If you have any heavy (6) , put it under your seat.

Grac e: Where should I sit?

You: Well, if you want to admire the view as the plane takes off, try to get a

(7) , but sit in the (8) if you're afraid of

heights.

Grace: I'd like to find out how the plane works. Is that possible?

You: If you're lucky, the (9) will let you visit the plane's (10)

and see its complicated instrument panel.

Grace: When we arrive, what happens?

You: After the plane has landed, it will taxi down the (11) until it

Is quite close to the terminal. Then you can leave the plane.

Grace: What about my suitcases? How will I get them back?

You: Go to the luggage reclaim area and find a (12) . You'll

need one when you collect your suitcases. After a few minutes the luggage carousel will start to revolve and your suitcases will appear.

Grace: What happens after that?

You: When you've found your luggage, take it through (13) .

You can go through the Green Channel if you've got nothing to

declare, but the (14) may still take a quick look inside

your suitcases.

Grace: You know, it all sounds very difficult to me. I think I'd rather take the train.

II. Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage below.

departure lounge, immigration officer, check-in desk, departure gate, se­curity guard, duty free board, departures board, hand luggage check, excess baggage, check in, taxi, passengers, announcement, runway, trolley, secu­rity check, conveyer belt, on board, take off.

When travelling by air you have to get to the airport'early in order to (a)

about an hour before your flight. If you have a lot of luggage, you can

put it on a (b) _____ and push it to the (c) , where someone will (d)

your ticket and weigh your luggage. If you have (e) , it can

be expensive. Your heavy luggage is put on a (f) and carried away.

A light bag is classed as (g) and you can take it with you on to the

plane. An (h) looks at your passport and a (i) to wait till your

flight is called. If you want to, you can buy some cheap (k) goods

here. Then you see on the (I) or you hear an (m) that you

must (n) your plane. You go through the (o) then there is

sometimes a (p) before you actually enter the plane. When all the

(q) are (r) , and when the captain and his crew are ready

in the cockpit, the plane begins to (s) to the end of the (t) . Fi- nally, permission is received from the control tower and the plane moves faster and faster in order to (u) .

Ill Role-plav «ON BOARD THE PLANE» Possible questions of the passengers:

• Here is my boarding pass. Where is my seat? Where can I put this bag? Where can I hang my coat?

• i feel cold. Can you bring the plaid, please?

• Will you bring a fresh newspaper / a magazine, mineral water / please.

• Will it be possible to have some more wine / brandy, coca-cola, pepsi-cola or other soft drinks/?

• Do you sell cigarettes?/ souveniers/?

• I don't fee! well. I'm sick. I would like an air-sickness bag, please./a paper bag/

• How long is the flight?

• What airport do we arrive at?

• When do we have to land?

• Is the airport far from the city?

• Do we fly according to the schedule?

• What is the flying time?

• When do we land in London and at what altitude shall we be flying?

• Will any meals be served on the plane?

TRAVELLERS' TALES

Every year a magazine called Executive Travel organizes a competi­tion to find the Airline of the Year. Travellers from all over the world are in­vited to vote for the most efficient, the most punctual, the safest and the friendliest airline. The winner in 1985 was British Airways. The competition asked travellers what for them was most important from an airline, and the results were as follows:

Punctual departures and arrivals 35 % Attentive cabin staff 35 %

Comfort 18 %

Safety 9 %

Good food and wine 3 %

34

The competition also invited travellers to tell their most horrific stories of the nightmare side to international travel. Replies included six hijacks, fifty-three cases of engine failure or trouble with the landing gear, eleven lightning strikes, twenty-three bomb scares, thirteen cases of food poison­ing, eleven near misses and two collisions with airport trucks.

Bad flying experiences begin on the ground, naturally. One American airline managed to double-book an entire 747, but this is nothing com­pared to what happened on an internal flight on a certain African airline. The flight had been overbooked three times. The local military sorted the problem out by insisting that all passengers with boarding cards should run round the plane twice, the fastest getting the seats. An overbooked flight that was going from Heathrow to America gave one traveler a bit of a shock. Dressed only in trousers, shirt and socks, he had been allowed by the stewardess to leave the aircraft to see if he could get a colleague aboard. He returned a few minutes later to find the 747 closed up and about to start moving - with his shoes, wallet, passport and luggage in­side. Banging frantically on the door got him back inside. A similar event was seen by a businessman on a flight from Bangladesh. Passengers were waiting for take-off when there was sudden hammering on the door. At first the cabin crew paid no attention. The hammering continued. When the door was finally opened, the pilot got in.

One frequent flier lost a certain amount of confidence when the cabin staff asked him to sit in the lavatory during take-off, so that they could oc­cupy the seats nearest the emergency exit. Another lost faith in the pilot's navigational skills when passengers were given lifeboat drill on a flight be­tween London and Manchester.

For nervous fliers, a journey to be avoided was one between Gatwick and Montpellier, where the in-flight entertainment consisted of watching pieces of the engine falling off. Another passenger was asked to hold the aircraft door closed at take-off and landing.

Baggage is a rich source of horror stories. There was the unlucky trav­eler who left Chicago in minus-23 weather. He was going to an important meeting in Dallas, where the temperature was 80-plus. Unfortunately his suitcase had gone to LA, where it spent the next two days. The customers he was trying to impress were more than a little surprised to see him going round in a thick suit, heavy overcoat and fur hat.