Практичне заняття № 3

Тема. Подорож по морю. Travelling by sea

Мета: вивчити лексичні одиниці з теми «Подорож морем». Обговорення теми.

Topical Vocabulary

Travelling by sea: quay, to moor, gangway, deck steward, forward, aft, amidship, harbour, dock, pitch, roll, to be sea-sick, to be good\bad sailor, to weigh anchor, captains bridge, lounge, captain, mate, lighthouse, hold, liner, sailing ship, river steamer, cargo-ship, steamer, life-boat, to change for a boat, anchor, to cast the anchor, to raise the anchor, to be (to lie) at anchor, crew, cruise, to take a cruise.

1. Read, translate and render the text: Travelling by Sea

For me there is no travel so fine as by sea. There are many things that make travel by sea a fascinating thing for me. Though I am not much of a sailor, I love the sight of a ship with its many decks, cabins and state-rooms. It looks like a huge white floating city. It is delightful to be out at sea, too, and pro­menade the desk or sit in a deck-chair and take the sun.

But what can be compared with the excitement you expe­rience when you sight land! The narrow strip of land on the hori­zon seems slowly coming towards you. Gradually the outlines of the shore become more distinct, and on coming nearer you get a full view of the city, the harbour, and of the big ships coming in from and leaving for distant lands.

іI shall never forget my first trip by ship. It was big sea liner. The season was at its height then and the passenger traffic on the Odessa — Batumi line was heavy, so I had to reserve berths at the agency beforehand. After some three or four days of feverish prepara­tions and expectations I was ready to start.

The ship was to sail at 1400 p. m. on a certain Saturday early in July. On the morning of that distinguished day I felt very excited at the thought that in a few hours I shall go away. A little after noon I reached the pier and there, for the first time in my life, I beheld a real ship. What a beauty she was!

The pier was crowded with cars, trucks loaded with luggage, passengers arriving and hurrying on board, and well-wishers seeing them off. It was really thrilling going up the gangway. Up and up I went until I reached the main deck. And there from high above I looked at the people that seemed so tiny down below, crowding on the pier.

When I got on deck, I was attended by a sailor who took me down below deck. Inside the ship there was a vast labyrinth of aisles that ran into each other and out again and seemed to lead nowhere. But I tripped along following the sailor, and soon he brought me to my cabin. It was a small room with one berth in it, and against the wall, just below the round window, called a porthole, stood a little trifle of a table.

But I had no time to look around because I was eager to go back on deck. There, all was bustle and confusion as before. A noisy excitement was kept up from one end of the ship to the other. Shortly I heard the ship's siren warning the passengers and their well-wishers to say their last good-bye to each other. After some 10-15 minutes the ship weighed the anchor and slowly slipped out of the harbour, leaving Odessa behind wrapped in blue noonday haze.

As soon as the land faded from sight, I went exploring the ship. She had all modern conveniences and wide choice of entertainment facilities. There was a good library that could afford a fair amount of reading matter. Then there were restaurants that took care of the passengers appetites, a cinema-hall, billiard rooms and what not. I soon felt remarkably tired with walking from one deck to another and was very glad to occupy a deck-chair that happened to be vacant. Though the sea was moderately calm, the ship rolled somewhat. Some passengers took to their berths - they felt seasick. By some happy fortune I was not sick. The fresh sea wind blew in my face and it was lovely to look at the gulls and hear their cries as they gracefully swept over the waves almost touching the water with their wings.

In the evening I enjoyed the sunset, the beautiful sunset at sea. The sun, red as a glowing coal, gradually went down behind the horizon flooding the sky and the flakes of clouds with crimson light. It was simply marvelous!

My voyage lasted several days On our way we called at several ports. The stays were quite sufficient to give me the opportunity of visiting some points of interest there.

But I shall never forget the day when I first saw Sochi. It was evening when we came in sight of the town. From afar the snow-white palaces seemed like tiny cottages nestling cosily in a sea of fresh green vegetation. It was a picture of wonderful beauty.

In front was the smooth sea and in the background the high mountains, the slopes of which were clothed with green foliage. Even now when I recall it to my mind I experience a thrill of pleasure.

I honestly say that I love best to travel by ship.

Література: [2, c. 394 - 395; 4, c. 263 - 272].