Isn't the Hotel Enormous!

Mr Gunther: Isn't this hotel enormous!

Mr Black: It is not only very large, but also very popular because it is centrally located. From here you can reach any part of the city by underground or bus

Mr Gunther: How many guests does this hotel accomodate^

Mr Black: I do not know exactly, but 1 believe that there are twenty-five floors, and it must have room for seve­ral hundred guests.

Mr Gunther: Are all the rooms usually occupied?

Mr Black: Yes. Very often I have been unable to obtain acco-modation for my friends.

Mr Gunther: Then we were fortunate enough to get a room for as little as 9 pounds. How are the meals, and are the prices reasonable?

Mr Black: The hotel is known for its excellent cuisine and moderate prices. The dining-room is so beautifully decorated that you will enjoy eating there.

Mr Gunther: Is there music during the meals?

Mr Black: Yes, a famous orchestra plays sweet dinner music and its imported and domestic wines leave unfor­gettable taste. Let's have our first meal this evening at the hotel. You and Mrs Gunther will be our guests

Mr Gunther: We shall be glad to accept your invitation.

Mr Black: We'll meet you at the hotel lobby at 6.30.

Mr Gunther: That's splendid. That will give us an hour to rest

and change our clothes. We'll see you then at 6.30.

Questions: What is the hotel like? Why is the hotel popular?

How many guests does it accomodate? Why does Mr Gunther

think they were fortunate enough to get a room at the hoteP

What is the hotel known for? Where does Mr Black invite his

friends?

//. Give a brief account of the conversation. II. Role-play the conversation.

IV. You're on business in London. You are staying at a modern fashionable hotel. You like the hotel and your room. You phone your wife to tell her where you are staying. She asks you some questions about the hotel and your room.

/. Listen to the conversation and answer the questions: Can You Help Me?

Clerk: Front desk.

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Martin: Hello. This is Martin Baum. The bathroom light in my

room doesn't work. Could you have somebody come up

and take a look at it, please? Clerk: Oh, of course, Mr Baum. What room number was that,

please?

Martin: Room 615.

Clerk. Okay, I'll have a man up there in a minute. Martin: Fine. And another thing — I don't seem to have a room

service menu. Is there one? Clerk: Yes, there is. We have 24-hour room service. I'm sorry

about that. I'll have a room service waiter bring you

a menu up right away. Martin: Thanks.

Clerk: If you need anything else, just let me know Martin: I will. Good night. Clerk: Good night.

Questions: What's wrong with Martin's bathroom? What else does he ask the clerk to do?

//. Cover the conversation. Then tell your partner exactly what Martin said when he

— complained about the bathroom light

— asked the clerk to have someone look at the light.

— said he didn't have a room service menu.

/// Role-play the conversation.

IV. Situation: You are staying at a hotel. There's something wrong with the bath. It doesn't hold water. There is only one blanket on the bed. You want two. Besides you've got some laundry to do. You phone room service for help.

Listening At the Hotel

"We want a room on the first floor", I said. "Certainly, sir," the hotel manager answered. "Have you a room with a private bathroom?" I asked. "Yes, sir," the hotel manager said. "Here are the keys to number twenty one."

I took the keys and my wife and I went upstairs. We unlocked the door of number 21 and went into the loom. We shut the door and put our cases on the floor. "Listen", my wife said. "There's a man in the room. He's singing." "You're rght!" I said. "He's in the bathroom."

I knocked at the door of the bathroom The singing stopped.

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"Who is it?" a voice asked. "This is our room", I answered. "What are you doing here'" "Your room!" the voice answered angrily "This is my room. Please, go away! I'm taking a bath."

"I'll call the manager", my wife said. Just then the door opened and the manager came in." I'm very sorry", he said. "I made a mistake. Your room is next door. Here are the keys to number twenty-two."

