Chapter 2: Why we Travel
Share your views on how travelling can be a hobby.
SOLUTION:
In my opinion, travelling can be a hobby if one considers it to be a source of inspiration. The new elements of different cultures that one encounters during one’s travels can help that person locate his/her areas of interest. For example, if one likes the architecture of a particular place, he/she could travel to other places with similar architectural patterns and understand the reasons behind such similarities. Likewise, travel can be a hobby if one is keen to explore the rich cultural backgrounds of a nation, thus enriching one’s knowledge about a country’s people, food, religious practices, etc. Travel can be an opportunity to delve deeper into communities different from one’s own, thus broadening a person’s outlook about different cultures. This is how travelling can be a hobby.
Discuss in the class the benefits of travelling and complete the web.
SOLUTION:
Make a list of your expectations when you travel to some new place:
1. Food should be delicious and available whenever hungry
2. ___________________
3. ___________________
4. ___________________
SOLUTION:
1. Food should be delicious and available whenever hungry.
2. There should be new things to learn from the culture of that place.
3. The local people should be willing to help you with directions and other information, if needed.
4. The place should be safe to travel and stay.
Discuss in the class the various types of travels. Add your own to ones given below:
SOLUTION:
Solo travel
Sightseeing travel
Education travel
Culinary travel
Business travel
Luxury travel
Group travel
Family travel
Travel with friends
Adventure travel
Read the first two paragraphs and discuss the need to travel.
SOLUTION:
We travel firstly to lose ourselves and next, to find ourselves. We travel to take our ignorance or knowledge to the places which are of different economic statuses. We also travel to become young fools again. In the words of George Santayana, “We need sometimes to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard.” We need to travel in order to attain a better balance of wisdom or compassion and seeing the world clearly. Travelling also enables us to see everything in a new light.
Read the sentence ‘If a diploma can famously ________ in cultural relativism.’
Pick the sentence which gives the meaning of the above statement from the alternatives given below.
1. A diploma certificate can be used as a passport and a passport can be used as a diploma certificate.
2. If one has a diploma, he does not need a passport and if he has a passport, he does not need a diploma.
3. One can acquire permission to travel to foreign countries for educational purposes based on her academic achievements and travelling to foreign countries enriches one the most regarding the knowledge and wisdom of the world.
SOLUTION:
One can acquire permission to travel to foreign countries for educational purposes based on her academic achievements and travelling to foreign countries enriches one the most regarding the knowledge and wisdom of the world.
Prepare a list of the litterateur and their quotations mentioned by the writer in the passage.
SOLUTION:
George Santayana:
“We need sometimes to escape into open solitudes, into aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship, and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no matter what.” (The Philosophy of Travel)
‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new places but in seeing with new eyes.’ Marcel Proust. Justify with the help of the text.
SOLUTION:
This statement by Marcel Proust implies that during travel, it’s not the place that matters as much as the traveller’s perspective in seeing the new place. In order to really discover something, it is more important to see a single place from a fresh perspective than to see a number of new places. The statement also goes on to suggest that a traveller’s outlook of the native people of the new place also enables him/her to mould the perspective of the local people.
Read the third paragraph and find the difference between a tourist and a traveller as revealed through the complaints made by them.
SOLUTION:
As portrayed in the paragraph, a tourist is just someone who complains “Nothing here is the way it is at home”, i.e., he or she finds drawbacks in the new place. A traveller, on the other hand, would grumble. ‘Everything is the same ……’, which implies that he/she would rather wish that things were different in different parts of the world and would find it unsettling to not notice any difference in a particular destination. This is because a traveller leaves the comforts if his home to experience different things in different places, whereas a tourist merely seeks to get out of the house without really wanting to give up the comforts of home.
Write four sentences with the help of the text conveying the fact that travelling brings together the various cultures of the different parts of the world.
SOLUTION:
The following four sentences from the text convey the fact that travelling brings together various cultures of the different parts of the world.
1. It a diploma can famously be a passport (to a journey through hard realism), a passport can be a diploma (for a crash course in cultural relativism)
2. …… and how much we can become a kind of carrier pigeon – an antiFederal Express, if you like it – it transporting back and forth what every culture needs.
