Добавил:
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз: Предмет: Файл:

English is my cup of tea. Part 5. Учебное пособие

.pdf
Скачиваний:
0
Добавлен:
12.08.2026
Размер:
992 Кб
Скачать

Supplementary Reading

between five months and three weeks in advance. You should also note that budget airlines publish flights and prices six months before take-off at most so there’s no point in hurrying yourself too much! In terms of days of the week, lots of statistics have shown that it is better to buy plane tickets between Tuesday and Thursday rather than wait for the weekend. I’m sure your boss won’t mind if you take five minutes after your lunch break to book your ticket if you spot a good deal. ;)

Tip #5 – Watch out for cookies

No, it’s not a myth! Airline websites remember your IP address so they can charge you more and more over time as you keep coming back to their site. I have two solutions for this. The first is to use to browse the internet via a VPN when you compare the price of flights a few weeks before purchasing tickets. The second solution is to use your phone to quickly check if the plane tickets are still the same price, before buying tickets on your computer.

Tip #6 – Browse internal flights abroad

This is a tip that’s aimed towards those who are really looking to spend a long time travelling. Instead of comparing flights to a particular destination, you can also look at flights to the most popular airport in the country and then look at internal flights. Let me give you an example… You want to go to Thailand, to

Koh Samui, for example. Instead of looking at the price of tickets for flights from London to Koh Samui, I would recommend searching for flights to Bangkok. Capitals generally have better and cheaper connections. Next, look at the price of internal flights in Thailand. Did you know that internal flights in Thailand cost around 30€ for a return? That should definitely help make your mind up. :)

Tip #7 – Flying long haul? Then stop over!

Flights with a stopover are 25% cheaper than direct flights.

Once again, this advice applies to long haul flights. Don’t be afraid of making stopovers! Not only are they a nice opportunity to stretch your legs out a little bit, but stopovers can also help you save money. If you go to Brazil, for example, I would recommend stopping over in Portugal so you don’t have to pay as much. If you fly to the US, changing flights in Reykjavik means you don’t have to break the bank.

Another advantage to stopovers is that you can discover two destinations for the price of one! In fact, you could arrange a stopover that lasts a day or even

61

Travelling and Тransport

a few days so you can discover a new country. How can you refuse a day in Dubai, a weekend in Bangkok, or even a few hours in Lisbon?

Tip #8 – Choose budget airlines

Budget airlines have shot up in popularity in recent years as they have made travelling so much more accessible. We can only say thank you for flights to Paris for €30 even or return flights to Croatia for under €100! To take real advantage of these extremely cheap flights, you don’t need to make a big sacrifice. Besides, you don’t need a full meal on a 2-hour flight or 20kg hold lugggage for a city break in Europe when you’re only gone for a few nights. Just pack your cabin baggage well and you’ll be sorted!

Low-cost flights have been primarily centred around the European market, but recently it’s been possible to book budget long-haul flights. You’ll probably remember WOW Air announcing direct flights from Cork to Reykjavik, while Norwegian have really gone for it this year by launching cheap flights from several Irish airports to America. Return flights to the US for just over €200 return? You betcha!

Tip #9 – Look at open-jaw flights

If you intend to drive to the airport and leave your car there until you return, you don’t need to take any notice of this tip. For the rest of you, however, did you know that you can save money if you keep an open mind regarding your departure and arrival airport? These are called open-jaw flights amongst travel aficionados, and mean that the airport you return to is different to the one you departed from. For example, you can go London -New York – Manchester or Dublin – Reykjavik – Cork. This sometimes helps you find exceptionally priced tickets for the small cost of a train ticket, and can be particularly handy if you’re looking to go on long tours to several destinations at a time.

