Unit 2.3 - Script 1

Extract One

There was a mad excitement about standing in front of a world map and tracing a circumnavigation with my fingertip. Everything seemed possible and my family's nagging doubts really got my goat. l'd say you can't really go wrong when choosing the stops on a round-the-world trip. but I found that some routes worked out better than others. You need a good variety of destinations. You might love the beach, but a trip that stops in California, Australia and Thailand, all for the sun and sand, does get a bit repetitive. At the same time, I didn't want to get carried away trying to see the whole world.

Next, I knew I would have to fork out a pretty hefty sum for the plane ticket as I didn't intend to be thumbing lifts. My budget was tight so I had to play around with my route to get the best value for money. I also had to research my destinations to see what the average daily costs would be and figure out a budget (adding a good 10 or 20 per cent buffer to be on the safe side). I decided to spend longer in cheaper countries and have a relatively short stay in more expensive places. which was sometimes quite a difficult decision as there were so many things I wanted to see. In fact. planning the trip was just as much fun as the actual travelling. I really let my imagination run wild and the trip itself was everything l'd expected.

Extract Two

I really hope to make it as an entrepreneur and I guess the person who's influenced me most has been a well- known British businessman. I was given a copy of his autobiography for my fourteenth birthday and it really made a huge impression on me. He had an amazing childhood. Apparently, when he was just four years old his mother stopped the car a few kilometres from their house and made him find his own way home. Then when he was eleven or twelve his mum decided that he should cycle seventy kilometres to another town to teach him the importance of stamina and to learn a sense of direction! He said he felt great when he'd done it but his mum wasn't worried or relieved or anything — just acted calm as you like and told him to go and help someone in the village chop some logs. His family seemed to thrive on challenges - physical ones rather than educational, which l think's quite unusual. I know my family are dead set on my getting a degree but quite a few entrepreneurs start out without one and look at them!

Anyway, there was another occasion he mentions when his aunt had promised him some money if he learnt to swim. He spent a holiday trying desperately, but just couldn‘t do it. Then, on the way home in the car, he spotted a river. He made his father stop the car and just dived into the river in his underpants. The river was quite fast-flowing and it seemed like he was going to drown, but then he pushed really hard and actually managed to swim. My childhood was nothing like that. but I guess what I read has made me realise I need to take on challenges and try to fulfil my hopes and aspirations.

Extract Three

According to the latest survey, commissioned by one of our leading banks, over three-quarters of 12- to 19-year-olds said they kept track of their money, up from twelve months ago. Half of young people said they were content that they had enough money, something only 46 per cent said a year earlier, while the amount that those who were unhappy said they would need to be happy has fallen. However, the 9,000 young people questioned continued to have unrealistic salary expectations. The average teenager said they thought they would be earning double what is actually the current average salary for a 35-year-old. Not only this, but nearly three-quarters of those interviewed thought they would have a car by the time they were 21, while more than half hoped to own their own home by the age of 25. Overall the bank calculates that the average expectation gap between where people thought they would be financially. and where they would actually be, was around 72.133 Pounds Sterling, a small drop compared with last year's figure. Interestingly, although the figures differ somewhat, the findings are very much in line with previous surveys done over the past twenty years.