3. You can teach them what they have to celebrate as much as you celebrate what they have to teach
4. Walk just six blocks in Queens or Berkeley, and you are travelling through several cultures in as many minutes.
By quoting Camus, the writer has stated that travelling sets us free from circumstances and all the habits behind which we hide. Write in detail your views about that.
SOLUTION:
The observation by Camus signifies that travelling frees us up from all inhibitions and conditions which we are subjected to in our native place, that is, the place where we normally reside. Being in a foreign culture brings out our inquisitive self and hence liberates us from our habitual behaviour at home. In other words, travel enables us to ‘let our hair down’ and be in our element. Hiding behind habits means the shyness in coming out of our routine behaviour, which could be stopping us from fully expressing ourselves.
Read the following groups of words from the text.
A | B |
crooked angle | walking video screens |
censored limits | living newspapers |
impoverished places | searching questions |
Words crooked, censored and impoverished in group ‘A’ describe the nouns ‘angle’, ‘limits’ and ‘places’ respectively. They are past participles of the verbs ‘crook’, ‘censor’ and ‘impoverish’. But in the sentences, they act as adjectives. Similarly, in group ‘B’ words walking, living and searching are the present participles (‘ing’ forms) of the verbs walk, live and search. But in the above examples they function as adjectives.
Discuss in pairs and make list of some more adjectives like this and make sentences using them.
SOLUTION:
Some example of Past Participles:
devoted
He has been a devoted follower of Lord Krishna since his childhood.
stained
Put the stained shirt to wash.
waxed
The policemen in the neighbourhood are known for their long and waxed moustaches.
Some example of Present Participles:
swimming
The Albatross is a swimming bird.
laughing
Nitrous Oxide is known as laughing gas as inhaling it can induce laughter.
burning
Put off the burning candle before you go to sleep.
The verbs in bold letters are made up of a verb and a small adverb.
(Adverb particles are not the same as prepositions.)
For example, shake (verb) + up (adverb). These are called ‘phrasal verbs.’ The meaning of a phrasal verb may be idiomatic different from the meanings of the two separate words.
Read carefully the following sentence from the text and underline the phrasal verbs.
We travel, then, in part just to shake up our complacencies.
SOLUTION:
We travel, then, in part just to shake up our complacencies.
Abroad is the place where we stay up late.
SOLUTION:
Abroad is the place where we stay up late.
I remember, in fact, after my first trip to Southeast Asia, more than a decade ago. How I would come back to my apartment in New York.
SOLUTION:
I remember, in fact, after my first trip to Southeast Asia, more than a decade ago. How I would come back to my apartment in New York.
All, in that sense, believed in, “being moved"______
SOLUTION:
All, in that sense, believed in, “being moved"______.
But there is, for the traveller at least, the sense that learning about home and.......
SOLUTION:
But there is, for the traveller at least, the sense that learning about home and.......
The words in bold type show to + verb form. These are Infinitives. An Infinitive is the base form of the verb. Infinitives are formed from a verb but they do not act as verbs because they are not verbs; ‘s’, ‘es’, or ‘ing’ cannot be added to that.
However, sometimes infinitives may occur without ‘to’. For example,
Thus even as holidays help you appreciate your own home more – …..
In this sentence, though ‘to’ is skipped off, ‘appreciate’ acts as an infinitive’.
Read the following sentence carefully from the text and find out the infinitive.
We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves.
SOLUTION:
We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves.
We travel to bring what little we can,…..
SOLUTION:
We travel to bring what little we can,…..
Yet one of the subtler beauties of travel is that it enables you to bring new eyes to the people you encounter.
SOLUTION:
Yet one of the subtler beauties of travel is that it enables you to bring new eyes to the people you encounter.
Combine two sentences into one. You may use the word given in the bracket.
I go to Iceland. I visit the lunar spaces within me. (to)
SOLUTION:
I go to Iceland to visit the lunar spaces within me.
We have the opportunity. We come into contact with more essential parts of ourselves. (of)
SOLUTION:
We have the opportunity of coming into contact with more essential parts of ourselves.