Tip #10 – Consider loyalty schemes

If you often use the same airline or you often take the same journey, you should definitely take a look at the different loyalty schemes offered by airlines. By accumulating air miles, you can take advantage of upgrades, reductions, and even free flights. It’s best to sign up with an airline which is part of a group so you can add miles from different airlines. For example, Air France is part of the SkyTeam Alliance which includes KLM, Delta, and

62

Tapescripts

Lufthansa to name a few, while Oneworld includes airlines such as British Airways, Iberia and Qantas.

TAPESCRIPTS

What Makes a Computer Computer

One, two, three, four! - My name is May-Li Khoe and I'm a designer and an inventor. So, some of the things I've designed have been at Apple, and now I design products for kids to use so that they can have an easier time in school. My other jobs include DJ'ing and dancing. (upbeat, bouncy music) Computers are everywhere. They're in people's pockets, they're in people's cars, people have them on their wrists, they might be in your backpack right now, but what makes a computer a computer? - What does make a computer a computer anyway? - And how does it even work? (upbeat guitar music) - Hi, I'm Nat. I was one of the original designers of the Xbox. I've been working with computers since I was, maybe, seven years old and now I work on virtual reality. (fast, jazzy music) As humans, we've always built tools to help us solve problems. Tools like a wheelbarrow, a hammer, or a printing press, or a tractor trailer. All of these inventions helped us with manual work. Over time, people began to wonder if a machine could be designed and built to help us with the thinking work we do. Like solving equations or tracking the stars in the sky. Rather than moving or manipulating physical things, like dirt and stone, these machines would need to be designed to manipulate information. - As the pioneers of computer science explored how to design a thinking machine, they realized that it had to perform four different tasks. It would need to take input, store information, process it, and then output the results. Now this might sound simple, but these four things are common to all computers. And that's what makes a computer a computer. - [Nat] The earliest computers were made out of wood and metal with mechanical levers and gears. By the 20th century though, computers started using electrical components. These early computers were really large and really slow. A computer the size of a room might take hours just to do a basic math problem. - [Announcer] These machines are things of gleaming, varied colored metal and numerous flashing lights. - Computers started out as basic calculators, which was already really awesome at the time and they were only manipulating numbers

63

Travelling and Тransport

back then. But now we can use them to talk to each other, we can use them to play games, control robots, and do any crazy thing that you could probably imagine. - Modern computers look nothing like those clunky old machines, but they still do the same four things. (funky, upbeat music) - First, we're gonna talk about input. This is my favorite because what input is, is the stuff that the world does, or that you do that makes the computer do stuff. You can tell a computer what to do with the keyboard, you can tell them what to do with the mouse, the microphone, the camera, and now if you're wearing a computer on your wrist, it might listen to your heartbeat, or in your car it might be listening to what the car is doing. And a touchscreen can actually sense your finger and it takes that as input on what it's doing. - All these different inputs give the computer information, which is then stored in memory. A computer's processor takes information for memory, it manipulates it or changes it using algorithm, which is just a series of commands, and then it sends the process information back to be stored in memory again. This continues until the processed information is ready to be output. How a computer outputs information depends on what the computer is designed to do. A computer display can show texts, photos, videos, or interactive games, even virtual reality. The output of a computer may even include signals to control a robot. And when computers connect over the internet, the output from one computer becomes the input to another, and vice versa. - The computers we use today look really different from the earliest thinking machines. And who knows what the computers of tomorrow will be like. My hope is that you get to help decide what you want the computers of tomorrow to look like. But across all computers, regardless of the different types of technology they use, they're also doing the same four things. They take in information, they store it as data, they process it, and then they output the results.

