SECTION 1       Questions 1 - 14

Read the text and answer Questions 1 - 7

HOSTEL RULES AND REGULATIONS

1.BEHAVIOUR AND DISCIPLINE
1.1 Hostelites are expected to display acceptable forms of behavior, maintain discipline and decorum in the hostel complex.
1.2 Smoking is not allowed in the hostel complex at anytime.
1.3 Possession, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages, prohibited drugs, chewable tobacco in the hostel complex is not allowed.
1.4 Parties, social or political gatherings in the hostel complex are not permitted without the prior and written consent of the accommodation officer.
1.5 Hostelites must return to the hostel by 8 pm everyday and are not allowed to leave the hostel before 6 am.
1.6 The hostelites will be allowed to stay out of the hostel on submission of proper application duly authorized by a parent and only if the permission granted in writing by the accommodation officer.
1.7 A hostel campus should be a place where students can have the best possible conditions for studying and adequate rest. As such due consideration must be accorded to other hostelites at all times. Noise level must be kept low to allow other’s the opportunity to study or sleep in comfort. Television, radio etc provided in the common room must be switched off or volume turned down after 10:00 pm. These rules are intended to ensure a conducive environment for all hostelites.

2.UPKEEP OF THE HOSTEL
2.1 Hostelites are responsible for keeping their rooms and the common areas in the hostel such as visitor’s area, bathrooms, stair case, and common room etc clean and tidy at all times.
2.2 All fans, lights and electrical appliances must be switched off when not in use.
2.3 Cooking, making tea etc is not allowed in the hostel.
2.4 Common hostel furniture must not be moved without the permission of the accommodation officer.
2.5 Any damage to the hostel property must be reported immediately to the accommodation officer. Hostelites will be charged for all damages except damages caused by normal wear and tear.
2.6 Pasting of posters, writings, wall chalking, slogans of any kind or defacing the hostel in any form is not allowed.
2.7 The hostel management reserves the right to make spot checks on the hostel and rooms without having to give prior notice to the students.
2.8 Electricians, contractors or any other service person may enter rooms as and when necessary in the course of their duty under the directive of the accommodation officer. However, every effort will be made to respect the privacy and dignity of the hostelites.
2.9 The hostel management reserves the right to move hostelites to other hostel units if there is a necessity.

3.VISITORS
3.1 Visitors including parents are allowed only into the visitor’s area of the hostel during the visiting hours as follows. Weekdays: (Monday-Friday) - 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm & 7:30 am to 8:30 am, Weekend (Saturday, Sunday) and holidays- 7:30 am to 8:00 pm
3.2 All visitors must register at the guard house and provide all details and documents as requested by Security before entering the hostel complex. All visitors must leave the hostel complex by 8:00 pm.
3.3 Hostelites are not permitted to allow visitors of the opposite sex into rooms at any time for whatever reason. Any hostelites found violating this rule will be evicted from the hostel.
3.4 Non-Hostel students are prohibited in the hostel without the permission of Residential Warden. The student who violates this is answerable to the Warden.

Read the text and answer Questions 8 - 14

Long-Haul Flights

A couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of the realities of a long-haul flight - overnight across the Atlantic. My neck was locked rigid and my legs were twisted, shins cramped against the underside of the seat in front and knees jammed against the seat back. Nevertheless, after three or four hours of fitful wakefulness, I managed to drop off to sleep. Then, as they always do in economy, the crew switched on the cabin lights so that they could serve breakfast. It is the most brutal awakening and the nadir of most night flights.

Short of using ear plugs and an eye mask and hanging a "Do not disturb notice" around your neck, I can't think of a way around this particular downside to long-haul flying. But there are some things you can do. Here are 5 tips to make a long journey more bearable.

1. Book a decent seat

Most airlines that fly long haul allow you to select your seat well in advance of the flight via their website. Some have started to charge for this privilege. In BA's case, it will cost you £25 per seat for return flights in the World Traveller cabin (long haul, economy class).

However, free seat choice and online check-in opens 24 hours before departure. When I checked a couple of virtually-full flights recently, I found that there were still plenty of seats that hadn't been booked. So, as long as you are well organised and log on at the right time, you should be able to get decent seats. Choosing the best seat to book is the next problem. Bulkhead seats and seats in the emergency-exit row (for which you often have to pay extra) are popular. Seats in the emergency-exit row give you extra legroom but you are right by the lavatory door, and the legroom in the seat nearest the side of the plane is compromised because part of the door juts out. The bulkhead seats at the front of the cabin seem attractive since there is no one in front of you to recline a seat into your space. But it is also the row most often used by parents with babies.

2. Fly east to west

This will work only if you are travelling around the world, but it is a strategy worth considering for those flying to Australia or New Zealand, when a round-the-world ticket may be the same price as a normal return, or only slightly more expensive.

