelling is fun. For others, it is a terrible ordeal that even leads them to sickness. This means that they will become very unwell each time they travel. People travel for many different reasons. Some travel for business, some for pleasure and some for educational purposes. Today, travelling is considered as one of the important human activities for different reasons. It is a means to know more about the things which we have not yet known. It is also a wonderful experience to visit places of interest and natural attractions. When people do this, they broaden their mind and keep themselves away from the monotony of everyday life. That is why travel is part of the education system in many country’s curricula. Unless people in one area travel and learn about the culture, history and tradition of different people, they cannot widen their mind. It is because of this that some economically strong countries cover the full accommodation cost of their students and send them to different countries to visit their heritages and cultures.
- Travel behavior refers to the complicated decision-making process of travelers during a trip regarding the choices of travel mode, route, departure time, destination and so on. Travel behavior has strong connection with physical movement outside the reference location of a person. The reference location is the place to which the person returns at the end of the day. This is mainly the home of the traveler; of course, it might also be the room in the hotel or some other short-term bases. Actual travel behaviors are often interdependent with the beliefs, attitudes, and values of the traveler. This means, the beliefs, attitudes and values of a traveler influence her/his travel behaviors and the vice- versa. As a result, when you plan to travel somewhere, you should predetermine your purpose, the time you need to arrive at your destination, the amount of money you need for your journey and the presence of important items such as medicine, cell-phone, bank book, water and other things that you frequently need.
- Most travels are the experience of people in big cities. Though travelling in big cities is enjoyable and interesting, you are required to be familiar with different rules and regulations especially if you are a strange. To begin with, if you are a pedestrian, you should know the traffic rules very carefully as the number of road users and vehicles is overwhelmingly large. When you want to cross roads, you need to know the meaning of the traffic light and take your way accordingly. If you do not know their meaning, you have to ask people around you or follow other travelers and cross the road safely. When you do this, you protect yourself from traffic accident. Second, since the mobility in big cities isvery high, you should walk on the paving or sidewalk that is allowed for pedestrians. You are not only required to walk on the paving or sidewalk, you are also compelled to take your left side because you can see the vehicles that come from the front side easily and protect yourself from car accidents especially during rush hours. Third, take only the amount of money you need for the day and avoid wearing valuable ornaments as they expose you to thieves. For this reason, you need to take maximum care when you walk on a very crowded place as most pick-pockets prefer such places to loot different items of value. All in all, though travelling into cities is enjoyable and pleasant, it needs maximum care to protect oneself from different unexpected harms.