New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the southwest Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,600 km southeast of Australia and about 1,600 km southwest of California. New Zealand belongs to a large island group called Polynesia. The country is situated on two main islands and several small islands. The main islands main are the North Island and the South Island.

The capital of the country is Wellington. The largest city of the country is Auckland. The official language of the country is English. Most aborigines speak English and their own language, Maori.

The country belonged to the British empire. Now it is an independent country. New Zealand is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. The British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, is the monarch of New Zealand. But she has no power. The real power in the country belongs to the legislation, the prime minister and the Cabinet. But the nation has no written constitution.

Maoris were the first people who settled in New Zealand. They were brown skinned. They came from Polynesian islands located northeast of New Zealand. The country was discovered by Europeans in 1642. But they didn’t start to settle in the islands until the late 1700’s. Today, most New Zealanders are descendants of the early European settlers. About 12 per cert of the country’s population are Maoris.

New Zealand has one of the highest standards of living in the world. About 70 per cent on New Zealand people have their own houses. Almost every family has a car. New Zealand is one of the world’s developed countries. The main industries of the country are agriculture, manufacturing and service industries.

Ex. 2. Answer the questions:

1. Where does New Zealand lie?

2. What island group does New Zealand belong to?

3. What are the main islands of New Zealand?

4. What is the capital of the country?

5. What is the largest city of New Zealand?

6. Now New Zealand is an independent country, isn’t it? What country did New Zealand belong to before?

7. Who rules the country now?

8. Who does the real power in New Zealand belong to?

9. Does the nation have a written constitution?

10. What do you know about Maoris? Where did they come from?

11. When did Europeans start to settle in the islands?

12. New Zealand is one of the world’s developed countries, isn’t it?

Prove it.

Part II. Travelling.

Ex. 1. Read the text. As you read it note down facts to complete the grid bellow. Compare your notes with the rest of the group. Then continue the grid with information about other means of travelling you know well

Different means of travel

I’m extremely fond of travelling and I feel terribly envious of any friend who is going anywhere. I don’t know exactly what method of travelling I prefer.

Somebody says there is nothing like travelling by air; it is more comfortable, more convenient and far quicker than any other method. There is none of the dust and dirt of a railway or car journey, none of the trouble of changing from train to train. And flying is a thrilling thing.

Somebody prefers to travel by train. With a train you have speed, comfort and pleasure combined. From the comfortable corner seat of a railway carriage you have a splendid view of the countryside. If you are hungry, you can have meal in the dining-car; and if a journey is long you can have a wonderful bed in a sleeper. And besides, you can’t find any place that is more interesting than a big railway-station. May be a big sea port…

It’s fine to travel by boat. I love to feel the deck of the boat under my feet, to see the rise and fall of the waves; to feel the fresh sea wind blowing in my face and hear the cry of the sea-gulls. And it’s very exiting to come into the port and see round us all the ships: cargo-ships, sailing ships, rowing boats. But some people don’t like sea trip because they feel sea-sick, when the sea is rough.

I can say a lot about air flights, sea voyages or railway journeys but I want to say a word or two for walking tour. Walker goes along little winding lanes where cars can’t go. He takes mountain paths, he wanders [wondes] by the side of quite lakes and through the shade of woods. He sees the real country, the wild flowers, the young birds in their nests, the animals in the forest; he feels the quietness and calm of nature.

And besides, you save your money travelling on foot. You can’t deny that walking is the cheapest method of travelling.

I don’t know what kind of travelling I like best of all. I’m fond of travelling itself, no matter what method it is.

Means of travel	Purpose of travel	Advantages	Disadvantages	Age group
By air _ _	_ _ _	_ _ _	_ _ _	_ _ _

Ex. 2. Practice reading the following word combinations. Use them in your own sentences

to be extremely fond of smth., to feel terrible envious of smb., there is nothing like, traveling by air (by boat, by train, by car…), to have speed, comfort and pleasure combined, to be more convenient and far quicker than, to be hungry, to have a wonderful bed, to feel sea-sick (air sick), to say a word for, to save time (money), to deny, no matter.

Ex. 3. Choose the method you like. Use expressions given above and say some words in favour of.

travelling by air, travelling by train, travelling by sea, travelling by car, walking tour.

Ex. 4. Work in group. Choose one of the following topic sentences and develop each into a short piece of two paragraphs (80-100 words).

1. Travelling is a modern disease.

2. The purpose of travelling

3. A change is as good as rest.

Ex. 5. Write an essay about advantages and disadvantages of hitchhiking or any other form of travel. Keep to the following plan:

1. In my opinion, hitchhiking certainly has some advantages. To begin with, it is

free. Besides, …, also…, particularly if (when) … .

