MILLIONS of holiday-maker s head over seas each year without tr avel insurance．They over-look the dangers of SARS，terrorism，crime and accidents and sign up for hazardous ac-tivities such as bungee jumping（蹦极）and water skiing without worry．Hereare ten reasonswhy you should not leave home withouta travel policy．
①Competition means they are cheaper and better value than ever．Shop around on theInternet and compare cover with competitors before you buy．A ten-day trip to Europe withDirect Travel costs just ￡9．50for one adult．
②It is easy to buy．You can get insurance over the Internet，by phone or even off theshelf in Boots or Tesco．Boots'single trip cover starts at ￡17and Tesco'sat￡14．99．
③Buy it for just one day．Goldfish selltravel insurance for a single day starting from￡1．50．Boots has a City Break policy for a weekend or short midweek trips from￡14．
④You can buy a family policy for a year．Yearly policies offer the best valueandmean you do not have to buy insurance each time you travel．Direct Travel yearly familyEuropean policies start at ￡50and for single parent families from￡45．Norwich Union Directprices start at ￡45．66．
⑤You may have to cancel your holiday．Cancellation is one of the most commonreasons for claiming against travelinsurance policies，so buy your policy a couple of weeksbefore your trip．
⑥A lost suitcase could ruin your holiday．Airlines pay a limited amount if luggage islost and not recovered．But if your case is sent to another airport by mistake，it could takea couple of days to turn up．In the meantime，you will need to buy essentialssuch as toi-letries and a change of clothes．A good policy will cover those expenses．
⑦Medical treatment abroad is expensive．A long hospital stay can mean bills of sev-eral thousand pounds．You should have medical cover of up to ￡1million in Europe and ￡2million in the States．
⑧Muggings（行凶抢劫）and thefts．Attacks on tourists are increasing．Once you havereported the incident to the police，you can make a claimfor stolen goods．
⑨Terrorist threats．Fewinsurers offer cover for wars，riots and terrorist activity．Butfour companies paid for medical cover after September 11—Direct Travel，Norwich UnionDirect，Columbus and Direct Line．Only two paid after the Bali bombing—Direct Travel andNorwich Union Direct．
⑩SARS．SARS is the virus that has been sweeping the Far East killing hundreds sofar．If you have to cancel your holiday because of an official warning，your travel agent orairline will probably offer a refundor replacement ticket．Direct Line，Churchill andThomas Cook will cover against SARS in areas that do not carry warnings againstnon-essential travel．Insurers areunlikely to cover tourists who travel against Foreign Officeadvice．
Directions（a）：Find out the words in the passag e which have the following meanings：
45．a written statement of the details of an aGREement with an insurance company：
46．dangerous，risky： ____
Directions（b）：Belowis a form，which shows several reasons why you should g et in-sured when you are going on a trip．Corresponding ly（相应地）there are statements to sup-port each reason．Fill in the blanks to complete the form．
| The reasons you should et insured | Supports to each reason |
| a.It is easy to buy. | a. You can get insurance over the Internet, by phone, etc. |
| b.(47) ____ . | b.Cancellation is one of the most common reasons for claiming agianst travel insurance policies. |
| c.A lost suitcase could ruin your holiday. | d.(48) ____ . |
| d.(49) ____ . | d.Along hospital stay can mean bills of several thousand pounds. |
| e.(50) ____ . | e.You can make a claim for stolen goods |
参考答案：
45．policy 46．hazardous
47．You may have to cancel your holiday 48．A good policy will cover some expenses
49．Medical treatment abroad is expensive
50．Attacks on tourists are increasing ／Muggings and thefts