NASA's Goals for Human Space Exploration

NASA is looking forward with anticipation to a new era of human spaceflight this new era will have a profound impact on your life with countless possibilities in the coming years after the Apollo program which took Americans to the moon the space shuttle program gave us 30 years of outstanding achievement in space the shuttle enabled the space program to conduct Space Research fly science observatories launch satellites and assemble the International Space Station the station a partnership among five agencies

64

Tapescripts

representing 15 nations has been continuously crewed since November 2000 in abling astronauts to gain valuable insight on how to live and work in space 365 days a year in collaboration with engineers and scientists on earth astronauts have collected and stored solar energy recycled wastewater to minimize water needs from earth conserved water usage created the air they breathe by splitting water molecules with electricity grown plants without gravity and kept their bodies healthy in zero-gravity research onboard the space station has provided advances in biology and biotechnology physics material sciences robotics and many other disciplines the station has lifted us high above political cultural language and national boundaries to observe hurricanes tsunamis forest fires and volcanic action from afar while circling the world every 90 minutes through at least 2024 the space station will have rotating six member crews to advance research and technology in low-earth orbit roughly 220 miles above the earth to replace the space shuttle which is no longer delivering cargo and crew to the space station NASA is entering an extraordinary new era NASA is investing financial and technical resources to stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop and demonstrate safe reliable and cost-effective cargo and crew space transportation capabilities innovative spacecrafts and launch vehicles are changing the way cargo and will change the way crews are transported to the International Space Station and to low-earth orbit further this is creating a market environment in which space transportation services are also available to private sector companies having opened low-earth transportation to US industry NASA is focusing on developing to necessary elements for future human deep-space exploration a crew vehicle called Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle and a heavy lift rocket known as the Space Launch System or SLS the programs for these vehicles are moving out intensely focused on meeting the goal of flying the new rocket and Orion without by 2017 with the first crew flight to take place in 2021 using the lessons learned from over 50 years of spaceflight NASA is testing and building an advanced space exploration system that will take our astronauts to deep space destinations humans have never visited and returned them safely to earth the Orion will be outfitted for long-duration missions that reach far beyond low-earth orbit for this reason the spacecraft will incorporate innovations and advancements in the crew escape system electrical power system rocket engines navigation and flight control systems and communications systems Orion will also require radiation protection for the crew and safe reliable life-support

65

Travelling and Тransport

systems this new spacecraft will be launched on the SLS rocket which will send astronaut explorers on more challenging and distant missions the rocket will be the most capable US launch vehicle built to date and with the Orion will enable human exploration into the solar system to journey into deep space NASA is pursuing an integrated space exploration strategy that supports both science and human spaceflight goals and advances space exploration technology mission analysis and international discussions supporting this strategy are ongoing NASA will ramp up our capabilities to reach and operate at a series of increasingly demanding destinations while advancing our technological capabilities with each step forward this will include early test and demonstration flights between the earth and moon with NASA planning to redirect a small asteroid to a distant retrograde lunar orbit and send humans to explore it then possibly visit one of Mars moons Phobos or Deimos or the surface of the Red Planet itself by visiting a captured asteroid in lunar orbit astronauts will learn how to do long-term space operations in a deep space environment while maintaining close proximity to earth and gain vital information exploring territory untouched by humans since the formation of the solar system an asteroid mission requires new space transportation vehicles and systems that are capable of operating in an environment with almost no gravitational field NASA is conceptualizing habitat and space walking systems with new spacesuit designs and anchoring tools and robots that can work side-by-side with the crew or be remotely controlled traveling to Mars is our ultimate goal why Mars like Earth Mars has an atmosphere water ice and evolving geology robotic Rovers that nASA has sent to Mars are investigating whether the planet has ever been capable of supporting life because of its earth-like attributes Mars is seen as an excellent candidate for human exploration as we expand into the solar system it could take up to six months to reach Mars then because of flight trajectories astronauts will have to leave within 30 days or remain on Mars for 500 days on the way to Mars the crew will have to cope with different kinds of stress in a high-risk confined environment with limited communication with earth as NASA travels through the solar system astronauts will need to communicate quickly with other spacecraft and earth and in emergencies even hold video conferences for this NASA is developing a communication system to operate at higher radio frequencies and at optical frequencies using laser communication systems a new internet system is being developed that will give each planet its own domain

