Travelling

Holidays

Feast days

Maturitní téma z anglického jazyka

Gymnázium F. X. Šaldy

Hana Kyselová

4.A

1. Travelling, holidays

Travelling is very popular in the 20^th century. People can travel on their holidays or they want to see the most beautiful sights of world's famous metropolis and places, meet new people and friends, for fun, eat something unusual and see the way of life in various countries. Some people travel on business, for political or cultural reasons. Others travel for scientific purposes.

Travelling has also some disadvantages. It may be very dangerous, we can meet bad people, we can get lost, be murdered or our money may be stolen. For some people travelling is very expensive.

Means of transport

There are many means of transport to choose from. Young people like hitchhiking or just hiking. Some people prefer going by car, by air, by train, by bus, on a motorcycle or riding a motorbike, a bike or even a horse. In London you can travel by a double-decker, in Prague by tram and in Brno by trolley-car. Other kinds of travelling is going on a yacht, canoeing, gliding, hot-air ballooning, windsurfing, skateboarding or roller-skating. In Europe it is very popular now to travel by residential cars in which you can have everything for your personal use.

The most frequent public means of transport are buses and trains. The network of bus and train stops covers most inhabited places. Public transport is cheaper, but also less comfortable. The bus and train stops in major cities are called stations. In big cities underground (subways, tube) with several different tracks have been built in order to relieve the trams and buses. They are the fastest means of urban transport and the underground trains usually go every five minutes on average. I think it is the safest transport. The taxi (cabs) in big cities can just be called by phone or hailed while they pass by in the street.

In trains you can have a seat reservation. Overnight in train is more comfortable in compartment on berth in sleeping car. You can eat here in dinning car.

Water-transport - You can use boat or ship. But more practical is ferry, when you have a lot of luggage or car. The advantage of this transport is that it is an inexpensive and the disadvantage is that you can become sea-sick.

Air-transport: Planes and helicopters are the fastest way of travelling for long way. An air ticket provide you a comfort. The disadvantage are a limited weight of our luggage, dependent on the timetable and the expensive tickets. Before you go inside the plane you must be checked, show the passport and have a boarding card.

Necessary things:

When going abroad we must get necessary documents. First of all a valid passport and a visa (to some countries we still need a visa which we can get at a local embassy in Prague). One of the most important things is to take health insurance. Besides, we must change money to hard currency in a bank or at an exchange office. We can use travellers cheques, cash or credit cars.

When going by train (or fast train, or express), we must buy tickets (single or return, first or second class), and when we fly, we must get air (or flight) tickets and find out our flight number and departure time.

You may to take hold map of country, plan of town and guidebook. But these things are often selling in that place where you going to stay.

We should know foreign languages because it is important for making ourselves understood. Most people all around the world speak English and in Europe German can be used as a world languages as well.

Travelling in our country

Travelling does not mean only going abroad but also seeing interesting places in our country or commuting to work or to school. People usually commute by train or bus, in big cities they can go by tram or the underground or take a taxi.

In our state there are many state and private travel agencies. Through travel agencies people have their trips, tickets and accommodation reserved. This tours are called package tours. But for someone is better to travel individual - make own route. You can stop where you want to and you can change your plans.

Accommodation

A lot of students that travel do not stay at the hotels, but in Youth hostels that are convenient for not se rich people. The payment is for overnight and breakfast. That is the reason of calling this hostels Bed and Breakfast.

In hotel you can pay only for half board or full board and stay in single room, double room and twin room.

Maybe you prefer to rent a room in a private house.

Kinds of luggage

For travelling we can use many kinds of luggage according to the kind of trip.

We use a knapsack for a longer sports journey, we can fix a tent and sleeping bag to it.

We use a rucksack when going for a walk or to school.

We use a suitcase when we go by a coach and we do not need carry it so often. We use it when we take a fine dress or suit for our evening entertainment and we do not want it to be enfolded.

Express tour

When you want to see monuments of history or interesting places in a short you can go on Express tour. You travel by a bus with a toilet, buffet and TV. But I think, that it is very frustrating and exhausted, because you sleep in a bus.

Travelling in our family

In our family we always used to discuss our holiday plans together. We like and respect one another and each member of the family has his or her own experience. The more we talk about our common problems the better solution we are able to come up with.

I like preparing things for travelling I usually pack my luggage one week before we are leaving. I catch travel fever. I would like to take on holidays lot of things, but I must choose the most important ones, because I do not want to have more luggage, than I am able to carry. Before my departure I buy a map or guide book. I take some food sometimes, but I prefer going to a restaurant. When I go to seaside I pack many dresses and when I go to camp or cottage I pack sports clothes. Of course I cannot forget about swimsuit, sun glasses, suntan cream, airbed, flippers and straw hat.

The most I like is air transport. It is fast and comfortable, but expensive. I also like travelling by train.

Every summer holidays we are going by the sea. When I am at the seaside I like to pick shells and pebbles. I am sunbathing, than I am sun-tanned and sometimes sunburned. Someone when is at the sea or bank of a river like to do other things. For example row in boat, punt, raft or paddle in canoes and kayak. Very nice is sale down the river.