Questions: On what floor was the writer's room? What was its number? Was the room vacant? What did the manager say^

A Millionaire at the Hotel

This is a story about a well-known millionaire who did not like to spend even small sums of money. One day he went to stay at a hotel in New York. He asked for the cheapest room they had. He said: "What is the price of the room?" The manager told him "And what floor is it on?" He asked the manager again. The ma­nager told him. "Is this the cheapest room you have? I'm staying here by myself and only need a small room." The manager told him that that was the smallest room they had. "But why do you take the cheapest room like that? When your son stays here he always has the most expensive room." "Yes", answered the mil­lionaire, "but his father is a rich man and mine is not."

Questions: Why was the manager of the hotel surprised' What explanation did the millionaire give?

The Power of Imagination

Mr Brown got to a hotel late in the evening after a long journey. He asked the desk-clerk whether there were any vacant rooms in the hotel. At that moment another traveller came to the hotel and asked the desk-clerk for a room too

The only vacant room was a double one. "Do you mind spen­ding the night in that room together?" the desk-clerk asked. At first the travellers didn't like the idea, but just then it began raining hard and they were too tired to go to another hotel, so they changed their minds. Their things were carried in and soon the two men went to sleep.

Suddenly a loud \oice woke Mr Brown up. It was quite dark "What's the matter'" Mr Brown asked in surprise. In a weak voice the second traveller answered: "I'm sorry, but I had to wake you up. I've got astma. I feel very bad. In addition I've got a terrible headache. If you don't want me to die, open the window quickly."

Mr Brown jumped out of bed and began looking for matches,

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but he couldn't find them in the dark, and the sick man went on: "Air, air, I want fresh air. I'm dying."

Mr Brown still couldn't find the matches, so he tried to find the window. It took him some time, and at last he thought he had found it But he couldn't open it. As the voice of the traveller became weaker and weaker, Mr Brown took a chair and broke the window with it. The sick man immediately stopped moaning and said he felt much better Then the two of them slept peacefully until morning.

V/hen they woke up next morning they were surprised to see that the only window in the room was closed but the large looking-glass was broken to pieces.

Questions: What woke Mr Brown up? What happened to Mr Brown's neighbour? What did Mr Brown begin to look for? Why did Mr Brown break the window? How did the travellers spend the rest of the night? Why were they surprised in the morning?

Reading Places to Stay

How do you go about finding a place to stay? Well, plenty of hotels advertise at airports. If you arrive by train or car, probably the best thing to do is look in the Yellow Pages under Hotel, Motel or Lodging. You can start by comparing the services offered in their ads. In any case, you'll have to call them and see if they have the kind of room you're looking for.

Places to stay may be called hotels, motels or motor hotels, inns, lodges or resorts. They are all similar. Motels have plenty of parking space and are usually near a freeway or highway. Inns are usually like motels. Lodges and resorts, or resort hotels, are in the mountains, on the coast, or near lakes.

Beds -that's right, beds -also go by many different names. Starting with the smallest, there are single, twin, double, queen and king size ones. "Long boys" are for exceptionally tall people At some hotels, queen beds are the smallest size used, so a double room has two of them Some hotels even offer their guests waterbeds. A roll-away can be moved into a room to sleep an extra person. Hide-a-beds are sofas that fold out to make beds.

People who prefer camping to staying in hotels will have a hard time in American cities, because most of them don't have campgrounds nearby. You can camp in state and national parks, though, which generally have facilities for both tents and trailers.

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Here are some more helpful things to know.

Who should you tip at a hotel? The bellman gets $ I per bag for taking your luggage to your room. Maids usually don't expect a tip, but if you stay more than a few days or if your maid does something special for you, a $ 2 tip is a good idea. Room service waiters should get 15 % of a bill.

You may want to avoid some motels that advertise "in-room movies" or "in-house films". These are usually X-rated, or por­nographic, films.

•Lots of hotels have special facilities for conventions — large and small meeting rooms, banquet rooms, PA (public address) systems and so on. They may also offer guests attending the convention special rates on services.

