Lesson 1A: Feel the Rhythm

Welcome to Jamaica, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world! A lot of tourists visit us during the summer, which means I can earn some pocket money by helping my parents out in our tour company. But, to be honest, I don’t work very hard. My parents are not very good with computers, so from time to time they ask me to create some ads for our holiday packages. It’s not as easy as it sounds, though. We offer lots of different kinds of activities, so it can be very challenging to come up with original and interesting texts for them all. That’s why my favourite packages to write about are city breaks; you can never run out of things to do in Montego Bay or Kingston! Other than doing this, I also keep our company website up to date, and I sometimes answer our guests’ e-mails and online comments. I often hang around at the company, so I tell tourists what is included in our day trips, give them our island travel guides, and inform them about the prices and timetables of the tours. And when I’ve finished working, I do what I always advise our guests to do: hit the beach and have fun with my friends!

Paul: When I was young, my holidays used to be all about the adrenaline rush you get from activities such as bungee-jumping or rafting. I must say I prefer less adventurous holidays now. However, I can’t imagine just lying on the beach all day. I’m still quite physically active, so I like spending time outdoors. Although I’m often very busy, I like to go hiking in the hills when I find the time. But there’s one thing I’m especially looking forward to on my next holiday: jumping into the water and enjoying the underwater world! I almost never get the chance to explore marine life, so I think it will be a nice change.

Miranda: My friends and I spent our last summer on a cruise ship. While it was fun to see so many beautiful places, we felt a bit bored after some time. Every day felt the same to us. Actually, I feel as if almost all our summer holidays are the same. That’s why, this summer, we’re looking for something completely different for a change. We’re not exactly sporty, but we love to get our blood pumping from time to time. We’ve decided we’d like to do something fun, but not too dangerous; I’m afraid of heights, so bungee jumping is out of the question. But driving go-karts, cage diving with sharks, or something else exciting, would do just nicely!

Luiz: The last couple of months have been really hectic, and I’ve been under a lot of stress all the time. I’ve had no time for doing things I love, such as playing football with my friends, because I’ve had to work long hours almost every day. But what has been even more exhausting than my job is planning the wedding. My wife and I got married last week, but we’re still recovering from all the hard work that we put into organising everything. We’d like to get away for two weeks, so we’re looking for something where we could relax and spend some time alone. No people, no stress, no Internet: just the two of us. We desperately need to unplug for a while.