Have your say

1. S. Leacock writes that a traveller is going to find all through the trip the most striking difference between travel as it is pictured in the Guide Book and travel as it is in fact. Do you agree? Why is that so? Perhaps, one shouldn’t read guide-books at all if one doesn’t want to face disillusionment, then?

2. How can one enjoy their travels in full? What should you do and what shouldn’t you do? Make up a list of DOs and DON’Ts.

Unit 4 does travel broaden the mind?

1. Read the story “Does Travel Broaden the Mind?”, learn the new vocabulary and study the Notes.

2. Imagine that you are the Englishman the story is about. Tell the class about your trip to France. Try to make your story emotional.

3. Does travel really broaden the mind? In what other way does it change people, if at all?

4. What do you think of the statement “When you go to a new country you must adapt to new manners and customs.” Explain why you agree or disagree with it.

5. The author of the story says, “The ideal would be if travel could succeed in making people tolerant of the habits and customs of others without abandoning their own.” Could you comment upon the statement? (Speak for 2 or 3 minutes.)

DOES TRAVEL BROADEN THE MIND?

An acquaintance of mine who lives in England and had never been outside it until last summer decided to go over to France for a trip. When he returned I asked him how he liked it. “Terrible,” was his answer. “I couldn't get a nice cup of tea anywhere. Thank goodness I’m back.” I asked him whether he hadn't had any good food while he was there. “Oh, the dinners were all right,” he said. “I found a little place where they made quite good fish and chips. Not as good ours, mind you, but they were passable. But the breakfasts were terrible: no bacon or kippers or haddocks. I had fried eggs and chips, but it was quite a business getting them to make them. They expected me to eat rolls. And when I asked them for marmalade, they brought strawberry jam. And do you know, they insisted that it was marmalade? The trouble is, they don’t know English.”

I thought it useless to explain that we borrowed the word “marmalade” from French, and that it means in that language, any kind of jam. So I said, “But didn’t you eat any of the famous French food?” “What? Me?” he said. “Of course not! Give me good English food every time! None of these fancy bits for me!” He had gone to France determined to live there exactly as if he was in England, and had judged it entirely from his own English viewpoint.

On the other hand, there are some travellers who adapt themselves so successfully to foreign customs and habits that they incur the severe criticism of their less adaptable fellow-countrymen.

Perhaps the ideal would be if travel could succeed in making people tolerant of the habits and customs of others without abandoning their own.

Vocabulary

abandon, v

1. go away from, not intending to return to

e.g. The order was given to abandon ship (= for all on board to leave the sinking ship). He abandoned his wife and child.

2. stop (doing sth)

e.g. They abandoned the game because of rain.

3. abandon oneself to, allow oneself to feel, act, etc. because of necessity, extremely emotional, etc.

e.g. He abandoned himself to despair.

Syn.: give up, leave, desert

abandon, n

careless free behaviour without thinking of the consequences or of convention

e.g. dance with abandon

abandonment, n

abandoned, a

1. immoral; having no shame

2. left or deserted (with no intention to return or reclaim)

e.g. an abandoned wife/ car

adapt, v

make suitable for a new use, need, situation, etc.

e.g. When you go to a new country, you must adapt yourself to new manners and customs. Novels are often adapted for the stage, television and radio.

adaptation, n

1. state of being adapted; adapting

2. thing made by adopting

e.g. an adaptation of a novel for the stage

adaptor, adapter, n

a person or thing that adapts

adaptable, a

able to adapt or be adapted

e.g. an adaptable man can change according to circumstances

adaptability, n

▪Cf.: adjust, v

(to) change slightly, esp. in order to make right or make suitable for a particular purpose, use or situation; put right; put in order; regulate

e.g. You can adjust the colour on the TV by turning the knob. He adjusted (himself) very quickly to the heat of the country.

adjustment, n

adjustable, a

well-adjusted, a

(psych) getting on well with other persons

broad, a

1. liberal

e.g. a man of broad views (a tolerant man)

2. not limited in thought, ideas, etc.

e.g. the broad sweep of imagination; His taste in literature is very broad,

broaden, v

make or become broader

e.g. The river broadens out at this point. He hoped the course would broaden his horizons.

Syn.: widen, v

Remember the pattern:

A + -en → V “make A or A-er” darken, weaken, ripen

broad-minded, a

willing to listen sympathetically to the views of others even though one cannot agree with them; having a liberal or tolerant mind

▪Cf.: open-minded, a

without prejudice

Opp.: narrow-minded, a

broad-mindedness, n

determine, v

1. decide; fix

e.g. to determine the date for the meeting

2. calculate; find out precisely

e.g. to determine the speed of light

3. decide firmly, resolve, make up one’s mind

e.g. His future hasn’t yet been determined.

4. cause to decide

e.g. What determined you to accept the offer?

