Reading comprehension Dutch towns tell tourists how to behave

1. Read the following text and answer the questions. Dutch towns tell tourists how to behaveIt's great being a tourist and leisurely wandering around old towns and villages seeing the sites, but is it such a thrill for the local residents? Villagers living in the area known as 'Old Holland', in the outskirts of Amsterdam have had enough of visitors traipsing around and of tour guides with megaphones disturbing their peace. They have got together with local tour companies to create rules of conduct for tourists. The rules include not photographing residents without permission, not strolling into their gardens and not dropping litter. The new code of conduct is an attempt to deal with the growing popularity of the region. Tourism is booming and the number of tourists is expected to rise by 50 per cent in the next decade.Old Holland is an idyllic area that matches people's image of Dutch life from a slower, bygone age. There are windmills everywhere and locals live in beautifully preserved, traditional wooden houses. Local resident Peter-Jan van Steenbergen told Holland's Het Parool newspaper that the village of Zaanse Schans is like an open-air museum. He said: "I talked to one resident who opened his curtains in the morning and looked into the camera lenses of nine amateur photographers." He added: "The visitors seem happy to knock on the wooden houses to see if it is real wood. If you are the resident of that house, that is not pleasant, of course." He said the busloads of tourists were the biggest nuisance.A. Look for synonyms in the text:1. leisurely: relaxed2. thrill: excitement3. disturbing: interrupting4. permission: say-so5. booming: mushrooming6. idyllic: picturesque7. preserved: maintained8. resident: local9. real: authentic10. nuisance: annoyance B. TRUE / FALSE: Read the text again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).a) The article said receiving tourists is a pleasure for local people. TRUE FALSE b) 'Old Holland' is a part of central Amsterdam TRUE FALSE c) New rules for tourists say there is to be no photography in villages. FALSE TRUE d) The number of tourists may increase by 50% in the next 10 years TRUE FALSE e) 'Old Holland' does not fit people's idea of life in Holland in the past. FALSE TRUE f) One resident opened his curtains to find 9 people looking through the window. TRUE FALSE g) A resident said buses full of tourists were the most annoying thing. TRUE FALSE 2. Read the text and answer the questions. Spain is set to replace the USA as the world's second most popular tourist destination. This is according to statistics from the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The number of international tourists arriving in Spain grew by over 7 per cent in 2017. Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy corroborated the figures. He said the country had a record year in 2017, with more than 82 million international visitors. The growing number of international arrivals continues a growing trend. The figure for 2017 broke Spain's tourist arrival records for the fifth straight year. This is despite the terror attack on Barcelona in August, and demonstrations and unrest in Spain's Catalonia region for independence.There was an 8 per cent increase in tourism to Europe in 2017. The UNWTO said: "Led by Mediterranean destinations, Europe recorded extraordinary results for such a large and rather mature region." Africa is increasingly becoming an established and attractive destination and tourism there also went up by 8 per cent. Asia and the Pacific saw growth of 6 per cent, the Middle East recorded 5 per cent, and tourism to the Americas grew by 3 per cent. The UNWTO added: "International travel continues to grow strongly, consolidating the tourism sector as a key driver in economic development." France retained its position as the world's top tourist destination.A. Look for synonyms in the text:1. replace: take over from2. destination: port of call3. corroborated: confirmed4. trend: tendency5. protests: demonstrations6. extraordinary: remarkable 7. established: traditional8. consolidating: strengthening9. key: crucial10. retained: kept B. Decide whether the following questions are TRUE or FALSE.a. The United Nations provided statistics on world tourism. true false b. Tourism to Spain grew by 7 per cent in 2017. true false c. The Spanish Prime Minister disagreed with the figures. true false d. Spain has seen record tourism for 10 straight years. true false e. There was an 18% increase in tourism to Europe in 2017. true false f. Tourism to Africa fell sharply in 2017. true false g. The America's saw an increase in tourism of less than 4%. true false h. The most popular tourist destination in 2017 was France true false 3. Read the text and answer the questions Japan will use ninja to help boost tourism over the next few years. Ninja will promote Japan and ninja culture in the run-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Ninja are a famous symbol of Japan and many people around the world know about these dark-clothed figures who are great at fighting and can run across rooftops at great speed. Several ninja gave an example of their skills on Wednesday when a group of them "sneaked" into the office of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This was the start of the ninja tourism campaign. Mr Abe joked with the ninja. He said: "Even though you're all wearing such bright colors, you were still able to slip through the tight security of my office."A ninja was a kind of secret agent, spy and fighter in Japan. He or she was a specialist who was skilled in many areas. The main functions of a ninja included assassination, fighting, infiltration (getting into an enemy area or building), sabotage and spying. The first ninja appeared in the 15th century when they helped warlords win land and get more power. In the 19th century, ninja became popular figures in art, literature and early manga. Artists and writers surrounded them in mystery and gave them legendary abilities, such as invisibility, walking on water and being able to control the natural elements. Today we see them around the world in movies, cartoons, comics, games and manga.A. Look for synonyms in the text:1. boost: promote2. symbol: image3. figures: people4. sneaked: crept5. tight: strict6. specialist: expert7. sabotage: vandalism8. popular: well-liked9. such: aslike a. Japan will use ninja to help promote the Rugby World Cup. true false b. The article says ninja run fast across rooftops. true false c. A group of ninja secretly got into the Japanese Prime Minister's office. true false d. The Prime Minister was angry the ninja got into his office. true false e. The article said ninja were skilled in one area. true false f. The article said ninja originated in the 19th century. true false g. Writers gave ninja special powers like being invisible. true false h. The article says ninja are no longer seen in comics. true false