You are a freshman now

1. Do you like being a student?

2. Was it difficult for you to get accustomed (привыкать) to the system of lectures and seminars after the school system of classes?

3. What do you find more useful: lectures of seminars?

4. Do yon always take notes of lectures?

5. Is it difficult or easy for you to follow the lectures?

6. Some lectures are certainly more interesting than others. What does interest depend on? (It depends on the subject of the lecture or the personality of the lecturer)

7. Why are some lectures boring (скучный)? (the subject is boring; the subject is of no importance to you; the subject is too difficult for you to master; you find it hard to concentrate; you are not interested in the subject; you are not yet accustomed to listening to lectures every day; you get tired easily; the lecturer’s manner of speech is monotonous; the lecturer speaks too fast for you to make notes; the lecturer gives no original information; the lecturer’s arguments are too complicated for you)

8. What subjects are included in the first-year program at your faculty?

9. What subject is the most interesting; the least interesting; the one you think the most important; the one you find the most difficult?

10. What must you do to pass your winter exams successfully?

11. What marks do you expect to get?

12. How much time do you spend to prepare your homework?

13. Do you have a lot of spare time?

14. What do you usually do during your spare time?

Grammar Review

Ex. 1. Translate the sentences, paying attention to the verbs to be and to have. Put general and special questions to the underlined words.

to be

1. Public transport is a system for transporting passengers from one place to another by road or rail.

2. The top speed of the first steam locomotive was 13 miles per hour.

3. Our train tickets are on the table. Don’t forget to take them.

4. The trains will be late because of an accident near Reading.

5. A lot of passengers waiting for the local train arrival were on the platform.

6. All the underground stations are of the same size: 6 m high, 100 m long, and 18 m wide.

7. In Britain, the penalty (штраф) for traveling without a ticket is £200.

8. The next stop of the train will be Doncaster.

9. A total weight of the locomotive is 85.5 tons.

10. The Orient Express was the passenger train running from Paris to Istanbul. The train was famous for its five-course French meals and for its passengers, who were often diplomats, royalty, or government couriers.

To have

1. Before 1973, the University had only one faculty.

2. Each Sapsan train has 10 carriages, of which 2 are first-class and 8 are second-class.

3. Tomorrow I will have a meeting with my supervisor about my research topic.

4. Railway cars have a very long service life – from 30 to 40 years.

5. We had unlimited access to all the sports facilities.

6. The London Underground has 273 stations with more than 470 trains running during peak periods.

7. All the railwaymen had the right of free travel by train once a year.

8. Each railway has two kinds of trains: regular trains and extra trains.

9. In 1840, the US had 2,800 miles of railroad tracks consisting mainly of short lines.

10. The experimental locomotive will have a test run on a specially built track.

Ex. 2. Read the sentences and translate them, paying attention to the construction there + to be.

1. There is an escalator of only five steps at one of the Tokyo Metro stations.

2. There were no signaling devices at the first railways as there was no need for them.

3. There are four pairs of sliding doors on each side of a Metro car.

4. In April 1998, there was a 300 km traffic jam on the No 4 motorway (the main road from London to Wales) at the end of the Easter holidays.

5. There is one minute left before the train leaves.

6. Several people were injured (травмированы) in a train accident, but there were no fatalities.

7. In Britain, there are three types of passenger trains: fast intercity trains, stopping trains and commuter trains.

8. There will be a scheduled (предусмотренный графиком) train stop for 20 minutes at the next railway station.

9. There is usually a considerable increase in passenger traffic in summer.

10. In Metro, there are special pumps and fans that suck in the air from the street, purify it, and make it warm or cool on its way to the station.

11. There were locomotives at both ends of a heavy freight train.

12. Tickets cost £3; there is a £1 discount for students.

Ex. 3. Complete the sentences with the verb to be in the required tense form and translate them.

1. There to be a train at 6.15 and one at 10.30 but nothing in between. (Present)

2. In 1830, there to be only 64 km of railroad track laid in America. (Past)

3. In the London Metro, there to be 11 underground lines; each of them has its own color. (Present)

4. On each car of the first Metro trains, there to be an attendant to operate the doors. (Past)

5. There to be no trains today because the railroad workers are on strike. (Future)

6. Among the tunnels of the BAM, there to be two of particular note: a 15-km Muisky tunnel and a 7-km Baikal tunnel. (Present)

7. There to be one case of derailment of a freight train on a section of line at Bexley, Britain. (Past)

8. Nowadays, there to be underground railways in 80 cities all over the world. (Present)

9. By 2030, there to be a total of 1,528 km of high-speed railway lines capable of handling passenger trains traveling at 350 km/h. (Future)

10. There to be considerable public disquiet (беспокойство) about the safety of the new high speed trains. (Past)

11. In the US, there to be a special discount for those passengers who buy return tickets. (Present)

12. On the first railways, there to be no conductors and an engine-driver collected the passengers’ fare (оплата за проезд) himself. (Past)

Ex. 4. Translate the sentences, paying attention to the nouns in the Possessive Case.