Holidays

In our country there are many short holidays during the school year:

Autumn holidays which last only few days

Christmas holidays which last for 11 eleven days in which people celebrate Christmas and new year, on these holidays i am usually with my family for few days, we visit my grandparents and the other relation and than a i am with my friends and we prepare for New Year`s Eve; spring holidays last one week, on these holidays we usually go in Austria in Alps to sky

Easter holidays last only few days, people draw on eggs and prepare themselves for eastern customs.

Summer holidays are the longest - they last for two months.

My holidays

I have been in Italy, Poland, Germany, Turkey, Bulgaria, Croatian and France. It is a lot of places but I want to see more countries, I want to know more cultures and more people. For example Scotland, India, New Zealand and Egypt. But I like also holidays in Czech Republic. I love sunbathe by the river or lake. I like walk about in mountains and be in a nature.

The most beautiful holidays was he travel to Croatia wit my family. I saw a beautiful beach and sea with transparent water when I stood in a hotel's balcony. I love this sight

The most interesting holidays in Czech Republic was going down the river in canoes 5 years ago with my family. We slept in tents, cooked in a kettle and every day made journeys along the river Vltava.

Part of summer holidays I spend with my sister and granny at the cottage. There I am relaxing, that is sleeping, sunbathing, mushrooming, reading and swimming. There is a wonderful nature. We went for a walks.

On winter holidays I am going skiing with my father. I love cross-country skiing. My mother and my sister like down-hill skiing.

Places of interest

The most beautiful places are Rome, Venice, London, Prague, Paris or Amsterdam. We can see there very nice buildings, temples, churches or castles. For a recreation and for having a rest we travel to beautiful scenery of Whales, Alps, and places around in Mediterranean Sea. In our country foreign tourists admire Prague. There are many monuments, which were built hundred years ago. There are lots of temples, monuments, churches, castles and old buildings. In the Czech republic there are also some recreation places: Šumava, Krkonoše, Bílé Karpaty or Beskydy.

2. FEAST DAYS

in the Czech republic

• 1^st January - New Year's Day

• 14^th February - St. Valentine's Day

• 28^th March - Teacher's Day

• March/April - Easter - Boys have stock whips, water and some sprays and they goes from house to house and hit girls with stock whips, pour water on them and they usually get painted eggs, sweets or chocolates.

• 1^st April - Fool's Day

• 1^st May - The Day of Work - The day of Work and workers, they do not go to work, they have holiday. In 1889 Communistic International said that 1^st May is the day of workers and since then it is still celebrated.

• 5^th May - May's rising of Czech nation

• 8^th May - The end of WW II. - The forces of Alliance came in Prague and beat Germany in Czechoslovakia.

• The Second Sunday in May - Mother's Day

• 1^st June - Children's Day

• 5^th June - The Day of Constantine and Method

• 6^th June - The Day of Jan Hus - Jan Hus had been burned in 1415.

• 28^th October - The Independence of The State of Czechoslovakia - Austria-Hungary had been beaten on 27^th October 1981.

• 17^th November - Day of Students' fight for freedom

• 24^th December - Christmas

• 31^st December - New Year's Eve - Big celebrations, till the morning, at 24 o'clock New Year's Toast, fireworks, with family or with friends.

in Great Britain

• St. Valentine*s Day on February 14^th is a lovers feast. People give gifts or send greeting cards called Valentines to people they like or admire. This day is named for an early Christian martyr.

• Easter is celebrated as in the rest of Europe. It is an ancient symbol of spring and new life. Christians remember Christ*s death and his resurrection (rising from the death, return to life).

• The mid-summer*s day on June 24^th is marked by various special celebrations. There is a sunrise ceremony at Stonehenge and in some parts of Scotland, Cornwall or Northumbria there are lit the mid-summer fires as in pre-Christian times when this ritual was performed to give strength to the Sun and drive out devils.

• Halloween (the Eve of all Saint*s Day) on October 31^st is a night of traditional fun and games. Children light pumpkin lanterns to ward off witches and evil spirits. They dress up in strange costumes, going round the houses and say „trick or treat“ and are given chocolate or candy. Halloween is associated with ancient Celtic customs such as fortune-telling and tales of witches and ghosts. These pagan traditions mark the beginning on winter.

• On Guy Fawkes Night (Day) on November 5^th English children are to be asking passers-by in the streets to *spare a penny for the guy*. The guy - a figure of a man, stuffed with straw , paper or old rags - usually stands somewhere nearby. This figure represents Guy Fawkes, the leader of a group of men who tried to blow up the British House of Parliament in 1605. But *The Gunpowder Plot* was discovered in last time, no explosion passed and G. Fawkes was arrested and executed. So on November 5^th people fire up bonfires and there are a lot of explosions of fireworks all over England. Most families have a fireworks parties this day. Bonfire Night, what is another name for this feast, was originally Protestant demonstrations against Roman Catholics (because Guy Fawkes was a Catholic) but now it is a good occasion for funny celebration.

• Remembrance Day on November 11^th is a ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall in London when two minutes of silence remember those killed in the two world wars.

