Exercises

1. Expend the following statements. Add information from the text:

a) the purpose of the trip;

b) the preparation for the trip;

c) booking a railway ticket;

d) the failure of his plans.

2. Answer the questions on the text:

1. Are you fond of travelling?

2. Do you travel much?

3. When did you last travel by train?

4. Where did you go?

5. Did you travel by an express or by a stopping train?

6. You didn’t miss the train, did you?

7. Did you travel light or heavy?

8. How did you buy ticket?

9. Do you prefer to buy a lower or upper berth?

3. Speak on:

– your last journey;

– your journey which impressed you greatly.

Additional texts for reading Text 1. Sunday in England Read the text with a dictionary and be ready to answer the questions that follow it.

The English Sunday is no longer the quiet and dreary day of rest it was in the past. Writing letters, reading novels, playing the piano or violin, riding a bicycle or motorcycle, visiting picture galleries, exhibitions, museums or the Zoo, going to an afternoon or evening concert, all that is no longer considered wicked or improper. Even some cinemas are now open on Sundays and most of the West End restaurants give some music during the dinner hours.

But in many other respects, things have remained as they were. People do not go to business on Sunday; only a few small shops are open; no letters are delivered in London, except by “Express Sunday Delivery”. The railways, trolley-buses and trams run less frequently than on week-days. A few Sunday newspapers only are published; the theatres and music halls remain closed.

Answer the questions on the text:

1. Is Sunday in England a quiet and dreary day of rest?

2. What can people do on that day?

3. Is there any difference between week-days and Sundays in England?

Text 2. Adventure holidays at Beacon Park Read the text with a dictionary and be ready to answer the questions that follow it.

Beacon Park is an adventure holiday camp in South Wales. Young people can stay there without their parents and do lots of different sports and activities. Beacon Park is very big. It is next to a lake in the mountings.

You can do lots of sports and activities there: you can go canoeing, orienteering, archery, grass-skiing, pony-trekking, rock-climbing, sailing, and windsurfing. You can do computer course, film-making, pottery, weaving.

During the summer holidays Liz Dean and Sandra Bell from Hatfield stayed at Beacon Park for a week. They enjoyed it very much. Liz wrote about it in her diary.

Saturday

Sandra and I arrived at the camp at 4 o’clock this Afternoon. You can choose to sleep in tents or caravans. We are in a tent. We share one with 3 other girls, Megan, Fiona and Sarah. For tea we had roast beef with vegetables. It was good. Later we walked round the camp and met some of the others. One boy, Stephen, was very noisy and not very nice. He even hit Sandra once and hurt her. He’s from Birmingham. I hope there aren’t any more here like Stephen.

Before we went to bed, we went to the washroom with our soap, towels and toothbrushes. But there was mud and dirty water on the floor, so we ran out again fast. Megan’s towel fell in the mud. I lost my toothbrush. It was dark in the tent when we put on our pyjamas. Megan and I tried to put on the same pyjamas.

During the night some of the boys walked round the tent and shouted, “We are the ghosts of Beacon Park!” We said, “Go away.” Then the tent fell on us.

Sunday

We got up at 6.30 and went to the lake to swim. I’ve never got up so early before. It was great, the water was very cold.

For breakfast we had sausages, eggs, beans, tomatoes and toast. Stephen ate enough for three people. Later he was sick.

In the morning we went pony-trekking near the camp. We wore special hard hats and rode slowly across the fields. One girl, Samantha, brought her own hat, so we called her “Snobbo”. It was very boring. Stephen shouted, “Let’s play cowboys and Indians.” But the instructor was very angry and sent Stephen back to his tent.

In the evening there were activities like film-making, but we were too tired.

Monday

When we got up, everything ached: our arms, legs, and feet. Breakfast was sausages, eggs, tomatoes, beans and toasts again. Then we went to the archery field. That was fun. We had a competition. The prizes were packets of sweets. I didn’t win anything.

In the afternoon we had BMX races. That was great. We also had a slow race. Stephen thought you must come first and not last. He’s so silly. When we rode over the finish line, he shouted, “I’ve won.” “Oh no, you haven’t,” said another boy. “It was a slow race.” And everybody laughed. Stephen tried to push the boy into the mud and the instructor was very angry. He sent Stephen back to his tent again. He stayed there till the evening meal. I felt sorry for Stephen.

Tuesday

In the morning we went canoeing on the river. Brilliant. And the weather was great, too. A really nice day. Megan and I fell into the river. For our afternoon activity we went to a farm near the camp. We fed the animals and helped to milk the cows. The boys from Stephen’s tent tried to leave Stephen in the cowshed, but the farmer didn’t want him.

Tea was fish and chips. After tea we played some games with other groups.

Wednesday

It rained today. And we went sailing. Megan didn’t go because she didn’t want to get wet again. It was probably a good idea because Stephen and his friends played pirates. In the afternoon we went grass-skiing. I really enjoyed that. We wore funny skis with wheels and rolled down a big hill. After the evening meal we had a disco. I met a nice boy from Bayswater in London. He’s as old as me – 13. We want to do the same activities tomorrow.

Thursday

This morning we went orienteering. Orienteering is very boring. The instructor drives out of the camp with you and leaves you in a field. You have got a map and you must find your way back to the camp. A boy from Halifax was the leader in our group. His name is Ashraf Khan. We walked across fields and climbed over walls. We hid behind one wall and pushed some of the boys into the river. Everybody was dirty and wet. It was brilliant. In the evening we made a camp-fire. Then we sang song. I talked with Andrew. He’s going to visit me in Hatfield.

Friday

Today was the best day of all. We went canoeing again and we played Indians. We painted our faces and did a war dance. Everybody fell into the river, even the instructor. Then we went to the sports room and had a lot of fun on the trampoline. When Stephen fell off, the others laughed, but I didn’t think it was very funny.

Andrew says he’s going to write to me and he has visited me to London.

Sandra and I must go home tomorrow. It’s a pity. I think this place is great.

Answer the questions on the text:

1. Why didn’t Liz enjoy the fist day at Beacon Park?

2. On Monday morning Liz’s arms, legs and feet ached. Can you say why?

3. Where is Andrew Walker (Ashraf Khan) from?

4. Why didn’t Megan go with the others on Wednesday?

5. Why didn’t Liz want to go home?