We are told to travel the world, discover new things and meet new people. But there is one problem. Even paying for a bed for the night makes you feel as if broadening your minds requires plenty of money — and for students, that is not always possible.
The words “youth hostel” (青年旅舍) for your parents might mean smelly dormitories (寝室)with six strangers, or having to pay for messy towels, and dirty pillows. However, youth hostels nowadays — especially the ones in China — are wonderful.
In Chengdu, my friend and I were served free coffee and the people working there gave us suggestions of the best ways to visit the pandas and the best hotpot restaurants in Sichuan.
In Yangshuo, I made friends with a German and two Americans. We rented bikes from our hostel owner and rode around the city. When it rained, the hostel owner lent me his raincoat. One night the housekeeper cooked us a great meal of homemade Chinese dishes.
Never did I pay more than 50 yuan for a bed. Sometimes, even though I had booked a “dormitory”, I ended up in a private room by myself. Because these are “youth hostels”, you can meet lots of students like yourself, all of whom want to get the most out of a small budget (预算).
The best two websites for finding and booking hostels are www.hostelbooker.com and www.hostelworld.com. Not only do they allow you to organize everything online, they also give each hostel a score depending on how the guests feel when they remain there.
Travel the world, discover new things, and meet new people — all for the price of a cup of coffee? Just choose the city and now you go!
【小题1】The story is possibly written for .| A．parents | B．students | C．workers | D．housekeepers |
| A．sharing a dormitory with six strangers |
| B．the towels are messy |
| C．the pillows are dirty |
| D．it serves free coffee |
| A．traveled with some Chinese friends |
| B．traveled around the city by bus |
| C．rented a raincoat from the hostel owner when it rained |
| D．enjoyed a great meal of Chinese dishes in the hostel |
| A．to share the writer’s life experiences in China |
| B．to tell the differences between dormitories and youth hostels |
| C．to advise readers to live in youth hostels with a small budget |
| D．to introduce two Chine cities |
