Reading Comprehension 8th I term

Read the article about travel and choose the best option to answer the questions.

Travelling the world

My name’s Harry Shaw. When I was 13, my parents took me out of school to go on a year-long, round-the-world trip. As a family, we’ve always loved travelling. My parents wanted to have a break from their jobs, spend more time with me and see new places. They also thought it was a good idea to show me that there are many ways to live.

Dad bought a camper van – that’s like a really big car that you can sleep in – as soon as we got to Portugal in Europe. We’d flown into Lisbon from London. The camper van was our home for several months. We travelled from Portugal to almost all the countries in Europe and visited lots of tourist sites. We didn’t need to use any guides because my parents know so many things! I learned some Spanish and German too. When we left Europe, I continued to learn Spanish online.

In Asia, I’ll never forget travelling through China. It’s such a big country! One of the best experiences for me was seeing the Chinese New Year festival. It was amazing – much larger than any of the festivals I’ve seen in London. Lots of people were wearing red because it’s a lucky colour for Chinese people. We tried some unusual food there. After China, we flew to Thailand and stayed there for a week.

After that, we went to Australia, where we stayed in a tree house in a national park. It wasn’t so hot and there was space to explore. I couldn’t believe how many amazing animals there were – from colourful birds and kangaroos to tree frogs.

Our trip ended in South America. I was quite good at Spanish by the time we got to Argentina. I enjoyed my time there because I could practise my Spanish when ordering food or doing shopping. My parents couldn't speak the language, but they were happy I could! We saw some big farms called ranches and met gauchos – cowboys who spend most of their time on horses while working on the ranches.

1 Why did Harry’s parents decide to spend a year travelling with their son?

Read the article about travel and choose the best option to answer the questions.

Travelling the world

My name’s Harry Shaw. When I was 13, my parents took me out of school to go on a year-long, round-the-world trip. As a family, we’ve always loved travelling. My parents wanted to have a break from their jobs, spend more time with me and see new places. They also thought it was a good idea to show me that there are many ways to live.

Dad bought a camper van – that’s like a really big car that you can sleep in – as soon as we got to Portugal in Europe. We’d flown into Lisbon from London. The camper van was our home for several months. We travelled from Portugal to almost all the countries in Europe and visited lots of tourist sites. We didn’t need to use any guides because my parents know so many things! I learned some Spanish and German too. When we left Europe, I continued to learn Spanish online.

In Asia, I’ll never forget travelling through China. It’s such a big country! One of the best experiences for me was seeing the Chinese New Year festival. It was amazing – much larger than any of the festivals I’ve seen in London. Lots of people were wearing red because it’s a lucky colour for Chinese people. We tried some unusual food there. After China, we flew to Thailand and stayed there for a week.

After that, we went to Australia, where we stayed in a tree house in a national park. It wasn’t so hot and there was space to explore. I couldn’t believe how many amazing animals there were – from colourful birds and kangaroos to tree frogs.

Our trip ended in South America. I was quite good at Spanish by the time we got to Argentina. I enjoyed my time there because I could practise my Spanish when ordering food or doing shopping. My parents couldn't speak the language, but they were happy I could! We saw some big farms called ranches and met gauchos – cowboys who spend most of their time on horses while working on the ranches.

2 What’s true about Harry’s experiences in Europe?

Read the article about travel and choose the best option to answer the questions.

Travelling the world

My name’s Harry Shaw. When I was 13, my parents took me out of school to go on a year-long, round-the-world trip. As a family, we’ve always loved travelling. My parents wanted to have a break from their jobs, spend more time with me and see new places. They also thought it was a good idea to show me that there are many ways to live.

Dad bought a camper van – that’s like a really big car that you can sleep in – as soon as we got to Portugal in Europe. We’d flown into Lisbon from London. The camper van was our home for several months. We travelled from Portugal to almost all the countries in Europe and visited lots of tourist sites. We didn’t need to use any guides because my parents know so many things! I learned some Spanish and German too. When we left Europe, I continued to learn Spanish online.

In Asia, I’ll never forget travelling through China. It’s such a big country! One of the best experiences for me was seeing the Chinese New Year festival. It was amazing – much larger than any of the festivals I’ve seen in London. Lots of people were wearing red because it’s a lucky colour for Chinese people. We tried some unusual food there. After China, we flew to Thailand and stayed there for a week.

After that, we went to Australia, where we stayed in a tree house in a national park. It wasn’t so hot and there was space to explore. I couldn’t believe how many amazing animals there were – from colourful birds and kangaroos to tree frogs.

Our trip ended in South America. I was quite good at Spanish by the time we got to Argentina. I enjoyed my time there because I could practise my Spanish when ordering food or doing shopping. My parents couldn't speak the language, but they were happy I could! We saw some big farms called ranches and met gauchos – cowboys who spend most of their time on horses while working on the ranches.

3 What does Harry remember especially about the Chinese New Year festival?