There are two ways to save money traveling. The first way is to get
the best deals on the specific things you want. There is a limitation to this type of approach (途徑,方法) though. If you find the lowest price on the best hotel in Honolulu at the height of the season, you will save money, but still have a very expensive vacation. Trying to get exactly what you want will generally be an expensive proposition, in travel and in life.
The other approach is to be a true opportunist. This will be difficult for some of you, and entirely unacceptable to others. Nonetheless (盡管如此),the travelers who get to travel the most, go to the widest variety of places, learn the most and do the most, are the opportunists. This will be true until you are so wealthy that you have no monetary (貨幣的;錢(qián)的)limits.
The first time I went to Ecuador, I went there because it was cheap. If it wasn’t, I would have had a great time—somewhere else. The trip lasted a month, and cost $1045, which included airfare and even the $130 fee for a guide to take me to the top or glacier (冰川) covered Mount Chimborazo.
I cut the cost by taking a bus from my home in Michigan to Miami, and back again when I returned from Ecuador. The round-trip ticket cost $158. The round-trip flight to Quito from Miami was only $256, because it was a courier (信使,通訊員) flight, which meant I signed for some luggage(car parts), and could only take carry-on luggage.
Never did I feel deprived, or bored. I had a great time, eating wherever it was cheap and clean, doing all sorts of inexpensive, but interesting things, and traveling across the country to climb Chimborazo. I also met and fell in love with my wife Ana.
Being an opportunist means you’ll have just as much variety, and probably almost everything you want—eventually. You just have to stop trying to get exactly what you want exactly when you want it. If the guide that took me up Chimborazo hadn’t dropped his price from $200 to $130, I would have spent $2 for a bus and gone hiking on EI Altar, another great Andean mountain. That would have left me with enough money for several other minor adventures.
小題1:The underlined phrase “the best deals” in the first paragraph probably refers to ______.
A.the best service | B. the lowest price |
C.the cheapest goods | D. the best approaches |
小題2:The return tickets from his hometown to Quito cost the author ______.
A.$128 | B. $256 | C. $207 | D. $414 |
小題3:The last paragraph was to tell us how to ______.
A.save money for minor adventures |
B.cut down traveling costs. |
C.deal with different situations |
D.become opportunist travelers |
小題4:It’s suggested that the author _____.
A.went hiking on El Altar |
B.traveled with his wife in Ecuador |
C.is an opportunist traveler |
D.likes traveling around the world |
小題5:Which of the following can serve as the best title of the passage?
A.Cheap Travel Secrets | B. Travel Secrets |
C.A Travel Opportunist | D. Travel Tips |