5. be the fact that decides

e.g. the size of your feet determines the size of your shoes.

determination, n

1. determining or being determined; deciding

e.g. the determination of the meaning of the word

2. calculation or finding out

e.g. the determination of the amount of metal in ore

3. firmness of purpose; resolution

e.g. his determination to learn English

determinable, a

that can be determined

determinate, a

(fml) definite; fixed

determined, a

having a strong will; resolute

e.g. I’m determined to go, nothing will stop me; a very determined woman who always gets what she wants.

fancy, a

1. decorative or brightly coloured; not ordinary; elaborate

e.g. fancy cakes; They are too fancy for me, I prefer the plain ones. It was a simple lunch - nothing fancy.

2. (derog.) (of a price) higher than is usual or reasonable

e.g. He sells poor goods and charges fancy prices

insist, v

1. declare firmly, urge strongly against opposition or disbelief

e.g. insist on one’s innocence/ that one is innocent

2. declare that a purpose cannot be changed; order or demand (that sth must happen or be done)

e.g. I insisted that he should come with us/ on his coming with us,

insist on/ upon,

consider very important

e.g. I insist on having a holiday abroad every year.

insistent, a

1. urgent; compelling attention

e.g. insistent requests

2. repeatedly insisting

insistence, n

1. the act of insisting

e.g. at sb's insistence

2. (also insistency) the quality or state of being insistent

▪Cf.: persist, v

1. (in) refuse, in spite of argument, opposition, failure, etc. to make any change in (what one is doing, one’s beliefs, etc.)

e.g. She persists in wearing that old coat

2. (with) continue to work hard at

3. continue to exist

e.g. The fog is likely to persist in many areas.

persistent, a

continuing (to refuse); occurring again and again

e.g. persistent denials/ attacks of malaria

persistence, n

persistently, adv

judge, v

estimate, consider; form an opinion about

e.g. Judging from what you say, he ought to succeed.

judgement, n

1. judging or being judged

2. good sense, ability to judge

e.g. He showed excellent judgement in choosing a wife.

3. opinion

e.g. in the judgement of most people

passable, a

1. (of roads, etc.) that can be passed over or crossed

e.g. Are the Alpine roads passable yet?

2. that can be accepted as fairly good but not excellent

e.g. a passable knowledge of German

passably, adv

succeed, v

(in) do what one is trying to do

e.g. succeed in passing an examination; The attack succeeded.

Opp.: fail, v

be unsuccessful

e.g. fail (in) an examination. All our plans/ attempts failed.

success, n

1. succeeding; the gaining of what is aimed at

e.g. meet with success

2. prosperity

e.g. have great success in life

3. person or thing that succeeds

e.g. The plan/ play/ lecture was a great success.

 make a success of sth

do it successfully

Opp.: failure, n

successful, a

having, gaining success

e.g. successful candidates

Opp.: unsuccessful, a

successfully, adv

tolerate, v

1. put up with, allow without protest

e.g. I won't tolerate your imprudence/ your doing that.

2. put up with the company of

e.g. How can you tolerate that rude girl?

tolerance, n

quality of tolerating opinions, beliefs, customs, physical types, behaviour, etc. different from one’s own

e.g. religious/ racial tolerance

Opp.: intolerance, n

toleration, n

tolerance, esp. the practice of allowing religious freedom

tolerant, a

having or showing tolerance

e.g. Mrs. Cane is not very tolerant of criticism.

Opp.: intolerant, a

tolerantly, adv

intolerable, a

that can’t be tolerated or endured

e.g. intolerable heat

▪Cf.: patient, a

having, showing patience,

e.g. be patient with the child

patience, n

1. (power of) putting up with trouble, suffering, inconvenience, without complaining

e.g. She has no patience with people who always grumble.

2. ability to wait for results, to deal with problems calmly and without haste

NOTES

Continental breakfast is a light breakfast usu. consisting of croissants or bread rolls, butter, jam and coffee, typically eaten in various European countries.

jam, n

fruit boiled with sugar until it is thick and preserved in jars, pots, tins

roll, n

a small cake of bread, often rolled or doubled on itself before baking

▪Cf: bun, n

small, round, sweet cake

English breakfast usu. consists of bacon and eggs followed by toast and marmalade and tea, eaten in England. When cereal or fruit or fruit juice and/ or toast and marmalade are offered as well as bacon and eggs in a hotel, the meal is sometimes advertised as a full English breakfast. Although it is thought of as a typically English meal, few English people have English breakfast every day.

bacon, n

salted or smoked meat from the back or sides of a pig

marmalade, n

(bitter) jam made from citrus fruit (usu. oranges)

fish and chips, n

fried fish with fried pieces of potato

haddock, n

sea fish much used for food usu. smoked

kipper, n

kind of salted herring, dried or smoked