Planning a visit to the UK? Here we help with ways to cut your costs.
AVOID BIG EVNENTS big sporting events, concerts and exhibitions can increase the cost of accommodation and make it harder to find a room. A standard double room at the Thistle Brighton on the final Friday of the Brighton Comedy Festival(19 Oct.) cost ￡118.15.
If you can be flexible and want to know dates to avoid—or you're looking for a big event to pass your timecheck out sites such as Whatsonwhen.com, which allow you to search for events in the UK by city, date and category.
STAY AWAY FROM THE STATION If traveling to your destination by train, you may want to find a good base close to the station, but you could end up paying more for the sake of convenience at the start of your holiday.
Don't be too choosy about the part of town you stay in. Booking two months in advance, the cheapest room at Travelodge's Central Euston hotel in London for Saturday 22 September was ￡95.95. A room just a tube journey away at its covent Garden hotel was ￡75.75. And at Farringdon, a double room cost just ￡62.95.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF Really central hotels in cities such as London, Edinburgh and Cardiff can cost a fortune, especially at weekends and during big events. As an alternative consider checking into a selfcatering flat with its own kitchen. Often these flats are hidden away on the top floors of city centre buildings. A great example is the historic O'Neill Flat on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, available for ￡420 for five days in late September, with room for four adults.
GET ON A BIKE London's ‘Boris bikes’ have attracted the most attention, but other cities also have similar programmes that let you rent a bicycle and explore at your own pace, saving you on public transport or car parking costs.
Among the smaller cities with their own programmes are Newcastle (casual members pay around ￡1.50 for two hours) and Cardiff (free for up to 30 minutes, or ￡5 per day)．
56．The Brighton Comedy Festival is mentioned mainly to show big events may________．
A．help travelers pass time
B．attract lots of travelers to the UK
C．allow travelers to make flexible plans
D．cause travelers to pay more for accommodation
57．“Farringdon” in Paragraph 5 is most probably ________．
A．a hotel away from the train station
B．the tube line to Covent Garden
C．an ideal holiday desinationo
D．the name of a travel agency
58．The passage shows that the O'Neill Flat ________．
A．lies on the ground floor
B．is located in central London
C．provides cooking facilities for tourists
D．costs over ￡100 on average per day in late September
59．Cardiff's program allows a free bike for a maximum period of ________．
A．half an hour B．one hour
C．one hour and a half D．tow hours
60．The main purpose of the passage is ________．
A．to tell visitors how to book in advance
B．to supply visitors with hotel information
C．to show visitors the importance of selfhelp
D．to offer visitors some moneysaving tips