At the customs office

A Frenchwoman who had never traveled abroad, decided to go to Great Britain for a holiday. She booked a seat for a plane as she wanted to get there as soon as possible. At the booking-office she found out that it would take her only two hours to get to London. She was very happy to hear it. She hurried home and began packing her things immediately as she was afraid to leave something important behind. So when she packed everything, she found to her great surprise, that she had two big suit-cases. She understood that it would be necessary for her to take a taxi. She ordered a taxi in advance to come to the airport on time.

On the day of her flight she checked her things again and was about to go downstairs where a taxi was waiting for her, when she suddenly remembered about her nice little dog. She could not leave the dog at home as there was no one who would look after the dog. So she decided to take the dog to Great Britain. The dog was very quiet and she hoped that everything would be all right during the flight.

The flight was very pleasant and she enjoyed it very much. The Frenchwoman thought that nobody noticed her dog. But just before the plane landed one of the passengers who was sitting near the woman told her that the English did not let foreigners bring dogs to their country. The woman did not know what to do. When the plane landed she put the dog under her coat and went to the Customs House. The dog was so little that she hoped the Customs officer wouldn’t notice it. At the Customs House she filled in all the necessary forms and came up to the Customs officer, who looked at her big suit-cases and asked if she had anything to declare.

“Oh, no,” she answered, “all the things are for my own use.”

“But do you know that you can’t bring dogs to our country?” asked the officer.

“But I have no dog,” answered the lady.

“Then I understand that the tail which is hanging down below your coat is your own,” said the Customs Officer.

TASKS

Task 1. Answer the questions.

1. Where did a Frenchwoman decide to travel to?

2. Had she ever traveled before?

3. Why did she start packing her things immediately?

4. What did she remember about on the day of her flight?

5. Why couldn’t she leave her nice dog at home?

6. What did one of the passengers who was sitting near her tell her about?

7. What did the woman do when the plane landed?

8. How did the Customs officer understand that she was bringing the dog to Great Britain?

Task 2. Give your viewpoint.

Before a dog or a cat is allowed into Great Britain it has to stay in quarantine for six months. Do you think it reasonable?

Task 3. Say what you can remember about the customs regulations in respect of pets and birds.

Task 4. What would you recommend that a passenger should do before visiting any foreign country together with the pet?

Dutch cigarettes

One day a Frenchman went abroad for his holiday. He had an opportunity of visiting some countries and stayed a few weeks in Holland.

He went sightseeing a lot and like the Dutch towns very much. The country impressed him. Although the weather was not very good, as it often rained, he enjoyed his stay in Holland very much. He stayed at one of the best hotels there and was satisfied with everything.

One day he met a man who knew Dutch meals very well, so the man invited the Frenchman to a restaurant where they served national dishes. The Frenchman liked the dishes very much and they had an enjoyable time at the restaurant. But what he liked best of all were Dutch cigarettes. He smoked them every day and enjoyed them greatly. After he had spent some weeks in Holland he decided to go back to France. He bought a lot of Dutch cigarettes for his own use and put them into his suit-case. When he arrived at the French border, he was to go through the Customs. He found out that cigarettes were liable to duty. As he didn’t want to pay duty on them he took some cigarettes out of his suit-case, put them into his hat, then put the hat on. He thought that nobody would notice the cigarettes and asked the porter to take his luggage to the Customs House.

They soon came into the Customs House where the clerk was to inspect the luggage. The Frenchman was about to go through the Customs when he learned that the Director of the Customs House was his old friend whom he had not seen for a very long time. The Frenchman went to see him, and they were very glad to see each other. They had a nice talk and drank a few toasts to their friendship.

Some time later they went up to the Customs officer, and the Director said, “Let this gentleman pass. Don’t examine his luggage.” The Frenchman was so happy that he took off his hat to thank his friend. He had quite forgotten that there were cigarettes in it. And the cigarettes fell on the floor.

TASKS

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What country did a Frenchman stay a few weeks in?

2. What hotel did he stay at?

3. What did the Frenchman do in the country?

4. What kind of the weather was there during his holiday?

5. Where was the man invited to?

6. What did he like best of all?

7. What did he buy before leaving the country?

8. What did he find out when he arrived at the French border?

9. Why did he take some cigarettes out of his suitcase and put them into his hat?

10. What did he learn when he was about to go through the Customs?

11. Were the two men glad to see each other?

12. How did it happen that the cigarettes fell on the floor?

Task 2. Over to you 1.

What dutiable articles do you knew?

Why are they dutiable?

Task 3. Over to you 2.

What are the Customs regulations in respect of these goods?