LISTENING TAPESCRIPTS Listening Text, Part 3 You will hear an interview with the travel writer Fred

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LISTENING TAPESCRIPTS Listening Text, Part
3 You will hear an interview with the
travel writer Fred Faraway who is talking
about his last best-seller Without a Return
Ticket.
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F My guest today, Fred Faraway, is the travel
writer famous for his last best-seller Without
a Return Ticket. Fred, can you explain the
title of your last book? What exactly does it
mean?
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M Well, wherever I go I always try to avoid
thinking about coming home. I get so excited
about what Im going to see and experience, who
Im going to meet, that any idea about the return
journey seems unreal.
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F Does that mean that you leave without actually
buying a return ticket?
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M Yes, it adds to the sense of adventure. If you
travel with just a one way ticket, you leave
yourself open to all sorts of adventures. You
dont have to be at a certain place at a certain
time. You can stay as long as you like, and with
whom you like.
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F Most of your books describe your travels in
China. When did you first go there? And why have
you been back so often.
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M Ive always been fascinated by the culture,
ever since my father first took me to a Chinese
restaurant as a boy. I wanted to know why the
Chinese used chopsticks and sat at round tables.
I started to answer these questions by borrowing
books from the library, then I decided to study
Mandarin at university. Once I was proficient,
The Times sent me to China as their main
reporter.
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F And was that the first time you had been
there?
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M Yes, in those days it was virtually impossible
to go as a tourist. At that period I wasnt able
to get to know the people and culture well enough
to write about it in the way I wanted to.
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F Is that when you had your first piece on China
published?
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M No, it sounds funny today, but in those days
you couldnt write just what you wanted. When
the editor asked me to change almost half of my
article I resigned. Ive never regretted doing
that as it allowed to discover the real China.
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F And if you hadnt done that we wouldnt have
discovered your unique sensitivity as a travel
writer.
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M Thats very kind of you. Thank you for
inviting me.
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• That is the end of Part Three