During the first day or so of any tour there are moments of bitterness, when the traveller feels more than coldly
towards his knapsack, when he is half in a mind to throw it bodily over the hedge. Yet it soon acquires a property
of easiness. It becomes magnetic; the spirit of the journey enters into it again. And no sooner have you passed the
straps over your shoulder again than the less of sleep are cleared from you, you pull yourself together with a shake
and fall at once into your stride. And surely, of all possible moods, this, in which a man takes the road, is the best.
1.Comment on the writer's use of the expression "in anything but name". 2. What in the opinion of the writer
are the main disadvantages of having company on a walking tour? 3. "You should be as a pipe for any wind to play
on." What is the significance of this statement? 4. How, according to the writer, is man affected by prolonged
walking in the open air? 5. What impression do we receive from the use of the word "bodily"? 6. The writer
describes the knapsack as becoming magnetic. In what way is this an accurate description? 7. Taking the theme as
a whole, what do you think is "the spirit of the journey" referred to?
2. Give a summary of the text.
3. Use the Topical Vocabulary in answering the questions:
1. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of a hiking tour? 2. What must you take with you if you are
going on a week's walking tour? 3. What's your daily routine when on a hike? 4. How would you plan your day in
hot stuffy weather? 5. What would you do in cold and rainy weather? 6. Do you take the weather forecast into
account when going hiking? 7. What do you like for breakfast, dinner and supper when on a hike? 8. What must
you do to make a fire, to cook scrambled eggs,' to cook fish soup, to cook porridge? 9. Do you like sleeping out?
10. Which would you prefer: sleeping out or being put up at the village? Give reasons for your choice. 11. Do you make a
point of having a swim every day no matter what the weather is? 12. Which would you rather choose: a hiking trip or a river
trip? Why? 13. Have you or your friends ever gone fishing? What is characteristic of an experienced angler? 14. What do you
do of an evening during a hiking tour?
4. Read the poem, comment on it and answer the questions.
Leisure
What is this life if, full of care.
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.