4. Vocabulary.
Work in pairs. Divide the following means of transport into three groups: transport by air, water, or on land.
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a submarine
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a moped
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an airship
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a canoe
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a rowing boat
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a barge
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a van
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a rocket
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a liner
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a jeep
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a tram
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a helicopter
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a jet
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a double-decker bus
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a yacht
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a glider
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an estate car
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a hot-air balloon
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5. Choose one of the groups. Which of the means of transport is
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The fastest?
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For commercial purposes?
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For pleasure?
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The most dangerous?
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Old-fashioned?
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Romantic?
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For military purposes?
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What associations do you have for each one?
6. Think of a film or film sequences – disaster movies, car-crashes, train adventures, sinking ships – that involve travelling. Describe in detail the ones that impressed you most.
7. Read the text and complete the sentences with the words given below.
Captain, cabin, seasick, set sail, quayside, boarding cards, bridge, deck, unpacked, port, passports, put ashore, go aboard, embarking, cruise, voyage, travel-agent, customs
Uncle Bill and Auntie Jane are on the _________ at the cross-channel _________ of Dover – the first stage of the Mediterranean _________ - “the _______ of a life-time”, their __________ called it. They’ve been through __________ (half an hour’s delay while suitcases were emptied in search of missing _______), and they will be ________ soon. When they ________, Bill will finally be allowed to take those ____________ out of his mouth.
Uncle Bill and Auntie Jane have settled into their ________ , ___________ their things and have gone up on _________. The sea is calm, the sunset is out of this world, and Uncle Bill is beginning to feel just a little bit ___________. They are due to _________ in half an hour.
Uncle Bill is on the ____________ with the ___________, asking him if there is any chance of being ___________ before the sea gets any rougher.
8. The main parts of a ship.
The main parts of a ship are (1) the hull, (2) the engines, (3) the propellers, and (4) the rudder.
The main body of a ship is called the hull. The hull is the watertight shell of a ship. It is divided into a number of horizontal surfaces called decks. Bulkheads are walls built between the decks, forming compartments. Each compartment has special doors that, when closed, make it watertight. Those dividing up compartments are known as tweendecks on which the cargo rests. If water floods one compartment because of an accident, closing the doors will trap the water there and prevent it from flooding other compartments. Watertight compartments enable a ship to float even with a hole in its hull. The hull is divided into three parts: fore end, midships and after end.
The hull contains the engine room, cargo space and a number of tanks. In dry cargo ships the cargo space is divided into holds, in liquid cargo ships it is divided into tanks. At the fore end of the hull are the fore peak tanks and at the after end are the after peak tanks. They are used for fresh water and water ballast. The space between the holds and the bottom of the hull contains double bottom tanks. These are used for ballast water and fuel. Ballast (ship’s extra weight) is used to increase stability. Most ships use seawater as ballast. As a ship takes on cargo, the ballast water is pumped out.
The deck at the top of the hull is called the main deck. This deck covers the holds where the cargo is stowed. Several more decks may be above it. All the structures above the main deck make up the superstructure. At the fore end is the forecastle. At the after end the bridge superstructure and the poop are combined.
The bridge of a vessel is the navigating centre of the ship where her course is determined. It is generally situated aft. Included on the navigating bridge is the helm, and also large amount of nautical equipment, including radar sets, a gyro compass, a radio direction finder, etc. The bridge is in direct communication with all parts of the vessel.
Crew accommodation on modern cargo ships and tankers is situated aft in close proximity to the machinery. Standards of accommodation are high, and are controlled by various IMO statutory regulations. There are various statutory provisions concerning the quantity and type of
life-saving apparatus carried on a vessel. Broadly speaking, it is determined by the type of the vessel, crew establishment and passenger certificate (authorized number of passengers permitted to be carried). The life-saving apparatus includes lifeboats, inflatable rubber liferafts, lifebuoys and individual lifejackets.
Hulls have a pointed bow so they can knife swiftly through the water. Most hulls also have a rounded stern, which helps the water close smoothly behind as the ship cuts through the water.
The overall shape of a hull is designed to make the ship as stable (steady) as possible. A ship must not roll (rock from side to side) or pitch (rock from front to back) too much. Most modern ships also use stabilizing systems to reduce rolling. One such system has a horizontal underwater fin on each side of the hull. The fin moves upward on the descending side of the ship and downward on the ascending side and so reduces the roll.