Electricity in North America is 110 volts (60 Herz) — not 220 This means you won't be able to use your hair dryer or your electric razor unless you can change it to 110 volts.

When telephoning from your hotel room, you will often have to go through the hotel switchboard, especially for long distance calls. These calls can be quite expensive, because the hotel usually adds a high service charge to the calls you make. On the other hand, local calls can generally be made from your room by dialling direct. You can also ask the hotel receptionist to give you a wake up call in the morning.

If your hotel does not have a laundry service, maybe you can find a laundromat nearby, which might even be open 24 hours a day. You will need exact change to operate the washing machines and dryers.

You will always find soap, towels and linen in hotel and motel rooms in the US.

Mr Thompson at the Hotel

Mr Thompson had to go to Manchester on business. He had not been there for years. He thought of going by car, but he did not like the idea of driving for several hours on busy roads, so in the end he decided to take a train. As he was unable to catch an early train, it was late in the evening when he arrived in Manchester.

Feeling tired after his journey, he chose a hotel near the station. He went to the reception desk and asked the clerk if there was a single room, with bath. "Certainly, sir", the clerk said "I hope there is plenty of hot water", Mr Thompson said. He was looking forward to a hot bath after his journey. "Of course, sir", the clerk said. "Room forty-nine. I'll get the porter to take up your luggage." Mr Thompson was not a mean man, but he had made his money the hard way, and he did not believe in tipping people

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for doing things that he could do himself. "Don't bother", he said. "I've got one suitcase. I can manage myself." "All right, sir. He­re's your key. Your room is on the fourth floor, number forty-nine." "The fourth floor? I'd rather use the lift then." "The lift is out of order, sir, I'm afraid. It has been for the last fortnight." "In that case, 1 shall need the porter after all." The reception clerk looked at his watch. "He's just gone off duty", he said. "He went just now, while we were talking. The night porter hasn't arrived yet."

Mr Thompson's face began to feel hot, which was a sign that he was getting annoyed. Picking up his suitcase he made his way up four flights of stairs to his room, which he found to be extremely small and untidy. He felt like a drink, so he picked up the phone: "Will you send a whisky and soda to room forty-nine?"

Fifteen minutes passed and no drink arrived. He phoned down a second time: "This is room forty-nine again. Where's the whisky I ordered some time ago? I'd like it straightaway." Suddenly feeling suspicious, he went into the bathroom and turned on the hot tap. No hot water came out. In fact, no water came out at all. By this time his face was feeling very hot, so he went to the wash basin in his bedroom and splashed some cold water on it. He waited. Still no drink. Then he noticed that the water was still in the basin It had not drained away. The pipes must be clogged. This was the last straw. He used the phone again. "I demand to see the manager," he said. "At once."

After twenty minutes the manager appeared. "Can I help you, sir?" he said. "I wish to make a complaint about the service and the conditions in this hotel," Mr Thompson said. "There are no porters. The lift is out of order. My room is no bigger than a rabbit-hutch, and it is dirty. I have phoned twice for a drink, but no drink has come. I was assured that there would be hot water, and there isn't any. And now, to crown it all, the wash-basin is blocked."

The manager looked at the wash-basin for some minutes. He smelt strongly of beer. "That is very strange," he said. He put his hand into the water and got out a small object. Mr Thompson heard the sound of water draining away. The manager smiled triumphantly: "You forgot to remove the plug, sir," he said. "You see, there is absolutely nothing wrong with our hotel."

Self check

/. Translate into English:

— Здравствуйте. Моя фамилия Кент. На прошлой неделе я заказал одноместный номер в вашей гостинице.

— Минуточку. Да, сэр, мы получили ваше письмо. Я могу

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предложить вам номер 46 на третьем этаже.

— Есть ли в номере душ?

— Да, душ и ванна.

— Это хорошо. Надеюсь, что в комнате есть и телефон.

— Да, во всех номерах в нашей гостинице есть телефон.