1. The Cherepanovs, who were Demidov’s serfs (крепостные), built Russia’s first steam locomotive.

2. The length of the London Underground’s first line was almost four miles.

3. One of Europe’s first railway tunnels (130m long) was built on the Sverdlovsk railway.

4. Much of the world’s freight is transported by train; and in the US, the rail system is used more for transporting freight than passengers.

5. On a large diagram in a dispatcher’s room, small lights display the location of each train.

6. Several Ann’s friends came to the terminal to see her off.

7. In the 19^th century, the railroad had an important influence (влияние) on every country’s economic and social development.

8. About 70 of the train’s 500 passengers were injured in the crash.

9. Last year was very good for Paris’ public transport: ridership (= the number of passengers) increased for the first time in three years.

10. Singapore’s 20km fully-automatic underground North East Line was opened for passenger service on June 20, 2003.

Ex. 5. Give 4 forms of the following regular verbs. Mind the reading of the -ed ending.

to allow to attend to broaden to carry to complete to comprise to connect to control

to construct to contain to cover to decrease to develop to devote to discuss to divide

to employ to enter to equip to establish to finish to graduate to include to increase

to install to limit to link to move to offer to operate to own to participate

to provide to record to start to stop to support to train to vary to use

Ex. 6. Learn 3 forms of the following irregular verbs.

to be to become to begin to break to build to buy to come

to do to draw to drive to find to get to give to go

to grow to have to hear to know to lay to learn to leave

to lose to make to mean to meet to pay to run to say

to see to sell to send to speak to spend to take to think

Ex. 7. Translate the sentences, paying attention to the verb tense form. Put general questions and give short answers.

1. Passenger trains never stop at this station.

2. The company plans to renew its fleet (парк) of vehicles.

3. The first steam locomotive moved at a speed of 12 km/h.

4. During peak hours, the trains in the Moscow Metro run with intervals of about 80 seconds.

5. This train will proceed to its destination without any stops.

6. A mail train is a train that carries letters and packages.

7. The first U.S. railroad, the Baltimore-Ohio, began operation in 1827.

8. Four million passengers travel the Helsinki-Tallinn route annually.

9. Our train will leave from platform No 2 in five minutes.

10. The train ride from Moscow to Vladivostok takes about seven days.

11. Most of us use public transport to get to work.

12. France’s high speed train TGV set a new world speed record of 320 m/h in 1990.

Ex. 8. Express the idea in Present, Past and Future Simple.

1. Passengers to cross the railway lines by the bridge.

2. The students to repeat the new words before the lesson.

3. The fast train for London to depart from platform No 2.

4. Railway lines to connect all parts of this country.

5. This mechanism to activate the emergency brake.

6. In the Samara Metro, trains to run every 8 minutes.

7. The trains to be late because of track repair (ремонт) works.

8. He to have enough time to do this work.

9. The railways to play an important role in the transportation of freight.

10. The new bridge to reduce traveling time from 50 minutes to 15 minutes.

Ex. 9. Put special questions to the following sentences. Begin with the question-words given in brackets.

1. In Great Britain, first-class tickets cost 50% more than second-class tickets. (Where)

2. The first refrigerator cars in Japan entered service in 1908 for fish transport. (When)

3. At the next railway station, the train will stop for 20 minutes. (How long)

4. The repair of railway track usually takes place in summer. (When)

5. Commuter trains leave from Victoria Station every hour. (How often)

6. I got off the train at Central Station. (Where)

7. One Metro train takes up to 1,500 passengers. (How many)

8. Typically, high-speed trains travel at top service speeds of between 250 km/h and 300 km/h. (What speed)

9. The factory will employ over 2000 people. (How many)

10. In 1913, the railway network of Russia consisted of 25 state lines and 13 private lines. (When)

Ex. 10. Put the verbs in brackets into the required form of the Active Voice.

1. The train (to leave – Present Simple) in half an hour and you aren’t ready yet.

2. The first steam locomotives (to be – Past Simple) not strong and they often (to break – Past Simple) down.

3. The train (to cover – Future Simple) the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 3 hours if it (to move – Present Simple) at a speed of 250 kmh.

4. After the war, the government (to grant – Past Simple) great sums of money to renew the equipment and the roadbed (земляное полотно) of all the railways.

5. Many railway lines in England (to radiate – Present Simple) from London.

6. The Flying Scotsman (to be – Present Simple) an express passenger train that (to run – Present Simple) between London and Edinburgh.

7. The Japanese Railways (to begin – Past Simple) testing the new high-speed train for the famous Tokaido Line.

8. Russian Railways (to be – Present Simple) one of the world’s biggest railway companies. It (to employ – Present Simple) 1.2 million people and (to handle – Present Simple) 80% of all passenger transportation and 82% of all freight in Russia.

9. In 1808, Richard Trevithick (to build – Past Simple) a circular railway in London’s Torrington Square. Steam carriage "Catch Me Who Can" (to weigh – Past Simple) 10 tons and (to move – Past Simple) at a speed of 15 mph.

10. If he (to leave – Present Simple) for London by train, he (to get – Future Simple) there on Friday.

Ex. 11. Read the text, using the verbs in brackets in the required tense form of the Active Voice. Put five special questions to the text.