66

Tapescripts

name for example WWE alpha base Mars the new system will even compensate for the great time delay in communicating between bodies in space which is 29 minutes one-way when Mars isclosest to the earth the long voyage through deep space is filled with many dangers including protons from solar flares gamma rays from distant newborn black holes and galactic cosmic rays from outside our solar system astronautshave not experienced complete exposure to deep space cosmic rays since the Apollo missions which were of short duration when astronauts are on the International Space Station earth intercepts about one third of cosmic rays and one-third are deflected by Earth's magnetic field so before sending humans into deep space we need to research and develop new technologies and materials to protect astronauts there are other health hazards to research before attempting long voyages as well nASA has been continually investigating protective solutions for physiological changes that occur in heart function bone mineral density muscle mass sensory motor skills and immune system on the space station we found that aerobic and resistive daily exercise protects the astronauts bones muscles and heart very well so exercise equipment will be necessary on longer exploratory missions additional challenges will arise with having small groups of people in an isolated environment for long periods of time with prolonged interactions between humans and machines and with maintenance of sufficient quantities of food with adequate nutrition NASA is working to identify solutions for all of these challenges on future missions once on Mars astronauts will find evidence of extensive water erosion channels and floodplains astronauts will extract subsurface water for their use the crew will need surface systems to produce air to breathe fuel for vehicles and equipment to mine and process resourcesbut then these astronauts will have the distinction of bringing Martian samples back to earth which will transform our understanding of Mars as always new technologies develop to overcome the challenges of interplanetary travel will also find applications that improve life on earth thousands of technological spin-offs have benefitted American industry and citizens in the decades since NASA's 1958 inception while NASA's cost to the American taxpayer is currently less than one-half of one of each federal tax dollar so today NASA looks forward to writing the next chapter of human spaceflight with its commercial and international partners advancing research and technology on the international space station opening low Earth orbit to u.s. industry and pushing the frontiers of deep space even farther as NASA's next chapter in human spaceflight evolves

67

Travelling and Тransport

there are new and increasing opportunities for each citizen to experience lowearth orbit to become involved in new facets of an expanding space economy and to view new vistas in deep space virtually through NASA's exploration as space shuttle atlantis launched on the last mission of the shuttle program astronaut commander Chris Ferguson said we're not ending the journey today we're completing a chapter of a journey that will never end please join us for the next exciting chapter of nephron

How To Channel Your Road Rage Into Cold, Calculating Road Revenge

[Jim Haggerty:] I know, I couldn’t but these muffins are delicious.

[Tracy Gill:] And we’ll share our favorite recipes later in the hour, but first our guest says don’t give into road rage, stay calm behind the wheel and coolly plot your revenge. Danny Preston is a defensive driving instructor who teaches people how to control their temper behind the wheel. Welcome Danny.

[Danny Preston (Defensive Driving Instructor):]Thanks for having me.

[Jim Haggerty:]Danny, we’ve all been there. There is nothing I hate more than getting cut off.

[Tracy Gill:]That drives me nuts. I want to scream out my window.

[Danny Preston:]But ultimately getting into an argument with a stranger, isn’t going to accomplish anything, but stress you out.

[Jim Haggerty:]Well, how should you respond instead? [Tracy Gill:]Yeah.

[Danny Preston:]Take a deep breath, count to ten then follow the other driver home.

[Tracy Gill:]Well you don’t want to get into a fight on the highway.

[Danny Preston:]Right. Once you know where he lives, you could sneak into his house every couple of weeks, rearrange a bunch of things. Something that says you’re out there and you are unpredictable.

[Tracy Gill:]It sounds like that’s safer than losing your temper.

[Danny Says:]Try Setting Up Fake Facebook Account in Driver’s Name,

Harassing Coworkers

[Danny Preston:]Anger is just one letter away from danger. [Tracy Gill:]I like that.

68

Tapescripts

[Danny Preston:]You want to stay zen, keep your mind clear and put a plan in place that will ruin the other drivers’ chance at a happy future.