If you do circumnavigate in this way, you will avoid the worst effects of jet lag. Flying east to west means that your body adjusts more easily to the new time zone and you can sleep in for longer, rather than find yourself lagging behind the clock. However, the time you gain on each leg will be lost the moment you cross the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, when suddenly an entire day will be wiped out. Travel the other way and you will gain a day, but lose time on each leg.

3. Use a top-quality agent

One area in which travel agents can still give good advice on a consistent basis is long-haul travel. The complexity of possible routings, fares and airlines, especially on a round-the-world ticket, is not something that lends itself well to online systems. An idea or suggestion from an on-the-ball consultant who is compiling itineraries every day could save you both time and money.

4. Pick the best airline

There is no doubt that the top airlines have significantly improved things for long-haul passengers over the

past three or four years. Key developments include seats with more space in front of your knees; "wings" on the headrests to support your head; and on-demand seat-back entertainment so that you can choose what you want to watch and when and can put programmes on pause. But not all airlines offer equal standards of service or the same amount of legroom and, since there is a choice of carriers on nearly all routes, it is worth thinking about more than just the cheapest fare when deciding who you fly with.

5. Avoid peak-time flights

You will have more space, more air, more personal service and a nicer experience all round on a half-empty flight. Since fares vary according to demand, you are also likely to pay less for it. A good agent (see above) will be able to advise on the quietest times on individual routes but obvious times to avoid are school holidays, weekends and Monday - the busiest flying day of the week.

SECTION 2       Questions 15 - 27

Read the text and answer Questions 15 - 21

Safety and Security

A Civil Unrest/Political Tension

You should avoid any large public gatherings or political demonstrations as they may turn violent.

B Crime

Petty crime targeting foreigners, including pickpocketing, mugging and theft, occurs throughout Turkmenistan particularly on trains (commonly on overnight rail services) and in markets.

Travellers have been robbed when using unofficial taxis. You should seek assistance from staff at hotels, restaurants or places of entertainment to book a licensed taxi.

Crime levels are higher at night. You should avoid walking alone and avoid using public transport after dark. Women can be subjected to verbal and physical harassment. You should take care when travelling alone and pay attention to your immediate surroundings.

There have been reports of harassment, mistreatment and extortion by police or other local officials. Gangs of bandits are known to operate in the south-east area of the country.

C Local Travel

Identity checks are common and you should carry identification with you at all times and ensure all travel documents are in order. Foreigners may be subject to increased security checks and scrutiny from internal security, including questioning and car and home searches.

The regions bordering Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, areas of the Caspian coast and Dashoguz are designated restricted zones and are closed to foreigners without government permission.

Road conditions and driving standards are poor. Roads can be particularly hazardous in winter and spring, when avalanches and landslides occur. Driving at night is also particularly dangerous. Access to service stations can be limited in rural areas.

Arbitrary police checks and security checkpoints on roads are common. You should carry a copy of your passport and visa at all times.

Rail travel can be unreliable and dangerous due to criminal activity. If you are travelling overnight, store your valuables in a safe place. Do not leave the compartment unattended and secure the door from the inside.

D Airline Safety

Airline and air charter safety and maintenance standards vary throughout the world. It is not known whether maintenance procedures and safety standards on aircraft used on internal flights are always properly observed or whether passengers are covered by airline insurance.

E Money and Valuables

Before you go, organise a variety of ways to access your money overseas, such as credit cards, travellers' cheques, cash, debit cards or cash cards. Australian currency and travellers' cheques are not accepted in many countries. Consult with your bank to find out which is the most appropriate currency to carry and whether your ATM card will work overseas. Turkmenistan is predominantly a cash economy and travellers’ cheques are only accepted in some major hotels. There are no ATMs in Turkmenistan. The official currency is the Turkmen Manat (TMM). US dollars are readily exchanged. To avoid difficulties, ensure banknotes are in good condition. You should exchange any unspent local currency prior to departure as you may not be able to exchange it outside Turkmenistan.

Read the text and answer Questions 22 - 27

Tourism in Mexico

They appear out of nowhere like a heat-addled mirage on the flat, straight, mangrove-fringed road. The first sign of humanity in 40 miles, the tourists have ripened to pink under the glare of the tropical sun, with their legs wrapped around shiny red all-terrain vehicles buzzing down the asphalt like one giant invasive insect.

It's a strange sight, all right. But it's eclipsed moments later by an even stranger one. Looming on the Caribbean just beyond the end of the road is the world's largest cruise ship, the Independence of the Seas, harboring a bounty of 3,811 passengers.

Thanks to cruise ships like this one, Mexico's Costa Maya (not to be confused with the Riviera Maya farther north), set along a once mostly deserted stretch of the Yucatán Peninsula, is becoming one of the most visited, albeit least known, tourist regions in the nation. In 2006, just five years after the opening of the cruise ship facility here, 850,000 passengers sailed into port. By then, the once tiny fishing village of Mahahual had exploded from 80 souls dependent on the sea, to 3,500 dependent on tourism.

