“I ALWAYS HATED HOLIDAYS…” (p. 14-15 Broad Ways Terminales)
Illustration : Cartoon by Rupert Besley (
We are immediately struck by / What strikes us first is the row of caravans on a campground… All the caravans look similar / look practically the same size / colour… It must take place in the country / in the summer / at the height of the summer season / at the peak of the tourist season… We are given the impression that the field is overcrowded / that the caravans are crammed into a limited space… The cartoon is based on a contrast between the drawing and the caption… The caption clearly conveys the idea that people long to escape from urban life, but it is quite difficult to do so… There is no getting away from “madding crowds” / a grey, monotonous, standardised world… All the caravans look alike and the grey colour reinforces the impression of monotony and conformism… The holiday-makers want to avoid / forget the stress of urban life / enjoy the peace and quiet of the country / escape from the hustle and bustle of city life / take a break from work… They are looking forward to camping in the wild / enjoying nature… This dream is in fact an illusion… The caption is ironic and denounces our life in a standardised world… The cartoonist certainly intends to warn us about the dangers of mass tourism… The message is quite pessimistic and unfortunately it is quite realistic…
In this excerpt from David Lodge's novel, Sheldrake is doing a Ph.D. on tourism and he claims that“… tourism is the new world religion.” (l. 13) Sheldrake is being very provocative… It is an unexpected statement… His opinion contrasts / is in sharp contrast with public opinion… He asserts / claims that it’s a waste of time / he couldn’t stand / bear being on a beach for hours / he was fed up with / he didn’t fancy playing on a beach… He’d rather stay at home… As a student he didn’t feel like travelling… He was unwilling to go abroad… He went to Europe reluctantly / half-heartedly… He thinks travelling is nothing but a waste of time and energy… He was bored stiff / to death…
Then it suddenly dawned on him / It crossed his mind that / It occurred to him that / He found out / realised that tourism was the new world religion… Mass tourism / travel is a worldwide phenomenon / occupation / is common to thousands / millions of people all over the world… In a "dechristianised" world holidays have taken the place of religion…
Sheldrake wants to demonstrate that people are being deceived into thinking that holidays do them good… They are being cheated / indoctrinated by advertisers who resort to skilful marketing strategies… He wants consumers to be aware that they are fools / being fooled… He debunks the myth of holidays because according to him they are stressful… It is important to note the influence of advertising since tourism has become an industry that works like all other industries and advertises to sell its products / package deals… People are shown views of lovely / sunny / deserted beaches when they are crammed together in an underground train… They are deluded into thinking that travelling will offer them an escape from the dull routine of their life… In his opinion people want to conform / imitate others… Standards are dictated and imposed on them… Going on holiday has become standard behaviour… It is totally artificial…
In this passage the passengers are seen through Bernard’s eyes and he is quite ironic… He obviously makes fun of the passengers’ casual clothes… He laughs at average tourists… The word “garish” is quite derogatory…
The figures given by Sheldrake (l. 37-40) suggest that tourism / the tourism industry is expanding… The figures are huge and alarming… They suggest that it is a worldwide problem…
To conclude, we can say that Sheldrake wants to persuade / convince people that they are being deluded into thinking that holidays are enjoyable / that they are totally mistaken… He wants to warn people about a danger… The number of tourists has sharply increased / has soared… Mass tourism is detrimental to the environment… People are not aware of the damage they cause… He stresses the danger of mass tourism because it threatens our environment… He is concerned about the future as man is destroying the environment… He blames / criticises tourism for depleting resources… The problem is alarming / acute… Drastic measures / steps should be taken to protect our planet… There should be tougher restraints on sightseeing since we can’t go on destroying our world…