Transportation

1. There are two categories of transportation used by travelers. First is the means used to get from home to the destination, and second is the type used at the destination. Tourists who fly to Europe may rent cars, ride the extensive railway networks, get about by motorcoach, or even go from one place to another by ship, ferry, or riverboat. If they stay in the location, they often take advantage of local public transportation – streetcars, buses, and subways.

2. The age of international travel was revolutionized on October, 26, 1958, when Pan American World Airways flew a Boeing 707 jet airplane from New York City to Paris with 123 people on board. Jets cut long-distance air travel time in half. In the following decades the airline industry expanded greatly and used a variety of airplanes. There are now more than 200 airlines serving Europe – the most popular tourist destination – from all parts of the world. Nearly every country has its own domestic airlines, including the new commuter services that provide inexpensive intercity transportation.

3. Thousand years before the airplane, ships provided transportation between widely separated landmasses. As late as the 1950s, travel by ship was one of the most popular ways to get across the Atlantic. In the same week that Pan American flew its jet to Paris, at least a dozen ships sailed from New York City to Europe. But jet air travel doomed international travel by ship. Fortunately the world’s shipping lines found a new use for their ships – the cruise business.

4. In the century before the airplane was invented, the railroad became a primary means of ground transportation in North America and Europe. Rail passenger service in the United States has become limited, but it is still a major form of transportation in Europe, Canada, Mexico, and many other parts of the world. In Europe, where travel distances are often short, it is usually more convenient and inexpensive go by train than by airplane.

I. Определите, является ли утверждение истинным (true – t), ложным (false – f) или в тексте нет информации (not available – n.a.):

a) Travelling by train is the most popular form of transportation in the USA now.

b) Nowadays ships are mainly used for cruising.

c) There are two types of flights: scheduled and chatter.

d) The cruise ship acts as a hotel for passengers as well as their means of transportation.

II. Укажите, какому из абзацев текста (1, 2, 3, 4) соответствует следующая

идея:

1. It’s cheaper to use trains than airplanes while travelling in Europe.

2. Travellers use different means of transportation to get from home to the destination and at the destination.

III. Ответьте на вопрос:

Why did international travel by air become so popular?

1. It provided inexpensive transportation.

2. It was very fast.

3. There were a lot of airlines.

4. All countries had domestic airlines.

IV. Определите основную идею текста:

a) Before the invention of the airplane the train was the major means of transportation.

b) There different means of transportation having their own history and advantages.

c) There were two categories of transportation available for tourists.

d) Jet airplane influences the international travel development.