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110-YEAE-OLD TOURIST
Britain’s oldest man made his first visit to London at the age of 110.
Mr. John Evans had never found the time or the money – to make the trip from his home in Florestfach, near Swansea. But, when British Rail offered him an all-expenses-paid birthday treat to the capital he just could not refuse.
He arrived in style at Paddington station, smartly turned out in his best suit, favorite panama hat, and a red rose in his buttonhole.
Sailed to Ilfracombe
“It’s very exciting, there’s no doubt about it”, he said.
He had never been far from home, except for one trip to Aberdeen.
“But I’ve been on the seas to that faraway land called Ilfracombe 21 miles from home”, he joked.
Mr. Ivans, who spent 60 years working as a miner in South Wales, almost made the journey to London once before, at the turn of the century.
“There was a trip to the WhiteCity but it was ten shillings return from Swansea – too much I thought. All my money went to the family then”, he said.
During the next two days Mr. Ivans will be taken on a whistle-stop tour of London to see the sights. Top of his list is a visit to the Houses of Parliament organized by his MP, Mr. Gareth Wardell.
The only arrangement he does not care for is the wheel- chair provided to ferry him about if he gets tired.”I don’t like the chair business – people will think I am getting old,” he said.
His ingredients for a long and healthy life have been well publicised – no alcohol, no tobacco and no cursing.
Before setting off from Swansea with his 76-year-old son, Amwel, he quipped: ”I am glad to see they’ve given me a return ticket”.
Note on the text
The WhiteCity is the name of a sports stadium in West London.
A. Warm-up
1 Do you know the age of the oldest man or woman in your country or in the world?
2 In which part of the word are people reputed to live to a great age?
3 In what ways would life have been different in the last century, compared with now?
B. Memory Test
After reading the article about John Evans, Britain’ oldest man, test your memory on the following s exercise.
1. How old is Mr. Ivans?
2. Which is the nearest city to where he was born?
3. Which London station did he arrived at?
4. What did he wear in his buttonhole?
5. Mr. Evans worked for 60 years. What was his job?
6. Why didn’t he go to London before, when he had the chance?
7. Which special place is he going to see in London?
8. Why doesn’t he like going about in a wheelchair?
9. Name two of Mr. Evans’s secrets for a long and healthy life?
10. How old is Mr. Evans’s son?
C. Vocabulary
What is the meaning of the following words and phrases as they are used in the text?
|
1. a treat 2. smartly turned out 3. a whistle-stop tour 4. MP |
5. ingredients 6. to curse 7. to set off 8. to quip |
D. Project
Apart from London, three places are mentioned in the article: Swansea, Aberdeen, Ilfracombe.
1. Look them up in an atlas to see exactly where they are. Which countries are they in? And what do they have in common?
2. Find out what you can about each place – from an encyclopaedia, or perhaps from a travel agent’s brochure or from a tourist office.
3. Either
A. write a short paragraph about each place or
B. give a brief talk about the place you would most like to visit
E. General Knowledge
Paddington is one of British Rail’s London terminal stations. How many others can you name? You will do well if you can think of six without looking them up, but there are fifteen altogether!