12. Unit 3: travelling. The main parts of the ship

1. Look at the table of some basic travel vocabulary. Highlight any of the words that you are not sure about and look them up in your dictionary.

Transport type	Different kinds of vehicle	Parts of vehicle	People working with it	Associated facilities
Road	Sports car, estate car, bus, coach, tram, van, lorry	Boot, engine, steering-wheel, brakes, tires	Driver, mechanic, chauffeur, bus-conductor	Petrol station, garage, service station
Rail	Passenger train, freight train, local train, express	Sleeping-car, buffet, restaurant-car, compartment	Engine-driver, ticket collector, guard, porter	Waiting-room, ticket office, signal-box
Sea	Yacht, rowing-boat, fishing-boat, liner, ferry, trawler	Engine-room, deck, bridge, gangplank, companionway	Captain, skipper, purser, docker, steward(ess)	Port, buoy, quay, customs, shed, light-house, docks
Air	Airplane, jet, helicopter, supersonic aircraft	Cockpit, nose, tail, wings, fuselage, joystick	Pilot, ground staff, steward, air traffic controller	Duty-free shop, departure lounge, hangar, runway

2. Discussion.

• Have you ever been abroad?

• Where have you been?

• Could you live in another country for the rest of your life?

• Describe your best trip.

• Describe your worst trip.

• Do you like to travel with your parents? Why or why not?

• Do you prefer to travel by train, bus, plane or ship?

• Do you prefer travelling by car or by plane?

• Have you ever been in a difficult situation while travelling?

• Have you ever hitchhiked? If so, how many times?

• If you went to ___(Insert a country name)__, what kind of souvenirs would you buy?

• If you were going on a camping trip for a week, what 10 things would you bring? Explain why.

• What countries would you like to visit? Why?

• What is the most interesting city to visit in your country?

• What is the most interesting souvenir that you have ever bought on one of your holidays?

• Do you think the type of vacation one takes reflects one's social status?

• What are popular tourist destinations in your country?

  • Have you been to any of them?

  • Which would you recommend if you could only recommend one? Why?

3. Words at sea.

Traditionally sailors use different words at sea – a bedroom is a cabin, a bed is a bunk, the kitchen on a ship is a galley, right is starboard and left is port and the group of people who work on the ship is called the crew. These terms are also now used in the context of an aircraft. Sailors also refer to their vessels as “she” rather than “it”.

Why boats are always referred to as the female gender? When and why did this practice start?

According to Legends, Myths, and Superstitions: although women were considered to bring bad luck at sea, mariners always use the pronoun “she” when referring to their ships. Whether its proper name is masculine, or whether it is a man o'war, a battleship, or a nuclear submarine, a ship is always referred to as “she.”

This old tradition is thought to stem from the fact that in the Romance languages, the word for “ship” is always in the feminine. For this reason, Mediterranean sailors always referred to their ship as “she”, and the practice was adopted over the centuries by their English-speaking counterparts. One source suggests that a ship “was nearer and dearer to the sailor than anyone except his mother.” What better reason to call his ship “she”?

One more version.

A Ship is called a “she” because there is always a great deal of bustle around her.

There is usually a gang of men about; she has a waist and stays.

It takes a lot of paint to keep her good looking.

It is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep.

She can be all decked out.

It takes an experienced man to handle her correctly.

And without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable.

She shows her topsides, hides her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for buoys.