Read the article “Pack it up”.

Which of the packing tips are the most useful? (Choose 5 tips and explain your choice). Do you follow all or any of these recommendations? Why or why not?

PACK IT UP

tips to lighten your load on the road

(CNN) – Packing is a very personal experience. What you take on a trip depends largely on you… who you are, where you’re going, and what you’re going to do once you get there. But there are some general guidelines for packing – not requirements, mind you, but some handy hints that could make your trip a little less weighty.

· Use luggage that’s in decent condition, relatively lightweight but sturdy enough to take some punishment. Wheels (or a baggage caddy) will come in handy, and working locks are a must.

· Make a list of what you plan to take, and check it off as you pack. It’s best to keep your colour schemes to a minimum for maximum mix-and-match strategies. Keep the list, in case you need to file a lost luggage claim.

· Leave yourself a note by your car keys or on top of your luggage as a reminder of last-minute packing needs such as medication, hair dryer, hanging bags, etc.

· Pack lightly but tightly. Roll most items – they take up less space. Don’t pack more than one can handle.

· Wrinkle avoidance procedures: pack in plastic dry cleaner bags, fold backwards to prevent creases in the front, interweave (longer items draped over suitcase, ends outside, smaller items folded inside). Tissue between layers is also helpful.

· Stuff small items in the toes of shoes to prevent collapse.

· Bring extra underwear and socks. (Your mom was right).

· Pack miniature toiletries – sample sizes are good. DO NOT pack liquids in glass containers. Put any containers holding liquids in a sealable plastic bag. On your return home, refill the items you’ve used and the bag is ready for the next trip.

· Keep a bottle opener or corkscrew in your suitcase or toiletries bag.

· Pack a collapsible bag for new purchases, dirty clothes, etc.

· For air travel – baggage restrictions vary from airline to airline, so call first. Two bags per person is a good rule of thumb (airlines may charge for extra bags or if your bags exceed their size restrictions), and carry-on baggage is almost universally limited to two pieces that must fit in the overhead bins or beneath the seat. Keep in mind no two model airplanes are exactly the same, and what fit in a Boeing 767 may not pass muster in an MD-80.

· Most airline carry-on restrictions do not apply to purses, coats, diaper bags or camera bags. Restrictions usually do apply to briefcases. The flight attendant has the final word on whether or not a particular bag goes on board or must be checked. Don’t push it – restrictions are imposed not only for passenger comfort, but for safety as well.

· On many flights between two international cities, baggage is limited by weight rather than number of bags. Excess weight charges can be levied if your bags weigh too much, so be sure to check with the airline about each leg of your flight.

· When checking your bag with an airline, remove shoulder straps and other loose items that could get caught in conveyer belts. Be warned that wheels and handles can get broken off – you can file a claim with the airline, though you may not be reimbursed.

· Label your luggage inside and out with your name and a contact phone number.

· Wise move: when flying, put anything you may need in the first 24 hours (clothing, toiletries, etc.) into the carry-on bag in case your checked luggage is lost.

· Make sure you have $1 bills to tip skycaps, taxi drivers who help you with your luggage.

1. Read the story “All Aboard for Europe” by S. Leacock. Memorize the new vocabulary; study the notes. Retell the story.

2. Why do you think the traveller in the story did not enjoy his voyage?

All Aboard for Europe

Some Humble Advice for Travellers

by S. Leacock

Every summer thousands and thousands of our people in America go across to Europe.

Some of them go because they need a change of air; some to improve their minds; some because they were tired of making money; and others because they were tired of not making money. And some again go to see Europe, before it falls to pieces; and others go just simply and plainly for a vacation because they wanted for a few weeks to be really happy.

It is especially for this last class that these few words of advice are written. If you want to be happy when you start off on a sea voyage you have got to be prepared to face a lot of disillusionment. You are 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.

The difference begins at the very moment of embarkation. Here is what is said in the attractive Steamship Guide Book.

“What,” asks the Guide Book, “is more delightful than the embarkation on an Atlantic voyage? The size of the great steamer, its spotless decks, its commodious cabins, its luxurious saloons and its cosy library thrill us with the sense of pleasure to come. As we step on board and look about us at the dancing waters of the harbour ruffled under the breeze from the open sea beyond, we feel that now at last we are entering on the realization of our dreams.”

Yes. Exactly. Only, unfortunately, my dear reader, it is just at the very moment of embarkation that you are certain to discover that your black valise is missing. Your steamer trunk is there all right in your state-room, and the brown valise and the paper parcel that your aunt has asked you to deliver in Aberdeen when you land at Liverpool. But the black valise apparently is clean gone.

The result is that you are fussing up and down for half an hour, and when at last the valise is found (in the next state-room, owing to the simple fact that you wrote the wrong number on it), you are already far out at sea and have never seen the embarkation at all.

Never mind, there’s lots of the trip left yet. After all, listen to what the Guide Book says about our first morning at sea: “There is an extraordinary exhilaration,” it prattles on, “about the first day at sea. From the lofty deck of the great liner our eyes sweep the limitless expanse. All about is the blue of the Atlantic. We walk the deck or stand gazing in dreamy reverie at the eternal ocean.”

Oh, we do, do we? But I guess not. On our first morning at sea we have too much else to think of, even in the calmest weather, than mere reverie on the ocean. What is troubling us is the question of deck-chairs, - how do we get one? are they free, or do we have to pay? – and if we pay now, do we have to tip the man? – and which man is it that gives out our chairs?

There is room enough in this problem to keep us busy all morning; and even when we have got it straight, we start all over again with the question of what we do to get the seat that we want at the table.

And you will find, alas my dear reader, that no matter what the Guide Book says about it, that kind of worries are going to haunt you all the way. When you have quite done with the valises and the deck-chairs and the seats at the table, you still have plenty of other problems to fret over, such as the English customs officers. What do they do? Do they examine everything? Will they say anything about those canvas slippers that your aunt has asked you to deliver to her cousin in Nottingham (close to London)? Travellers lie awake at night and think of that.

And along with that ―

At what hour will you land at Liverpool and will you be able to get the 11.30 train to London or will you have to wait for the 12.30? That’s an excellent one. Many travellers have thought so hard about that and talked so much about it on deck, that they never even noticed the blue of the sea, and the rush of the flying fish or the great dolphin that flopped up beside the ship.

But there is worse yet ―

The ocean is crossed, the trials are over, and the land is in sight. We are saying good-bye to the passengers – noble fellows they all seem now. But we have a queer sense of loss and disillusionment as if our voyage had not yet begun, and a strange longing that we might have it all over again and this time know enough not to spoil it with our poor meaningless worries.

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