In the 1840s there were no cars or planes, and trains were a strange new invention. Only a few rich people could travel to other countries for holidays. Most people stayed close to the place where they lived. But in 1841 an Englishman, Thomas Cook, had an idea that changed things completely.

Thomas was walking from his home to a nearby town when he first thought of using the new railways to run a group tour. He organised a return train trip for 570 passengers to travel from Leicester to Loughborough, a distance of 20 km. The day was a great success, and in the following years Thomas continued to organise 'Cook's tours' at quite low prices to places in the UK.

His tours reached Europe in 1855 and the USA in 1868. A year later he began taking people to Egypt to sail up the Nile. Then in 1872 he organised the first round-the-world tour. Thomas and his group of tourists were away for 222 days and travelled more than 40,000 km.

All these international tours included transport (by ship, train and coach) and arrangements for hotel rooms and meals. This was amazing at a time when there were no phones or computers for quick communication. Thomas also wrote books of travel information for his customers.

When Thomas Cook died in 1892, the world was open to many thousands of new travellers. Today we spend about 645 billion euros a year on tourism. It is the world's biggest business.

1.

In the 1840s

A. there weren't any trains.

B. only rich people could take holiday flights.

C. it was expensive to travel to other countries.

5.

Between 1841 and 1855, his customers

A. travelled in the UK.

B. made trips to Europe.

C. paid a lot of money for their tours.

2.

At that time most people

A. didn't have any holidays.

B. didn't travel far from home.

C. didn't like travelling.

6.

On the tour in 1872, his group of tourists

A. were the first people to go around the world.

B. took nearly eight months to finish the journey.

C. had to find hotels to stay in.

3.

Thomas Cook started thinking about organising a group tour

A. in 1841.

B. while he was walking home.

C. while he was on a train.

7.

Thomas Cook

A. had a slow computer.

B. wrote books about the people who went on his tours.

C. died before the end of the century.

4.

On the first trip that Thomas organised, people

A. travelled more than 500 kilometres.

B. got on a train at Leicester.

C. spent the night at Loughborough.

8.

What is main ideal of the passage?

A. The world’s first travel agent.

B. Thomas Cook’s tour around UK.

C. The first round-the-world tour.
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