PART I: WRITTEN RECEPTION (70 points)

(ACCESS TO INFORMATION FROM WRITTEN TEXTS)

Read the text below and then answer questions 1–9.

A VILLAGE THAT IS A HOTEL

I Simon Benson from London usually spends his summer vacations in a hotel on the beach in
Italy. Last year, however, he did something different. "While I was on the internet, I saw an ad for
a 'hotel-village'," he said. "I didn't know what that was, but there were pictures of a beautiful,
remote village in Italy. It was built 900 years ago. Only twelve families still live there, and rooms
5 in some of the empty houses have been converted into hotel rooms. I was curious about this place
so I decided to try it."
II Hotel-villages are an unusual type of tourist accommodation that was developed for small
historical villages in Italy. The hotel rooms are in several houses on different village streets. The
reception area is in a separate building, and so is the restaurant. The distance between all those
10 places is very short. The local people manage the hotel-village, and provide the food. They also
spend time with the visitors, telling them about the traditions of the village.
III The idea for hotel-villages came from tourism expert Giancarlo Dall'Ara. In 1984 he was
visiting an area of northern Italy that had been hit by an earthquake. The Italian government had
repaired the damaged buildings in the area. However, many houses in the villages there remained
15 empty because their owners had moved away to cities. Dall'Ara felt these historical houses were so
beautiful that they should not stay empty. He thought their rooms could be used as hotel rooms.
He made plans for a hotel-village, and sent them to the local authorities. After many years they
approved the plans, and the first hotel-village opened in 2002.
IV Since then, hotel-villages have been set up in many other countries as well. Travel agent
20 Angela Tilly understands why. "People in remote communities can make more money and connect
with the outside world, without the negative effects that tourism often has," she says. "No major
construction work is needed, and there are never too many visitors." The tourists are happy with the
experience as well. "It was wonderful to see the local way of life. I also enjoyed top quality service,"
says Benson. "I'll definitely recommend it to my friends."

<u>QUESTIONS</u> (70 points)
Answer questions 1–9 in <u>English</u>, according to the text. In questions 1, 3, 5, and 8, circle the number of the correct answer. In the other questions, follow the instructions.