— Это очень удобно. Мне нужно сделать несколько теле­фонных звонков. Сколько стоит номер?

— 50 долларов в сутки.

— Хорошо. Я возьму этот номер.

— Тогда, пожалуйста, заполните регистрационную карточку

— Хорошо. Когда у вас подают завтрак?

— С 7 до 9.30.

— Есть ли в гостинице почта?

— Нет, но она совсем рядом, на другой стороне улицы.

— Спасибо.

Fluency

/. Answer the questions:

Do you like to stay at a hotel? What are visitors required to do first when they arrive at a hotel? What information is required from you when you are signing in at a hotel? What services does a guest get at a modern hotel? What is meant by the term "bed and breakfast"? What is the usual rate for a single (double) room in this country? What are the duties of the reception clerk (cham­bermaid, porter)? What is the best hotel in your city? Why do you think so?

When did you stay at a hotel last? Where? What is the hotel like? Is it difficult to get accomodation in that hotel? Did you reserve a room in advance? How much did it cost? Describe how you registered at the hotel. Did you like your room? What was it like? Did you have your meals at the hotel? How did you find the cooking? Were the prices reasonable? What was the service like? Was there a dry-cleaner's service at the hotel? Have you ever been abroad? Did you put up at a hotel? How did you find the hotel and the service there?

//. Describe one of the hotels you stayed at.

III. What will you say in the following situations:

\. You are at the reception desk of a hotel. You want a double room for three days. You ask... 2. You want to know the price of the room you are offered. You ask... 3. The desk-clerk wants to offer you a room on the second floor. She/he says... 4. You are a guest at a hotel. You want the receptionist to give you a wake up call in the morning. You ring up the reception desk and say... 5. You want to have your shirt washed and your jacket cleaned

When the chambermaid comes you say... 6. You are leaving the hotel and you want your luggage to be taken down. You phone the reception clerk and say... 7. You want to have a telephone in your room and you ask the clerk... 8. You don't know whether there is a bathroom in your room and you ask... 9. You want to have breakfast at the hotel and you ask...

IV. Act out the following situations:

1. The room the desk clerk gave you is occupied. You've returned to the reception desk to clear up the matter.

2. There are some hotels in Minsk. Your English colleague asks you what hotel you can recommend him. You give him some advice.

3. You've come to Washington on business. Your friend recommen­ded you to stay at the Ramada Hotel. You call the hotel and ask whether it is possible to get accomodation there. They've got some vacancies. They promise to hold a room for you till 2 o'clock.

4. You've come to the only hotel in the town to book a room for a few nights. The hotel is full up, the clerk says. You are in despair. The clerk asks you to come at 12 o'clock. If somebody checks out, they might give you a room.

Writing

I. Write a similar letter on this pattern to a hotel reserving a room in advance:

The Manager, Seascape Hotel, Marine Parade, Brighton, Sussex, England

Dear Sir,

I would like to book two rooms at your hotel for four nights from July 27th to July 3lst. I would like one double room and one single room both with baths.

Yours faithfully, Peter Schnelling

II. You are in London on business. You are staying at a big fashionable hotel. In your letter home you write a lot about the hotel and the services at the hotel.

///. Write a conversation for this situation: 1. Robert Wilson arrives at a hotel late at night. His secretary has booked a room for him there.

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2. He apologises for arriving so late (his plane was delayed).

3. The hotel clerk smiles and looks through the guest list (the list of people who are staying at the hotel or who have reserved rooms).

4. The clerk begins to look worried, says that Wilson's name is not on the list and that there are no rooms free that evening.

5. Wilson is sure the clerk is wrong about this.

6. The clerk checks the guest list again and suddenly notices 'that there is a room reserved for "R. Wilton". The clerk says

that someone has spelt Wilson's name wrongly and apologises The clerk calls a porter who takes Wilson's luggage to his room

UNIT 16 GRAMMAR: PASSIVE VOICE