1. A holiday disaster.
Read the story about a holiday disaster, then choose the best summary below.
This one happened a few years ago when we were on holiday in Spain for the summer. From our hotel in Andalusia we drove 150 miles north to Cordoba for the day. After three hours driving we arrived in Cordoba at midday and found ourselves in a labyrinth of streets not marked on the palm-sized map in our Michelin Guide. Eventually we parked on a small cafe forecourt, got out and were promptly addressed by a local in French. My French is better than my Spanish, so I established that we were still in Spain and could probably park there till the cafe opened at 8pm.
Hot and dehydrated we spent the afternoon walking from bar to bar, seeing the odd sight until, back in a maze of tiny streets, we remembered the car. What we could not remember was where we had left it.
Without a better map we couldn't search systematically, so I waited while Steve went to the end of the street and disappeared. I thought about placating first the irate cafe owner and then, when Steve did not reappear, the hire car company. I now realised that Steve, whose only Spanish was "un poco", had the dictionary, passports, cameras and car keys; I had the money and maps. How would he find his way back? By 7.45pm the light was fading. Over the next 40 minutes I faced facts. I had lost my husband, my car and my way in a dark city, with no ID or means of explaining myself. I tried to find someone to help me and chose a young woman who spoke no English or French but luckily had world-class patience. Presently two policemen arrived on motorbikes and my explanations began again. At this point, an hour after he'd left, Steve reappeared. The cops, lowering their sights from a manhunt to a search for a small hire car, eventually agreed to take us on the back of their motorbikes to look for it. A flash of linguistic inspiration brought me the Spanish for "a sort of triangular square". Cordoba, it seems, is full of them. In the umpteenth of these squares we found the car, surrounded by candlelit diners. Thanking everyone we said goodbye. Strangely, our officer friends seemed keen to escort us right out of town.
Summary 1
A couple drove to Cordoba while on a holiday in Spain. They parked the car and went to explore the city. They got very lost. The man went to look for the car while his wife waited. When he didn’t come back she tried to explain the problem to a local woman and then the police. The police then helped her to find her husband and the car.
Summary 2
A couple drove to Cordoba while on a holiday in Spain. They parked the car and went to explore the city. After walking round the city they realised they could not remember where the car was. The man went to look for it, while his wife waited for him. When he didn’t come back she tried to explain the problem to lots of different people. Her husband eventually returned and they found two policemen and explained the problem to them. The police helped them to find the car.
Summary 3
A couple drove to Cordoba while on a holiday in Spain. They parked the car and went to explore the city. After walking round the city they realised they could not remember where the car was. The man went to look for it, while his wife waited for him. When he didn’t come back she tried to explain the problem to a local woman and then the police. Her husband eventually returned and they explained the problem to the police, who helped them to find the car.
2. Meaning in context.
Choose the correct meaning of the underlined words.
This one happened a few years ago when we were on holiday in Spain for the summer. From our hotel in Andalusia we drove 150 miles north to Cordoba for the day. After three hours driving we arrived in Cordoba at midday and found ourselves in a labyrinth of streets not marked on the palm-sized map in our Michelin Guide. Eventually we parked on a small cafe forecourt, got out and were promptly addressed by a local in French. My French is better than my Spanish, so I established that we were still in Spain and could probably park there till the cafe opened at 8pm.
Hot and dehydrated we spent the afternoon walking from bar to bar, seeing the odd sight until, back in a maze of tiny streets, we remembered the car. What we could not remember was where we had left it.
Without a better map we couldn't search systematically, so I waited while Steve went to the end of the street and disappeared. I thought about placating first the irate cafe owner and then, when Steve did not reappear, the hire car company. I now realised that Steve, whose only Spanish was "un poco", had the dictionary, passports, cameras and car keys; I had the money and maps. How would he find his way back? By 7.45pm the light was fading. Over the next 40 minutes I faced facts. I had lost my husband, my car and my way in a dark city, with no ID or means of explaining myself. I tried to find someone to help me and chose a young woman who spoke no English or French but luckily had world-class patience. Presently two policemen arrived on motorbikes and my explanations began again. At this point, an hour after he'd left, Steve reappeared. The cops, lowering their sights from a manhunt to a search for a small hire car, eventually agreed to take us on the back of their motorbikes to look for it. A flash of linguistic inspiration brought me the Spanish for "a sort of triangular square". Cordoba, it seems, is full of them. In the umpteenth of these squares we found the car, surrounded by candlelit diners. Thanking everyone we said goodbye. Strangely, our officer friends seemed keen to escort us right out of town.4. Write.
Choose ONE of the following tasks:
1. Write the account of your holiday disaster. Your composition should be between 200 and 300 words long.
2. Invent a travel disaster story ending with one of these sentences:
Check grammar, spelling and the organisation of your story carefully.