The Map Thief

 

For a couple of years, Gilbert Bland was a unique figure in the privileged world of antique map dealing. He made a 100% profit on every map he sold, (1)_______ because he was a clever businessman, but because he was a thief. In the mid-1990s, Bland crept around libraries in the USA, armed (2)_______ a sharp razor and a baggy shirt and sliced out those ancient maps which took (3)_______ fancy. Some were worth tens of thousands of dollars, and he (4)_______ on to sell them through both mail-order catalogues and his shop in Florida.

(5)_______ Bland's historical knowledge of maps was patchy at best, his knowledge of (6)_______ exact location in the rare book stacks was second to (7)_______. When he heard that early maps of, (8)_______, Seattle were becoming popular, he would know precisely (9)_______ to start slicing.

His crimes only came (10)_______ light when a researcher in a Baltimore library noticed that a man appeared to be tearing a page from a 200-year-old book (11)_______ if it were a newspaper. At (12)_______, it was assumed that this was an isolated case, and the library and the police were happy to (13)_______ Bland off with a warning. (14)_______ later did they (15)_______ across his notebooks, which contained elaborate details of all his thefts.

 

Answers:

1 not

2 with

3 his

4 went

5 Although

6 their

7 none

8 say

9 where

10 to

11 as

12 first

13 let

14 Only

15 come

 

B) Answer questions 1-15 by referring to the reviews of travel brochures A-E below.

 

Travel Africa: Brochures under review

 

A. Wildlife Safaris

 

This company offers about 70 wildlife and adventure safaris. There are three different styles of trip - the Traveller Plus, which is based in three- and four-star accommodation, the Traveller, which is in tourist class hotels, lodges and camps, and Budget, where guest houses and DIY camping are part of the action. The safari itineraries outline daily locations, activities and options, and are accompanied by fact boxes covering the type of trip, transport, staffing, age group and other data. Locations and route maps are included. The brochure also provides an extremely useful set of guidelines about the dos and don'ts of behaviour in each of the countries concerned. These vary from dress code through personal greetings - including a few language tips to impress the hosts - to the taking of photographs.

 

For the adventurous, perhaps budget-conscious traveller, there are some tempting safaris on offer.