Федеральное агентство по образованию

Елабужский государственный педагогический университет

Факультет иностранных языков

Контрольная работа № 6

для студентов II курса заочного отделения.

(практика устной и письменной речи)

Елабуга, 2006.

Control work N 6. Topic “ TRAVELLING “

It’s time to start thinking about holidays again. Planning lazy days in the sun, by sea, picnicking in grassy, fairy—tale forests or marvelling at the most breathtaking scenery you’ve ever seen. Or, perhaps, you want a get-away-from-it-all holiday in that little place you found last year & fell in love with.

Nowadays tourism has become a highly organized business. There are express trains, luxurious cruisers, cars & jet air—liners; all of which provide you with comfort & security. What choice to make ? What route to take? These & other problems will be discussed in this Unit.

1.Read & do the exercises given below.

Some may be fond of travelling. For me to travel is to go through a gradual state of nerve wrecking.

Once my wife & I decided to take a holiday trip. So I went to an agency to book a cabin on a ship. While I was away my wife was supposed to be packing. To my astonishment it was only half done when I returned as my wife was in doubt whether to take a trunk or just a few suitcases to carry our things in.

It was no use urging her to hurry or to be ready at a certain time because she was not the person to be hurried or ordered about. To try to speed her up was to make her excited & bad—tempered.

With only an hour to spare, the packing to do & the city to cross, I could not but be impatient, so I simply began to throw the things into the suitcases without folding them. The suitcase nearly burst, but I was willing to burst a dozen suitcases to catch the train. I knew my wife would have to iron everything again. But I thought it would teach her not to put things off to the last moment. Within 20 minutes or so we were ready to go.

I immediately found a taxi which seemed almost too good to be true & requested the driver to hurry & get us to the station in time. How the taxi—driver managed to get us to the station alive is difficult to understand because he drove at breakneck speed through the heavy traffic of the city. We got to the station, though strange to relate, quite safely to find the train still there & with a few minutes to spare. Some acquaintances were waiting on the platform to see us off, but we hardly had time to say “ hullo “ to them. We were almost the last passengers to arrive. This was no time for me to be genteel. Up went the mountain of luggage; down sank my wife in a corner, & away went the train.

In the compartment we were not the only ones to want to put our luggage on the racks. Our fellow passengers wanted to put theirs as well, only to find there had been no room left to speak of. It was enough to make anyone angry. When they tried to dump their suitcases in the corridor, the conductor would not have them do it. They tried to convince him that it was nothing to make a fuss about but he replied that corridors were to walk through, not to store luggage in . In the end the conductor calmed down. But the people were just bursting to tell us a thing or two.

When we had to change station to go aboard the ship, my wife wanted me to carry all the luggage. She didn’t want to waste money on porters when she had a strong, muscular husband to do it for her. But I had no desire to take the risk of breaking my back & so I went on strike. In the end my wife gave in.

It took the porter three trips to transfer it all & when he had finished he had no breath left to speak of. & the beauty of it was that she had us drag all that luggage only to leave half of it unopened when we did get there.

Notes on the Text.

To travel — a) to go from place to place, e.g. to travel round the world for years;

2. to pass, go or move through ( a place or distance), e.g.:

How fast does light travel ?

To travel light — to travel without much luggage.

Travel n – the act of travelling, a general word for going from one place tp another. The nouns travel & travels usually suggest travelling for long distance & long periods of time, e.g.:

He came home after years of foreign travel.

Travel agency—office which arranges tickets / hotel reservations, etc. for you when you are making a journey.

COMPARE:

Journey n—the distance covered & the time spent in going from one place to another, e.g.:

I go to work by train & the journey takes 50 minutes.

Voyage n—is similar, but is used mainly of sea journeys ( or sometimes journeys in space), e.g.:

I’ve never made a sea—voyage.

Flight n—a journey by plane, e.g.:

Take some books to read on the flight / voyage / journey.

Cruise n—a sea—voyage for pleasure, e.g.:

I’d love to go on a cruise.

Trip n—a short journey from one place to another, e.g.:

Did you enjoy your trip to the country ?

Tour n—a) a journey during which several places are visited, e.g. a tour round Europe; b) a short trip to or through a place, e.g.:

We went on a guided tour round the castle.

Hitch—hiking n—travelling by getting free rides in passing automobiles & walking between rides, e.g.:

Hitch—hiking is a new way of travelling which gives one a chance to see much without spending anything.

Remember :

to book a cabin on a ship to drive at breakneck speed

to go aboard the ship to get to the station

to arrive in / at to see smb. off

to take a holiday trip to change stations

VOCABULARY PRACTICE.

1).Choose the right word. Translate the sentences into Russian.

1. travel, travels, to travel, travelling

1. His mind ... to his childhood. 2. The news ... fast. 3. This is a book of ... .4. His eyes ... over the picture. 5. He loves reading ... books. 6. He is fond of ... . 7. Nowadays ... has become a highly organized business.

