Grammar Review

Ex. 1. Read the sentences and translate them, paying attention to the Gerund. State the syntactic function of the Gerund.

1. Laying rails took much time before the invention of a track-laying machine.

2. Developing high-speed services by using trains capable of traveling at up to 250-300 km/h is one of the priority tasks of Russian Railways.

3. A porter is a person whose job is carrying people’s bags and other loads, especially at a railway station, an airport or in a hotel.

4. I don’t understand why the machine stopped working.

5. Suddenly, the engine began making a strange noise.

6. Automatic control system makes the driver’s work easier, allows reducing the train crew, and ensures high degree of safety.

7. I can’t insist on your staying a little longer as you risk missing the last train.

8. Research has focused on improving the car’s aerodynamics.

9. In 1996, several Asian countries established the Pan-Asian railway organization with the aim of uniting their individual railways into a continuous network.

10. The method of controlling the movement of all trains on a line from a central point is called Centralized Traffic Control.

11. In Russia, many people had doubts (сомневаться) about the possibility of using steam locomotives in winter.

12. Before putting the new trains into operation, the engineers are to test them on а specially built track.

13. On entering the compartment, a man introduced himself to his fellow travelers.

14. Passengers get access to the Metro platform by passing through turnstiles that require payment.

15. As all the railways in Britain have a standard gauge now, passengers are able to travel over several lines without changing trains.

16. The first steps in designing automatic engine driver for heavy high-speed trains were made in the 1960s.

17. Fences and other devices are built for protecting the tracks against snow and for keeping the livestock away from the railway.

Ex. 2. Complete the sentences with a required Gerund. Verbs given in the box below may be helpful to you.

1. The number of workers was minimized after ___ the new equipment.

2. The motor has broken from ___.

3. Freight trains are loaded and unloaded in freight yards by ___ cranes.

4. Snow prevented workers from ___ the broken pipeline.

5. Automatic train signaling (автоматические устройства сигнализации) is a system used for ___ railway traffic to prevent trains from ___.

6. ___ fuel supply caused serious trouble in the engine.

7. Diesel locos are able to work for a long time without ___.

8. Engineers are trying to find the ways of the ___ cost of ___ railways.

9. Having worked at the railway for several years, Paul gained much experience (опыт) in ___ electric locomotives.

10. Automatic ticket-vending machines have been developed for ___ passengers’ service at railway stations.

to collide to control to decrease to drive to electrify to improve to install to overheat to reach to refuel to stop to use

Ex. 3. Read the sentences and translate them, paying attention to ing-forms.

1. Two or more locomotives are used for pulling trains consisting of eighty freight cars.

2. The braking system can bring a train traveling at 300 km/h to a complete standstill in 65 seconds, during which time the train covers about 3.5 km.

3. Using special mechanical devices for loading and unloading freight cars led to reducing hard manual labor.

4. Russian trains run on 76 direct international lines linking Moscow with Paris, Berne, Copenhagen, Rome, Berlin and so on.

5. The transport committee studied the problem of increasing the number of trains operating on the commuter network.

6. Double deck passenger cars are used for carrying more commuters in densely-populated (густонаселённый) areas while using fewer cars.

7. As the seats in Metro cars are placed in rows on both sides of the carriage, the passengers can easily take their seats without causing trouble to other people.

8. The Moscow railway junction, the largest terminal in our country, is equipped with up-to-date devices providing coordinated operation of all the services.

9. In India, foreign tourists are able to buy an Indrail Pass permitting unlimited travel for a specific time period.

10. While testing the new locomotive, both driver and the engineer noticed malfunctioning (работать неисправно) of the motor.

11. Switches (стрелка) are used for directing a train onto another section of track, for example, a siding line or a parallel running line.

12. Around $1.2 billion will be spent on modernizing the 270 km suburban network of Sao Paolo, Brazil. This includes buying new trains, refurbishing existing rolling stock, renewing signaling equipment, constructing new railway stations, rebuilding old ones and laying new tracks.

13. A dining car is a passenger car serving as a restaurant in long-distance trains. To passengers traveling long distances, it offers greater comfort than eating brought-along food on the train. In addition, the ever-changing views of the countryside may increase the pleasure of the meal. However, dining cars are becoming increasingly rare. They are often replaced by bar cars selling snacks and pre-packaged meals.

Ex. 4. Read the sentences and translate them, paying attention to the Infinitive in the function of:

1. subject (подлежащее)

1. To put this train into service will be possible only after a series of special tests.

2. To use steel rails instead of wooden ones was a great step forward.

3. To increase train speeds without improving the stability of track is impossible.

4. It is necessary to provide regular maintenance to rolling stock.

5. It is more economic and energy efficient to transport freight by railway than by road.

6. As the rail joint (рельсовый стык) is the weakest part of the track, it is necessary to use longer rails.

2. predicative (именная часть составного сказуемого)

1. The function of railway signals is to keep the trains at some distance from one another.

2. The task of the Exро Express line was to carry 30 000 passengers per hour.

3. The aim of using several locomotives in one train is to carry extremely heavy loads.

4. The function of the automatic engine driver is to start and stop the train, to select the speed of running and to run the train strictly to the timetable.

5. The task of traffic police is to provide safety on roads.