The Tourist Trade Contributes Absolutely Nothing to Increasing Understanding between Nations
The tourist trade is booming. With all this coming andgoing, you’d expect greater understanding to develop betweenthe nations of the world. Not a bit of it! Superb systems ofcommunication by air, sea and land make it possible for us tovisit each other’s countries at a moderate cost. What was oncethe ‘grand tour’, reserved for only the very rich, is now withineverybody’s grasp? The package tour and chartered flights are not to be sneered at. Moderntravelers enjoy a level of comfort which the lords and ladies on grand tours in the old days couldn’thave dreamed of. But what’s the sense of this mass exchange of populations if the nations of theworld remain basically ignorant of each other?
Many tourist organizations are directly responsible for this state of affairs. They deliberately set outto protect their clients from too much contact with the local population. The modern tourist leadsa cosseted, sheltered life. He lives at international hotels, where he eats his international food andsips his international drink while he gazes at the natives from a distance. Conducted tours to placesof interest are carefully censored. The tourist is allowed to see only what the organizers want himto see and no more. A strict schedule makes it impossible for the tourist to wander off on his own;and anyway, language is always a barrier, so he is only too happy to be protected in this way. Atits very worst, this leads to a new and hideous kind of colonization. The summer quarters of theinhabitants of the cite universitaire: are temporarily reestablished on the island of Corfu. Blackpool isrecreated at Torremolinos where the traveler goes not to eat paella, but fish and chips.
The sad thing about this situation is that it leads to the persistence of national stereotypes. Wedon’t see the people of other nations as they really are, but as we have been brought up to believethey are. You can test this for yourself. Take five nationalities, say, French, German, English,American and Italian. Now in your mind, match them with these five adjectives: musical, amorous,cold, pedantic, native. Far from providing us with any insight into the national characteristics of thepeoples just mentioned, these adjectives actually act as barriers. So when you set out on yourtravels, the only characteristics you notice are those which confirm your preconceptions. Youcome away with the highly unoriginal and inaccurate impression that, say, ‘Anglo-Saxons arehypocrites’ of that ‘Latin peoples shout a lot’. You only have to make a few foreign friends tounderstand how absurd and harmful national stereotypes are. But how can you make foreignfriends when the tourist trade does its best to prevent you?
Carried to an extreme, stereotypes can be positively dangerous. Wild generalizations stir up racialhatred and blind us to the basic fact—how trite it sounds! – That all people are human. We are allsimilar to each other and at the same time all unique.
1. The best title for this passage is
[A] tourism contributes nothing to increasing understanding between nations.
[B] Tourism is tiresome.
[C] Conducted tour is dull.
[D] tourism really does something to one’s country.
2. What is the author’s attitude toward tourism?
[A] apprehensive.
[B] negative.
[C] critical.
[D] appreciative.
3. Which word in the following is the best to summarize Latin people shout a lot?
[A] silent.
[B] noisy.
[C] lively.
[D] active.
4. The purpose of the author’s criticism is to point out
[A] conducted tour is disappointing.
[B] the way of touring should be changed.
[C] when traveling, you notice characteristics which confirm preconception.
[D] national stereotypes should be changed.
5. What is ‘grand tour’ now?
[A] moderate cost.
[B] local sight-seeing is investigated by the tourist organization.
[C] people enjoy the first-rate comforts.
[D] everybody can enjoy the ‘grand tour’.
答案详解（反白可见）：
1. A 旅游对增进民族了解毫无建树。第二段开始点出，许多旅游组织直接负责旅游事宜，他们有意识不让旅游者接触当地居民，让他们过着一种关怀备至又与世隔绝的生活。住的是国际饭店，吃的是国际食品，喝的是国际饮料，在原处观看当地居民。严格有序的计划使旅游者难以自己一人闲逛，语言的障碍，又使他们乐意接受保护。第三段涉及坚持民族模式化――老一套的想法，所以一开始旅游，你见到的民族特性就只是证实了你自己设想的基本事实――所有人民都是人类。只有交朋友才能知道民族模式是多么荒谬、有害，可是旅行社竭力制止，你又怎么能交上外国朋友呢？这一切说明A项对。
B.旅游很累。C.导游观光很单调乏味。D.旅游确实对国家有贡献。
2. C 批评。
3. B 吵吵闹闹的。
4. B 旅游的方式应改变。整篇文章（除第一段外）都环绕旅游方式不理想来进行批评。第二段集中在导游观光使旅游者难以和当地人民接触。第三段，见到的只是证实了旅游者本人事先形成的思想/先入之见，旅游根本达不到了解对方的目的。第四段讲了民族固定模式（先入之见的模式）的可怕后果。要使人懂得所有的人们都是人类，彼此相似，又各具特点，就得改变旅游的方式。
A.导游观光令人失望。C.旅游时，你见到的 特性证实了你的先入之见。D.民族模式应当改变。这三条都是批评的具体内容。
5. D 人人都能享受大旅游。大旅行是专指英国富家子弟上学中的一门课程－到欧洲大陆观光。不是人人都能享受。这里用grand tour表示人人都能享受类似grand tour的一切，甚至超过，如第一段指出：现代旅游者享受的舒适设施，达到了大旅行中老爷、小姐们做梦都没有想到的水平。海陆空高级交流联络通讯系统，使人们有可能钱花得不多就能访问、观光别的国家。所以说，曾是有钱人专享的大旅行，普通人也能领略。“grand tour”有引号，表明作为比喻。
A.费用不高。文内是费用合适、中等、恰当。B.当地观光受组织审查。C.人们喜欢一流舒适设施。