2. However, hitchhiking has some disadvantages. The main one is … (or firstly,

secondly). As regards … .

3. I would say, that as you get older you probably wouldn’t like…

4. In conclusion, I would say, that…

Ex. 6. Read the text and write out all kinds of trains to complete the grid bellow.

Trains

There are different kinds of trains: passenger trains, mail trains and goods trains. Mail trains carry mail, or post that is letters, parcels, newspapers and magazines. Goods trains carry goods. Passenger trains carry passengers. Mail and passenger trains are usually combined: there are some carriages for passengers and a special carriage or two for mail.

Passenger trains can be slow or fast. A slow train stops at every station. Fast trains have few stops: they stop only at very large stations. So we can call these trains respectively stopping trains and non-stopping trains.

There are local trains and long-distance trains. Local trains connect points situated not far away from each other, say, a hundred or two-three hundred kilometers. By a long-distance train you can travel very far – for thousands of kilometers. If you live in a large city like St. Petersburg or Moscow or Kiev, you can go to the suburbs of the city by a suburban train.

Sometimes, when traveling a long distance, you have to change trains (or make a changing), that is get off one train and board another, if there is no through train to the place of your destination.

When you are traveling a long distance, it is very convenient to go by an overnight train. Overnight trains have sleeping accommodation: they usually have “corridor cars”, i. e. carriages with separate compartments (they are called sleeping cars or sleepers). In each compartment there are two lower and two upper berths, on which you can sleep like in bed. Trains which run by day are called day coaches. You cannot sleep in these trains: they have only sitting accommodation – very comfortable soft arm-chairs.

kind of train	explanation
passenger train _ _	carries passengers. _ _

Ex. 7. Look through the text and say what kind of train you prefer and why if you go to.

Volochaevka, Birobidzhan, Komsomolsk, Vladivostok, Nachodka, Novosibirsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev

Ex. 8. Find the Russian sentence in the right-hand column which is close in the meaning to the English sentence in the left-hand column. Pay attention to the prepositions.

Where do you buy tickets for a train? We can buy them at the booking office of the railway station or at the central (city) booking office. We can buy tickets on the day of departure or book in advance. I book in advance. I reserve a ticket by phone and have it delivered. Would you like you ticket delivered? Please, I want two one way (return) tickets to Moscow. I want my ticket punched. What platform do trains to Vladivostok leave from? The train to London leaves from platform three, track five. I have a ticket for a through train to Kiev. Do you have seats on a 5 o’clock train to Tomsk? We have some upper berths in a compartment car on this train. I bought a ticket on the fifth of March. I bought a ticket for the fifth of March. The train to Moscow leaves at 10 sharp. The train leaves for Moscow at 10 sharp. Children under five may travel free. Here you are safe and sound.

a. Я купил билет пятого марта. b. Я покупаю билеты заранее. c. Вам доставить билет? d. Я заказываю билет по телефону, и мне его доставляют. e. Где вы покупаете билеты на поезд? f. Пожалуйста, мне нужно два билета в один конец (в оба конца) до Москвы. g. Мы можем купить их в кассе вокзала или в центральной (городской) железнодорожной кассе. i. Мне надо закомпостировать билет. h. Я купил билет на пятое марта. j. У меня билет на прямой поезд в Киев. k. Мы можем купить билеты в день отправления или заранее. l. С какой платформы отправляются поезда на Владивосток? m. Поезд на Москву отправляется ровно в 10 часов. n. У вас есть места на 5-часовой поезд в Томск? o. У нас есть несколько верхних мест в купейном вагоне на этот поезд. p. До 5 лет могут ездить бесплатно. q. Поезд на Лондон отходит с третьей платформы пятого пути. r. Поезд отправляется в Москву ровно в 10 часов. s. Вот и ты в целости и сохранности.

Ex. 9. Reproduce the following bits of conversation.

A.

A. Please, I want my ticket punched for the 3.45 (three-forty-five) train to Omsk.

B. Just a moment. I’ve got only upper berths on that train.

A. It’s O.K. I like traveling on an upper berth.

B. Very good, sir. Here you are.

A. Thank you.

B.

A. Can you help me? What platform does the 5 o’clock train to Edinburgh leave?

B. From platform two, track four.

Ex. 10. Use sentences from the exercisers above to make up your own dialogues on topics:

• At the booking office.

• At the inquiry office.

• My last trip.

Ex. 11. Read and translate the text.