The region begins about 80 miles south of Cancun and stretches from the vast Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve almost to the Belize border. It encompasses huge swaths of protected jungle, a number of lesser-known Maya archaeological sites, indigenous villages, pristine lagoons and top-notch diving. Plans call for low-rise, low-density development emphasizing small, eco-friendly hotels that cater to adventure seekers and cultural travelers.

South of Tulum, a lengthy stretch of almost uninterrupted resort development comes to an abrupt halt at the northern edge of the Sian Ka'an Reserve. The UNESCO World Heritage site (whose name is Maya for "where the sky is born") is a 1.3-million-acre haven of tropical forest and wetlands. It's alive with more than 300 bird species, pig-like peccaries, monkeys, puma and jaguar. It harbors turquoise lagoons where orchids and bromeliads cling to mangroves whose spiny roots grasp the earth like gnarled fingers.

Save for a few fishing lodges, Sian Ka'an isn't set up for overnight visitors. But day trips are organized by a number of tour operators, including Community Tours of Sian Ka'an, a cooperative formed in an attempt to keep profits - and residents - in the small Maya town of Muyil.

SECTION 3 Questions 28 - 40

Read the text and answer Questions 28 - 40

Emerging Tourist Destinations

A The rise of emerging economies marks the third revolution the travel industry has undergone in the past 50 years. The first came in the 1960s, in the shape of cheap air travel and package tours. Rising incomes enabled people of modest means to travel more, to farther-flung parts of the globe, and to take advantage of “all-in” offers that may have included sightseeing trips, scuba diving or camel rides. The second was the advent of the internet, which has allowed millions to book flights, hotels, hire cars and package tours without going near a high-street travel agent.

B Now fast-growing emerging economies-not just Dubai but also the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and others, such as South Korea and Vietnam-are changing the world of travel once again, either as destinations or as sources of newly affluent travellers. Often, citizens of these countries are visiting similar, emerging lands. Last year, for example, Russians made a total of 34.3m trips abroad, up from 29.1m in 2006. Turkey was their most popular destination, followed by China and Egypt. The Chinese head the table of visitors to Vietnam.

C The WTTC claims that travel and tourism is the world's biggest industry in terms of its contribution to global GDP and employment. The lobby group forecasts that global travel and tourism will account for $5.9 trillion of economic activity in 2008, or about 10% of global GDP, employing 238m people. It expects employment to rise to 296m in the next decade. In fact, assessing the scale of the industry is not straightforward. When all travel and tourism is lumped together, so that everything from airlines to cafés counts, it is no surprise that the WTTC's total is so large. As a rule, restaurants do not record whether they are serving tourists, business travellers or locals out for a meal.

D For the next year or two, the travel industry is likely to find its long-standing customers in rich Western countries a less than reliable source of growth. As American families plan their holidays, many will be worrying about the frailty of their country's economy, the rising cost of petrol and-for those venturing outside the United States-the weakness of the dollar. They are delaying booking in the hope of nabbing cheap, last-minute deals. They certainly seem to be spending less. On May 7th Orbitz, an American online travel-firm, posted a first-quarter net loss of $15m compared with a net loss of $10m a year earlier. The majority of its business is domestic bookings, which were 6% lower in the first quarter than a year earlier, at $2.4 billion.

E For faster growth, the industry will have to look to emerging economies. These are becoming increasingly well established as places to visit. Now they are starting to provide more visitors too. According to McKinsey, a consulting firm, by the middle of the next decade almost a billion people will see their annual household incomes rise beyond $5,000-roughly the threshold for spending money on discretionary goods and services rather than simple necessities. Consumers' spending power in emerging economies will rise from $4 trillion in 2006 to more than $9 trillion-nearly the spending power of western Europe today.

F Some of that extra purchasing power will go on travel, at home and abroad. Western companies are flocking into the developing world to prepare for these new tourists. “The Middle East, India and China are the next big thing,” predicts Bill Marriott, the chairman and chief executive of Marriott, an American hotel chain. He thinks that the industry will be bigger in the Middle East, where he is planning to build 65 hotels by 2011, than in India. China will dwarf even the Middle East.
 
G Last year the number of visits abroad by the Chinese reached 47m, 5m more than the number of foreign visitors to China. The Chinese also made 1.6 billion trips at home-a staggering total, but not much more than one each. According to WTTC forecasts, Chinese demand for travel and tourism will quadruple in value in the next ten years. At present China ranks a distant second, behind the United States, in terms of demand, but by 2018 it will have closed much of the gap.

H Other emerging economies have woken up to the spending power of Chinese tourists. Mexico is one: AeroMéxico will begin direct flights between Mexico City and Shanghai at the end of May. The plan is to fly twice a week. In Vietnam, home to one of the fastest-growing tourist industries in the world, Chinese and other Asian tourists are overtaking Westerners. In the first 11 months of last year 507,000 visitors came to Vietnam from China, along with 442,000 from South Korea and 376,000 from America. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is also counting on more Chinese custom. It forecasts that 1.3m Chinese will visit the country this year, 10% more than last year when visitors were put off by Thailand's unsettled politics.