Vocabulary:

a neighbour

a lecturer

to pack

luggage

a check-in desk

One day a few years ago a very funny thing happened to a neighbour of mine. He is a lecturer at one of London’s big medical schools. He had finished his teaching for the summer term and was at the airport on his way to Rumania to give a lecture on anatomy. He had packed a few clothes and his lecture notes in his hand luggage but he had out Rupert, the skeleton he uses in his lectures, in a large brown suitcase. At the check-in desk, he realized he had forgotten to buy a newspaper. He left his suitcase near the desk and went over to the kiosk.

When he got back he discovered that someone had taken his suitcase. He often wonders what they said when they opened it and found Rupert.

Text Two

«Nobody Had Believed It Was Possible»

Vocabulary:

an iceberg a lifeboat to sink a passenger radio a survivor

tragedy an officer a drill warning speed direction

Vocabulary:

an iceberg a lifeboat to sink a passenger radio a survivor

tragedy an officer a drill warning speed direction

In 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg on its first trip across the Atlantic, and it sank four hours later. At that time, the Titanic was the largest ship that had ever traveled on the sea. It was carrying 2207 people, but it had taken on enough lifeboats for only 1178 people. When the passengers tried to leave the ship, only 651 of them were able to get into lifeboats.

The Carpathia was 58 miles away when the Titanic called on its radio for help. It arrived two hours after the great ship had gone down, and it saved 705 people. Some of the survivors had been in the icy water for hours when they were saved. Most of the passengers hadn’t lived that long; 1502 people had lost their lives.

Through the whole tragedy, the Californian was only ten miles away. Its officers were close enough to see the Titanic, but they didn’t understand the situation. They never received the Titanic’s call for help, and they didn’t come to the rescue until too late.

Why was there such a great loss of life? Why were there so few survivors? Why didn’t the Californian come to help?

First of all, nobody had prepared for such a tragedy. Nobody had believed that the Titanic could sink. The steamship company had thought that its ship would be completely safe in all situations. They’d followed an old rule for the number of lifeboats, so they’d supplied lifeboats for only half the people. The passengers had not yet received their lifeboat numbers, nor had they practiced lifeboat drill before the accident. Many of them had not even dressed warmly, for the ship had hit the iceberg late at night, and they didn’t believe they were in danger.

The ship had already received six ice warnings on its radio when it struck the iceberg. Nevertheless, it had not changed its direction or its speed. It was impossible to change direction quickly enough when the iceberg came in sight. When the Titanic hit the iceberg, the radio officer in the Californian had just gone to bed. He’d tried to warn the officers on the Titanic about the ice before he went to bed, but the officers hadn’t listened.

After this accident, ocean travel changed. Now there are always enough lifeboats for everybody. Ships don’t go so far north in winter, and they watch carefully for ice. Radio officers work 24 hours a day. A tragedy like the sinking of the Titanic should never happen again.

Text Three

«Luckily, I Had Been Wearing My Seatbelt»