Theme 2.4: Travel and tourism - Reading comprehension
Theme 2.4 reading comprehension covers texts about holidays, both recounted in the past and planned for the future: types of transport and accommodation, weather, tourist attractions and opinions of a trip. The examiner is testing whether a student can establish the correct time frame from the verb tense (preterite for a completed past holiday, ir a + infinitive or the future tense for a planned trip), follow sequence connectives (primero, después, luego, al final) to order events correctly, and link weather or price details to the writer's overall opinion of the holiday. Texts are commonly blog-style recounts of a past trip or brochure-style descriptions of an upcoming one.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Establish the holiday's time frame first: preterite verbs (fui, visite, nos alojamos) signal a past holiday being recounted, while ir a + infinitive or the future tense (voy a viajar, viajaré) signal a future or planned holiday - many true/false questions hinge on this distinction alone.
- Underline transport and accommodation nouns (en avion, en tren, en un hotel de cuatro estrellas, en un camping, en un albergue) and match each to the correct stage of the journey.
- Track sequence connectives (primero, luego, después, al final, por la mañana/tarde/noche) to place events in the correct order for questions that ask what happened first or last.
- Note weather and reaction expressions together (hacía sol, hacía mal tiempo, llovio todo el día) since the weather is often directly linked to whether the writer enjoyed the trip.
- Watch opinion adjectives with intensifiers (bastante caro, demasiado ruidoso, una pasada, un rollo) - the intensifier changes how strongly positive or negative the opinion actually is.
- Spot negatives about what did not happen or what the writer would not repeat (no volveria, no lo recomiendo, no pudimos visitar).
- For prices, distances and durations, note both the number and the unit (euros, kilómetros, noches, días) since questions can ask for either separately.
Worked example
Read this extract and put the following three events in the order they happened: swimming in the sea, visiting the cathedral, having dinner at a beach restaurant. Texto: El primer día del viaje visitamos la catedral por la mañana, que me pareció impresionante. Por la tarde nadamos en el mar, aunque el agua estaba bastante fria. Por la noche cenamos en un restaurante en la playa donde probé el pescado más fresco de mi vida.
- Identify the time markers attached to each activity: por la mañana (in the morning) for the cathedral, por la tarde (in the afternoon) for swimming, and por la noche (at night) for dinner.
- Order the time markers chronologically: por la mañana comes first, por la tarde second, por la noche last.
- Match each activity to its time marker in order: cathedral (morning), swimming (afternoon), dinner (night).
- State the final order: visiting the cathedral, then swimming in the sea, then having dinner at the beach restaurant.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is the difference in meaning between 'fui a México' and 'voy a ir a México'?Show answer
Answer: 'Fui a México' means I went to México (a completed past trip); 'voy a ir a México' means I am going to go to México (a future, planned trip).
Q2Translate into English: 'Nos alojamos en un hotel de tres estrellas cerca de la playa.'Show answer
Answer: We stayed in a three-star hotel near the beach.
Q3In 'El viaje fue bastante caro, pero valio la pena', what is the writer's overall opinion of the trip?Show answer
Answer: Positive overall - although it was quite expensive, they think it was worth it.
Q4What does 'no lo recomiendo' mean in English?Show answer
Answer: I do not recommend it.
Q5True or false: 'Llovio todos los días' describes good weather throughout the holiday.Show answer
Answer: False - it means it rained every day, so the weather was bad.
Q6Give the English meaning of 'primero... después... al final'.Show answer
Answer: First... afterwards/then... finally/in the end.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Lee el texto y contesta a las preguntas en inglés. El verano pasado fui de vacaciones a Cancún, en México, con mis padres y mi hermano. Viajamos en avion, un vuelo de casi doce horas desde Madrid, y nos alojamos en un hotel todo incluido cerca de la playa. El primer día simplemente descansamos junto a la piscina porque estábamos agotados del viaje. Al día siguiente hicimos una excursion a unas ruinas mayas, que me pareció la mejor parte de todo el viaje, aunque hacía muchísimo calor y tuvimos que llevar mucha agua. Por desgracia, el último día llovio tanto que no pudimos ir a la playa como habíamos planeado. A pesar de eso, fue uno de los mejores viajes de mi vida y espero volver algún día. (a) Who went on holiday to Cancún, and how did they travel there? (b) What did the family do on the first day, and why? (c) What did they do the day after, and how did the writer feel about it? (d) What was the weather like during that excursion? (e) What happened on the last day that changed their plans?
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Lee el texto y contesta a las preguntas. Este verano tres amigos van a hacer viajes muy diferentes. Marta: Voy a ir de camping a los Pirineos con mi familia; haremos senderismo todos los días y dormiremos en tiendas de campana. Jorge: Yo voy a viajar a Londres con el instituto; nos alojaremos en un albergue juvenil y visitaremos varios museos gratuitos. Alicia: Yo me voy a quedar en un hotel de lujo en la costa con mis abuelos; lo único que pienso hacer es relajarme junto a la piscina. ¿Verdadero, falso o no se menciona? (a) Marta va a dormir en un hotel de lujo. (b) Jorge va a viajar con el instituto a Londres. (c) Jorge va a visitar museos que cuestan mucho dinero. (d) Alicia piensa relajarse junto a la piscina. (e) Marta va a viajar sola, sin su familia. Elige la opción correcta para (f): ¿Quién va a hacer senderismo? (i) Marta, (ii) Jorge, (iii) Alicia.
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See real GCSE Spanish past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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