Text 2. Travelling by Train

Exercise 1. Read and translate the text.

There are various means of travel. We can travel by train, boat, plane, car and on foot. If you ask me what kind of transport I like best I’d speak in support of the train. With a train you have speed, comfort and pleasure combined.

What place is more interesting than a big station? There is the movement, the excitement, the gaiety of the people going away and sorrow of those who are seeing others off. There are the shouts of the porters as they pull luggage along the platforms to the waiting trains, the crowd at the booking-office getting tickets, and passengers hurrying to board the train.

At last you manage to make your way through the crowd, closely following the porter, who has taken care of your luggage, and get out on to the platform. There are many tracks and trains there. You show your ticket to the guard and you get into a most wonderful carriage. The station-master on duty signals the train and it starts noiselessly and without a jerk.

You are on your way. You start up a conversation with your fellow-passengers and soon you get to know who is who and what. Now that the excitement of the day is over you begin to feel hungry. To have dinner or supper, whichever it might be, you can go to the dining-car.

You feel tired now, after a hearty meal, so you decide to turn in. You get into your upper berth and begin to absorb the beauty of the changing scenes that fly past you – fields, meadows, flowers and grass, rivers, forests and mountains.

Exercise 2. Find the English equivalents for the following:

Разные способы путешествия; скорость, удобство и удовольствие – все вместе; крики носильщиков; везут багаж; толпа людей у кассы, покупающих билеты; пассажиры, торопящиеся сесть в поезд; который позаботился о вашем багаже; много железнодорожных путей и поездов; вы показываете билет кондуктору; дежурный начальник станции; вы в пути; попутчики; вы можете пройти в вагон-ресторан; лечь спать; забраться на верхнюю полку.

Exercise 3. Agree or disagree with the statements using the phrases: “You are right/You are wrong. I agree with you/I disagree with you. I think so too./I don’t think so”. Try to give an argument to your answer.

1. There is only one way of travelling.

2. The best kind of transport is the train

3. A station is quite a dull place.

4. It is impossible to make your way through the crowd without following a porter.

5. Russian passengers are always eager to start up a conversation.

6. You should always have some food with you in order not to be hungry.

7. While travelling by train you can see many beautiful places through the window.

Exercise 4. Prove that travelling by train is comfortable and pleasant.

Text 3. Travelling by Train in Britain

Exercise 1. Read the text and give a short summary.

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. Therefore, you do not have to climb up into a railway carriage in Britain. This makes it a little easier to get in and out of the carriage with your luggage.

The trains that go to and from London are very crowded at the times when people are travelling to work, since about a million people travel to London 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% 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 and drinks. Sometimes a waiter from the dining-car brings round cups of coffee to the passengers.

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