2. trip, cruise, tour

1. Have you ever taken a holiday ... along the Black Sea coast or down the Volga? 2. When travelling you have to give special thought, not only to your route, but to what you wear & eat during your ... . 3. What clothes would you suggest to a young ( old) passengers on ...? 4. The National Theatre is on ... in the North.5. It must be the bird’s first .. from the nest.

2).Write English equivalents for the following words & phrases. Use them in sentences of your own.

Прибыть в Иркутск ; багаж; пересесть на другой поезд; опоздать на поезд; дорожный чемодан; нервотрепка; благовоспитанный; в конце концов; успокоиться.

3).Give Russian equivalents for the following:

one’s name

oneself

to forget } one’s troubles

one’s disagreements

a letter for somebody

the window open

to leave } the tickets behind

it at that

4).Give synonyms from the text to the following words & phrases.

To make up one’s mind; to persuade; to bother one’s head; to spend money; to continue; closed.

5).Fill in the prepositions where necessary.

1. He arrived ... his destination ... time. 2. The train arrived ... Moscow early... the morning. 3. I went straight ... the platform to look ... my carriage. 4. As the driver drove ... breakneck speed I felt my heart sink.5. If you are not pressed ... time, you may travel... water. 6. Mother asked me to book her a cabin ... a ship. 7. I hate seeing people ... . 8. On our way ... Moscow we had to change stations. 9. Though I did my best I failed to catch the ... train.

2. Read the following text & make up your own questions so as to cover the main ideas of the text.

Travelling by Train in Britain.

One of the first things a foreigner notices about British railways is the platforms. They are higher than in most parts of the world. The platform is almost on a level with the floor of the carriages. You do not, therefore, have to climb up into a railway carriage in Britain. This makes it a little easier to get in & out of the carriage with your luggage.

The trains that go to & from London are very crowded at the times when people are travelling to work each day. There are cheap tickets after a certain time of the day, usually about 9.30 when everyone has gone to work. These are called cheap day return tickets. It is often nearly 50 % ( fifty per cent) cheaper to travel to London after 9.30 than before this time.

On many fast trains to London there is a dining - car in which you can buy lunch, dinner or coffee. On others there is a buffet at which it is possible to buy snacks & drinks. Sometimes a waiter from the dining - car brings round cups of coffee to the passengers.

There are only two classes in Britain—first & second. A first—class ticket costs 50 % more than a second—class ticket. On long iourneys there is a ticket inspector, who visits every passenger to see if he has the right ticket & is not travelling in the wrong class.

In England train passengers seldom converse with their fellow—travellers even on a long journey—this is more a national custom than a matter of etiquette.

When the passenger reaches the end of his journey & leaves the train, he has to give his ticket to the ticket collector at the exit before he can leave the station. If he has luggage & wants someone to carry it for him to a waiting car or taxi, he must ask a porter. The porter does not make a charge for his service, but he expects a tip.

3. You agree, don’t you , that railway is a very popular means of communication. Nevertheless many of us prefer, sometimes have, to apply to air service or travel by sea. Read the text & ask your own questions.

Last Wednesday I went down to Southampton Docks to see my partner off to New York on one of our largest liners. What colossal ships these cruisers are when you see them from the landing—stage along the quay. I had a pass, so I went on board & had a look round. From the top deck I could see the huge cranes lifting the cargo & depositing it in the hold. I saw members of the crew carrying out their duties in various parts of the ship while the captain watched the operations & gave his orders from the bridge. Then the siren sounded & the visitors made for the gangways. Finally the ship began to move off, & the passengers, leaning over the rails, waved good—bye to their friends standing below amongst the crowd. Slowly she left the harbour, passing beyond the pier, & gradually disappeared in the distance.

A few days later I myself had to go to Paris. The journey was urgent & I went by air. A special bus provide by the company took us to the airport. On the airfield we saw a large plane waiting for us.We climbed into it, & at exactly twelve o’clock it took off. Very soon our “ magic carpet “ reached the sea, & shortly afterwards we saw the French coast. It wasn’t long before we arrived at our destination. Our pilot made a perfect landing & we got our of the plane.

1). Learn the following word—combinations.

A non—stop flight; a steward(ess); a runway; an aircrash; to land; a forced lanng; to fly at a speed ( height) of; to hit an air—pocket; to pick up speed; to have one’s luggage weighed & registered; to sail from; to call at a port (ports); to pass up the gangway; to go ashore; a life—belt, life—buoy; a good (poor) sailor; to have a smooth voyage; to have a rough voyage; to be seasick; to be airsick; to be due at (a place).

2). Explaine the meaning of the following words & phrases. Use them in questions of your own.

Aircrash; non—stop flight; to hit an air—pocket; to take off; forced landing; poor sailor; promenade deck.

Федеральное агентство по образованию

Елабужский государственный педагогический университет

Факультет иностранных языков

Контрольная работа № 1

для студентов II курса заочного отделения.

(практика устной и письменной речи)

Елабуга, 2006.

Control work N 1 for the second course on topic “ Holidays & Pastimes”