• Christmas, a time of peace and friendly will between December 23^rd - 25^th was originally a pagan celebration of hope of good coming spring and their religious aspect grow up much later. A lot of things is prepared for this holidays and there is usually decoration all over the cities. Shop windows are turning into artistic scenes, they are lit up at night, you can heard some carols and there are many presents and Xmas cards to buy. There is of course Father Christmas (in the USA called Santa Clause) - a man dressed up in red robe, with a red chap on his head, thick white beard and reindeers put on into his slider which stopping outside the chimneys.

This celebration have a different course in Great Britain and in the Czech Republic. The final preparations for Christmas Day are done on Christmas Eve (24^th December) in UK. This day is most important in the Czech Republic and any other European countries but the British don*t celebrate it. They also haven*t got a decorated Xmas tree (like people in CR), but on Christmas Eve children hang up their stockings near the fireplace - Father Christmas come down the chimney at night and fill this stockings with lots of little gifts. Christmas presents are opened after breakfast on Christmas Day (25^th December) and there is traditionally lunch - roast turkey and Christmas pudding (often in GB, always in USA but in CR there is a fish on evening December 24^th). This special festive Xmas pudding is made of eggs, chopped candied peel , mixed dried fruit and shredded suet . It is covered with white sauce and burning of strong brandy. Those who find the *treasure* are supposed to have good luck in the coming year. The day after is Boxing Day (26^th December) - the day of evening parties and public celebrations.

• New Year*s Eve is the night of merry-making all over the land, especially in Scotland. They have family parties and at twelve o*clock they sing a songs. People gather in squares, link arms and sing. In Scotland they call the last day of the year Hogmanay and the first visitor on New Year brings good luck. They give each other a piece of coal and wish „Lang may your lum reek“ which express the hope that *your chimney will smoke for a long time*.

• Bank Holidays in England are held three times a year - on first Monday in May, on last Monday in May (or first in June) and on the last Monday in August (or last in September). The offices and banks of England are closed, no business houses, factories, shops or schools are open on these days. On Bank Holidays there are convoys of cars heading to the coast and the seaside are crowded of people. Many families take a picnic or tea party and enjoy their meal in the open. Many Londoners take their families to Hampstead Heath, a large park in Greater London where take place an annual fair.

• Royal Traditions

One of the many royal traditions is the State Opening of Parliament when the Queen reads the *Queen Speech*. This ceremony takes place every autumn and hundreds of people watch the procession as the Queen travels from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament in a gold coach. In the House of Lords she sits on a throne, wearing a crown and Crown Jewels.

The Queen is also the only person in Britain with two birthdays. She was actually born on April 21^st but her *official* birthday is on the second Saturday in June. On this day there is the traditional ceremony called the Trooping the Colour. One regiment of foot guards and one regiment of horse guards *troop* the flag (*the colour*) in front of the Queen. It is a big and spectacular ceremony with brass bands every year.

• St. Patrick's Day - 17^th March - this festival come to the USA from Ireland. Everything turns green on this day - green food, green clothes. Millions of three-leafed shamrocks (representing the Holy Trinity) are used for decorations. In some places there are parades.

in the USA

• Martin Luther King Day held the third Monday in January is a remembrance day of a black clergyman and civil rights leader who preached the rights of black people which are not the second-class citizens. King was assassinated in 1968.

• Memorial Day on May 30^th (or last Monday in month) is a day in honour of those Americans who have given their lives to their country in all wars.

• Independence Day on July 4^th is the birthday of the USA.

• Veteran*s Day on November 11^th is a day in honour of those Americans who have served and given their lives in WW II. There is a official ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington D.C.

• Thanksgiving Day is celebrated every fourth Thursday in November. It remembers the first settlers - the Pilgrim Fathers - who came in 1620. It is mainly the family holiday - the whole family gathers together and enjoys a traditional dinner - roast turkey and pumpkin pies etc. This is also the day of gifts, charities and food for poor and homeless people.

There are also other holidays which have the tradition longer than the USA. Most of them came from Europe, especially from Britain and are celebrated by the majority of the population. The most important of these are e.g. St. Valentine*s Day, Halloween or Christmas.

létání na kluzáku

v kupé na lůžku, posteli

trajekt, převozní služba

platný

turistické šeky

dojíždění

trasa

vhodný, příhodný

batoh, krosna

kufr, zavazadlo

zájezdní autobus; železniční vagón (BrE)

zmuchlané (?)

projednat

čím víc mluvíme o společných problémech, tím lépe pak nacházíme řešení

ploutve

slaměný klobouk

oblázky

plout na pramici/člunu

mučedník

zmrtvýchvstání

na ochranu proti čarodejnicím

věštění

se ptají kolemjdoucích

sláma

hadry

gunpowder - střelný prach; „Puč se střelným prachem“

vůle, mysl

pohanský

náboženský význam získaly

sobi

průběh

punčochy

kandovaná ovocná kůra

krájeného loje

pálit

shromažďují se

státní svátky

nabitý, přeplněný

BrE - pouť, zábavní park

houfovat se, sešikovat se

dechové kapely

duchovní, kněz

kázal

zavražděn

poutník

shromáždit se

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