ZAYED AL THANI SCHOOL
Name: --------------------------------------------
English Department
Grade: 8 / --------------------------------------
Travel and vacations
What is travel? Travel means going from the place where you live to another place, especially a place
that’s far away. Have you ever been on vacation with your family? Maybe you went to another city in your
country, or maybe you went to a city in another country. Maybe you visited relatives or friends. Every year, people
all over the world travel away from home. Why do people travel for their vacations? Mostly because it is fun, and
it’s interesting to see new and different places.
Vacations are very popular, but they’re big business, too. Hotels, stores, and restaurants can make a lot of
money from tourists. That’s good because it gives people jobs to do. People work as waiters, cooks, cleaners,
security staff, cab drivers, sports instructors, tour guides, and many other things. Take a look at some of these
awesome places tourists can visit. For example, at an hotel in Bora Bora, France, you can look out of your door at
the fish in the water. Also if you stay in an hotel in the Liwa Desert, you can go for a desert walks, go quad biking,
and go camel riding.
1- Why do people travel for their vacations? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2- Which business benefits more from tourists? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3- Where can you enjoy looking at fish in the water from your door? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4- What activities can you do in the Liwa Desert? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5- Whose job can be in touch more with tourists? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Match the words to make a phrase.
1 – ride ______
A ) a show or a movie
2 – go
B) a dish
______
3 – watch ______
C) to a tour guide
4 – taste ______
D) to a museum
5 – listen ______
E) a bike or a camel
One of the earliest and most famous trade routes that crossed Europe, the Middle East, and Asia is
called the Silk Road. The Silk Road got it’s name because one of the main goods that people wanted to trade was
beautiful Chinese silks. People in Europe and in Arabia thought these silks were very precious.
The Silk Road was more than 5500 kilometers long. The Silk Road crossed many countries, so people
traded many different objects along it: for example, spices and gold, as well as silks. However, not everything that
passed along the route was good. New diseases spread from one country to another.
Over two thousand years ago, the Arabians also established famous trading sea routes. People traded
spices and silks between India, Africa, and the Mediterranean. There were other sea routes between China and
India and China and Japan. But not all the big trading routes were between the eastern and western parts of the
world. Another popular route was called the Amber Route. It was named after the orange fossil , amber, that was
traded along it. Amber was also called the “ gold of the north”. It went south from the Baltic through northern
Europe to the Alps.
1 – What did people trade along the Silk Road?
a) ------------------------------------- b) ------------------------------------- c) ------------------------------------2 – What negative things did people exchange along the Silk Road?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 – How did the old routes get their names? Give two examples.
a) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
b) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
 Match the words on the left to the definitions on the right.
1 – to establish _______
2 – precious _______
3 – goods
_______
4 – route
_______
5 – famous _______
A) very well known
B) things people own and can sell
C) another word for a road
D) to set up
E) a thing that has value or great worth
 Circle the correct option in each sentence.
1 – One of the earlier / earliest routes that crossed Europe was the Silk Road.
2 – Which is the most / more precious – salt or gold?
3 – Today, people trade goods, but earliest / earlier, they bartered.
4 – Which is the nicer / nicest place to buy gold in Abu Dhabi?