[Jim Haggerty:]Now you also talk a lot about empathy, putting yourself in the other drive’s shoes.

[Danny Preston:]Exactly, Jim. Just last week, I was waiting for a stop light to change when some angry driver behind me was leaning on the horn.

[Tracy Gill:]I hate that.

[Danny Preston:]But then, I remember, he is human, just like me, he has a family that loves him and that’s an exploitable weakness. And I started sending him video tapes, hours long video tapes filmed outside his parents’ home.

[Danny Preston:]Now, he is frantic and confused, but I always say you can’t give angry driver the satisfaction of knowing why their parents are being filmed, which is why I call him every night from a payphone and just recite a series of cryptic numbers that don’t mean anything.

[Jim Haggerty:] Calm, cool, collected, I love it.

[Tracy Gill:]Well, getting cut off is one thing, but how do you possibly stay calm during a fender bender that wasn’t your fault?

[Jim Haggerty:]Oh boy I need this one.

[Danny Preston:]Of course, it’s hard to keep a cool head in that situation. You’ll feel the urge to slam into the jerk’s car right where you see the baby seat.

[Danny Says:]Instead Of Yelling At A Bad Driver, Set A Small Fire in Their Yard

[Danny Preston:]But you don’t want to do anything that could get somebody hurt on the road, instead you should murder the person’s next to your neighbor.

When he moves someplace safer you follow him and you kill his next to your neighbor again, and again. Now he can’t escape death and he has no idea who you even are.

[Danny Says:]Everyone Has A Secret That Could Destroy Them, You Just Have To Find It

[Jim Haggerty:]That is a great driving tip.

[Tracy Gill:]Now something a lot of people want to know, what if someone is getting angry about your driving.

[Jim Haggerty:]Aw…

[Danny Preston:]Can’t let it get to you. For example, in 1996 some guy gave me the middle finger after I cut him off.

69

Travelling and Тransport

[Tracy Gill:]Rude.

[Danny Preston:]I recognized him from TV. That’s when I decided to become defensive driving instructor. Developing the skills I needed to eventually be invited on his show as an expert. Once you’re there it’s just a simple matter of switching out his muffins with the ones you made yourself.

[Jim Haggerty:]Oh!

[Danny Preston:]Those muffins were pretty good, weren’t they Jim? How many did you eat?

[Jim Haggerty:]What? I do – I don’t know.

[Tracy Gill:]Thank you so much for sharing your tips Danny. [Danny Preston:] Danny is not my true name.

Family Has Been Sailing Around The World Non-Stop For 9 Years

we were suburban family we have three kids in a nice house in a minivan my husband and I had been in busier and busier with our jobs and our kids were growing up faster and faster and at some point it just felt life was going by too quickly we've been through 30 countries there's a little debate on the boat what's the country sometimes it's a territory I don't remember a lot of living in a house on land or really just starting cruising yeah yeah pretty much I only have little bits and pieces of memories before we started cruising I'm not sure I would like living on land so much I just have a lot more comfortable on the water the adventures that we're on are like having a field trip every day when you think back about school growing up it's the field trips usually that you remember those are the days that stand out and so we've had this incredible opportunity to make every day feel like a field trip this is our floating home the good ship totem she is a Stevens 47 built in 1982 and we kind of think of her as the floating equivalent of a tiny house we've got solar panels three solar panels and a wind turbine between the wind turbine and the solar panels we are able to supply our energy in the tropics where there are trade winds and good Sun we use a solar oven when we can I put pots in here with rice and a chicken and it is roasted falling off the bone in four hours the washing machine this is where we do our laundry that's a five gallon bucket it's really no fun so when you look at the main cabin you see a living space but what you don't see is that every little tiny bit of space here has to be useful so underneath the settee is our water tank this is all the galley our kitchen on board this part of the galley is also the engine room because our engine

70