Romantic poets inaugurated an era of travel. They were great apostles of open eyes. (being)
SOLUTION:
Being great apostles of open eyes, romantic poets inaugurated on era of travel.
The travel spins us around. It shows us the sights and values ordinarily ignored. (showing)
SOLUTION:
The travel spins us around, while showing us the sights and values ordinarily ignored.
Read the sentence given below and state whether the underlined word is Gerunds or Present Participles.
As it’s a hot day, many people are swimming.
SOLUTION:
Swimming - Gerund
This is a swimming pool.
SOLUTION:
swimming - Present Participle
It’s very bad that children are begging.
SOLUTION:
begging - Gerund
Begging is a curse on humanity.
SOLUTION:
Begging - Gerund
Write an email to your friends about your proposed trek. You can take help of the following points. You can keep your parents informed about it by adding them in BCC.
A trek in the forest of Kodaikanal
Time and duration
Type of trek (cycle/motorbike/walk)
Facilities provided
Last date for registration
Fees
SOLUTION:
To: keshav.arya@tmail.com, ramesh.pawar@hotmail.com, rahul.vade@hotmail.com, hiteshpathak0405@hotmail.com
BCC: Pankajrane1897@tmail.com, vasudharane@hotmail.com
Subject: Trip to Kodaikanal
Dear Friends,
I hope you are doing well. The purpose of this e-mail is to remind all of you that we had planned to take a trip during the summer vacation and the time has come now!
I recently saw an advertisement in a newspaper about a wildlife trek in the mountains of Kodaikanal. It is being organized by an adventure travel group called Daretrekkers for seven days. It starts on 13th April, which is a Saturday and ends on 19th April, Friday. I have called them personally and found out that it is going to be a three-day trek by foot through the jungle trail, originating from Palani foothills in Tamil Nadu and ending in Kodaikanal. They will be making arrangements for train travel to and from Mumbai. They will be providing all the lodging and boarding facilities, including tents for the night halt during the trek.
There is boom in ‘Travel and Tourism’ career. Find information about different options in this field.
SOLUTION:
The students can use the following pointers to collect details about the different options in this field:
Types of Tourism
Adventure Tourism
Atomic Tourism
Bicycle Tours
Beach Tourism
Cultural Tourism
Ecotourism
Geo-tourism
Industrial Tourism
Medical Tourism
Available Career Options:
Holiday Agent/Travel Agent
Travel Officer
Tourism Manager
Agency Co-ordinator
Travel Consultant
Cruise Manager
Tour Guide
Adventure Tourism Expert
Interpreter/Translator
Tourist information center manager
Find information about Fa Hien.
SOLUTION:
Fa Hien:
He was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator, who travelled by foot from Ancient China to Ancient India in c.400 AD. His journey is documented in his travelogue and is an important source to know Indian history of his times.
Find information about Huen Tsang.
SOLUTION:
Huen Tsang:
He was also a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, and translator, who travelled to India in the 7th century. On his route to India, he visited many Buddhist sites such as Nalanda University and wrote about them in his travelogue.
Find information about Ibn Batuta.
SOLUTION:
Ibn Batuta:
He was a Moroccan scholar, who widely travelled the medieval world and visited India in the 14th century. He is said to have travelled a distance of more than one lakh kilometres, more than any other foreign travellers who had come to India.
Find information about Marco Polo
SOLUTION:
Marco Polo:
An Italian traveller, merchant writer and explorer, who visited India in the 13th century and recorded his travel in a book titled ‘The Travels of Macro Polo’. His book gives us insights into the history of India, China and Japan.
Find information about Sir Richard Burton.
SOLUTION:
Sir Richard Burton:
He was a British explorer, geographer, translator, writer, poet, and linguist. He was also known as Haji Abdu El-Yezdi and Frank Baker. He is said to have known 29 languages from across the world.
Further reading:
‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’ – Lord Byron
SOLUTION:
Do it yourself.
Further reading:
‘Gulliver’s Travels’ – Jonathan Swift
SOLUTION:
Do it yourself.
Further reading:
‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea’ – Jules Verne
SOLUTION:
Do it yourself.
Further reading:
‘Travelling Souls’ – Brian Bouldrey
SOLUTION:
Do it yourself.
