📖 Reading
My name is Lucy. This summer, my family and I are going on holiday to a small town near the sea. We are very excited! Our holiday is two weeks long, and we have got a lot of plans.
We are staying in a little hotel with a blue door. It is near the beach. From our room, we can see the sea. There is a nice restaurant next to the hotel, and there are many shops in the town too.
Every morning, we walk to the beach. My brother can swim very well, so he swims in the sea every day. I like to sit on the sand and read my book. In the afternoon, we often visit different places in the town. There is an old castle and a small museum. My mother loves the museum because it has old boats and maps.
In the evening, we eat dinner at the restaurant near our hotel. The food is delicious! My favourite food there is fish and chips. After dinner, we usually walk along the beach and watch the sun go down. It is very beautiful.
This holiday is wonderful. We are happy here, and we don't want to go home!
🗣️ Speaking — discussion
Context
- Budget airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet, and Southwest Airlines have made air travel cheaper and more accessible to millions of people worldwide.
- These airlines offer low fares by cutting costs—no free meals, smaller seating, charges for luggage, and flying from secondary airports.
- More people can now afford holidays abroad, even on a limited budget.
- However, budget airlines have also changed how we travel—passengers must plan carefully and accept fewer services.
- The growth of budget travel has made tourism boom in smaller cities and countries that were previously hard to reach.
Themes
- Accessibility and Equality — Budget airlines have democratized travel, allowing people from different income levels to explore new places and cultures that were previously expensive or impossible to visit.
- Consumer Choice and Trade-offs — Travelers must decide: do they prefer cheap fares with fewer services, or higher prices for comfort and convenience?
- Environmental Impact — More cheap flights mean more people flying, which raises questions about carbon emissions and climate change caused by aviation.
- Cultural Tourism and Local Communities — Budget airlines bring tourists to small towns and lesser-known regions, which can help local economies but also create overcrowding and cultural stress.
Personal Response
- Have you ever taken a budget airline? What was your experience?
- Do you prefer cheap flights or expensive flights with more comfort? Why?
- Would you fly to a city far away if it was very cheap?
Themes & Ideas
- Do you think cheap air travel is good or bad for tourism?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of budget airlines?
- How has cheap travel changed the way people take holidays?
Critical Thinking
- If budget airlines didn't exist, where would people go on holiday instead?
- What hidden costs do budget airlines have besides the plane ticket?
- How could budget airlines reduce their environmental impact?
Cultural & Social Topics
- Does cheap travel help or hurt small towns and villages that depend on tourism?
- Should governments limit cheap flights to protect the environment?
- How has budget travel changed the tourism industry?
🎭 Classroom activity
Pair Activity: Compare Airlines. Students work in pairs with two airline options (one budget, one full-service). They compare prices, services, and luggage allowances using simple language ('This airline is cheaper, but that airline has free meals'). Each pair presents their recommendation to the class.
✏️ Questions
- My family ___ (have got) two suitcases for our trip to Spain.
- There ___ a big hotel near the beach in our town.
- Look! The tourists ___ (take) photos of the old castle right now.
- She ___ (can / swim) very well, so she loves going to the sea on holiday.
- Please take ___ umbrella with you; it often rains in this city during the summer.
- We usually ___ (go) to the mountains for our holidays, but this year we are going to the beach.
- How long is Lucy's holiday?
- a) One week
- b) Two weeks
- c) Three weeks
- d) One month
- Where is the hotel?
- a) In the town centre
- b) Near the castle
- c) Near the beach
- d) Near the museum
- What does Lucy do on the beach in the morning?
- a) She swims in the sea
- b) She reads her book
- c) She visits the museum
- d) She eats dinner
- Why does Lucy's mother love the museum?
- a) It has old boats and maps
- b) It has a restaurant
- c) It has a beach
- d) It has a blue door
- In this text, what does 'delicious' mean?
- a) Very tasty
- b) Very old
- c) Very expensive
- d) Very cold
- What is the main idea of the text?
- a) Lucy's brother is a very good swimmer
- b) Lucy's family is enjoying a lovely seaside holiday
- c) Lucy does not like her holiday
- d) The museum is the best part of the town