Unit 7 The Joy of Travel Useful Information Since the beginning of civilization,man has traveled to hunt for food,to trade with other people and to explore or conquer new territories.Travel in the modern world is still motivated by the desire to expand one's horizons,to experience other cultures,and to connect with other people-whether they are friends,relatives or business partners. People travel to be with their family at Christmas time in the West or during the Spring Festival in China.People travel to resort areas to relax in the sun,people travel to see beautiful scenery,to visit famous places,to taste different foods,and to learn new things.In many ways,traveling is a manifestation of man's fundamental curiosity. However,whether one goes by car,bus,train,plane or boat,traveling costs money.The richer you are,the more choices you have in your mode of transportation,your accommodations,and your destination. Touring or traveling as a leisure activity is usually referred to as tourism.In many parts of the world,tourism constitutes a major part of the economy.Some areas in certain countries are almost exclusively dependent on income from the tourist trade.Such is the case,for instance,for the islands in the Caribbean Sea(e.g.Aruba,Jamaica,Cuba,Martinique)and many parts of Spain and Portugal.Thousands of tourists want to escape their cold winter for a few weeks,so they travel to these sunny destinations where they can relax on the beaches and swim in the warm coastal waters. Other tourists prefer to spend their vacations sightseeing in famous cities like Paris,London and Vienna,where there are innumerable beautiful historical buildings and museums to visit.Over one million overseas visitors and 12 million Chinese people,for example,travel each year to Xi'an to see the extraordinary sight of the terracotta warriors.Even more tourists visit the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Great Wall.Some people travel on their own and other people join an organized tour.In the latter case,the tour company takes care of everything including transportation, accommodations,and the sightseeing itinerary. In recent years,the environmental movement has sparked new trends in tourism.Instead of visiting crowded and polluted cities,many people now look for clean destinations where they can breathe fresh air and admire nature in its unspoiled state.Young families,in particular,like to go wilderness camping.They travel by canoe to the remote areas in parks,they sleep in tents and cook their own food on campfires.The children benefit from the healthy environment and they can see deer,rabbits,squirrels,and other wildlife in their natural surroundings. Bird-watching has also become another very popular form of tourism.People of all ages travel far and wide to see different species of birds.The results of their observations are often used to measure the effects of pollution and industrial development on the survival of some species. For over a century,families have traveled in the winter to various regions in North America and Europe to ski resorts in the mountains.Since the 1970s,other types of sports and adventure holidays have gained in popularity.Young people,especially,look for new and exciting activities
Unit 7 The Joy of Travel Useful Information Since the beginning of civilization, man has traveled to hunt for food, to trade with other people and to explore or conquer new territories. Travel in the modern world is still motivated by the desire to expand one’s horizons, to experience other cultures, and to connect with other people—whether they are friends, relatives or business partners. People travel to be with their family at Christmas time in the West or during the Spring Festival in China. People travel to resort areas to relax in the sun, people travel to see beautiful scenery, to visit famous places, to taste different foods, and to learn new things. In many ways, traveling is a manifestation of man’s fundamental curiosity. However, whether one goes by car, bus, train, plane or boat, traveling costs money. The richer you are, the more choices you have in your mode of transportation, your accommodations, and your destination. Touring or traveling as a leisure activity is usually referred to as tourism. In many parts of the world, tourism constitutes a major part of the economy. Some areas in certain countries are almost exclusively dependent on income from the tourist trade. Such is the case, for instance, for the islands in the Caribbean Sea (e.g. Aruba, Jamaica, Cuba, Martinique) and many parts of Spain and Portugal. Thousands of tourists want to escape their cold winter for a few weeks, so they travel to these sunny destinations where they can relax on the beaches and swim in the warm coastal waters. Other tourists prefer to spend their vacations sightseeing in famous cities like Paris, London and Vienna, where there are innumerable beautiful historical buildings and museums to visit. Over one million overseas visitors and 12 million Chinese people, for example, travel each year to Xi’an to see the extraordinary sight of the terracotta warriors. Even more tourists visit the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Great Wall. Some people travel on their own and other people join an organized tour. In the latter case, the tour company takes care of everything including transportation, accommodations, and the sightseeing itinerary. In recent years, the environmental movement has sparked new trends in tourism. Instead of visiting crowded and polluted cities, many people now look for clean destinations where they can breathe fresh air and admire nature in its unspoiled state. Young families, in particular, like to go wilderness camping. They travel by canoe to the remote areas in parks, they sleep in tents and cook their own food on campfires. The children benefit from the healthy environment and they can see deer, rabbits, squirrels, and other wildlife in their natural surroundings. Bird-watching has also become another very popular form of tourism. People of all ages travel far and wide to see different species of birds. The results of their observations are often used to measure the effects of pollution and industrial development on the survival of some species. For over a century, families have traveled in the winter to various regions in North America and Europe to ski resorts in the mountains. Since the 1970s, other types of sports and adventure holidays have gained in popularity. Young people, especially, look for new and exciting activities
to try in a clean and beautiful environment.Heliskiing(由直升机送上山顶的高山滑雪)， skydiving(跳伞运动)，kayaking(皮艇运动)and bungee jumping(蹦极)are typical examples of this new trend in tourism
to try in a clean and beautiful environment. Heliskiing（由直升机送上山顶的高山滑雪）, skydiving（跳伞运动）, kayaking（皮艇运动） and bungee jumping（蹦极） are typical examples of this new trend in tourism