Everyone is looking for a good investment these days. And with stocks, currencies and companies all crashing, some are finding that taking the trip of a lifetime is actually a smart move right now. Prices are good, crowds are fewer and the dividends like expanded worldview, lifelong memories, the satisfaction of boosting the global economy—can’t be easily snatched away. Sylvia and Paul Custerson, a retired couple from Cambridge, England, recently took a 16-day vacation to Namibia, where they went on bird-watching excursions. Later this year, they are planning a trip to Patagonia. "We’re using our capital now," says Sylvia, "And why not? We’re not getting any interest in the bank. If it’s a place we really want to go, then we will go. We may as well travel while we’re fit and healthy. "

Some travel agents are thriving in spite of the economy. "We’ve had more people booking in the first quarter of this year than last," says Hubert Moineau, founder of Tselana Travel, which is planning to introduce a new program of longer adventure trips, including polar expeditions and cruises in the Galápagos. "We’re hearing things like, ’We don’t know what the situation will be in six months so let’s travel now’ ", Ashley Toft, managing director of the U. K. tour operator Explore has been surprised to see an increase in last-minute bookings of high-priced trips to such places as India, Bhutan and Nepal. "It seems people would rather give up something else than the big trip," he says. Travel has become a necessity. It’s just how we travel that is changing.

Questions 26 to 28 are based on the passage you have just heard.

篇章类型及提要：社会现象，经济相关

听力点睛：

本文介绍了在总体市场经济不景气的前提下，旅游业异军突起现象及其前因后果。文章开篇就介绍总的社会背景是各种不景气前提下，外出旅游成为人们的选择之一，紧接着以一个例子来证明。然后旅行社相关的权威人物的话语中更是证明目前旅游业正风头正劲。文章中出现的金融词汇，人名、地名及职务名称，如investment, investment, Namibia, Namibia, managing director of the U. K. tour operator Explore等。一定程度上会让考生觉得头疼，且分散注意力。这就需要考生有一定对重要信息的提取能力。人名、地名及职务名称等听过有个印象就好，不必过于纠结。