Travelling by air

There are various means of transport at the disposal of those who travel either for pleasure or on business. Travelling by air is very popular nowadays, as it is the fastest way of travelling. High-speed airliners have shrunk the world. We no longer compare distances in numbers of kilometres, but in hours of flying time. A lot of comfortable modern airliners are offered to fans of air travel. Passenger planes fly at a speed of over 300 km per hour and are equipped for flying at all altitudes. Distances under 2,000 km can now be covered by modern passenger planes on non-stop flights without landing to re-fuel.

Last Wednesday I had to go to New York. The journey was urgent and I went by air. I went to the airport and booked one single business class ticket on a plane to New York. The flight was delayed for an hour and I sat in the waiting room. When the plane was announced, I went to the check in desk. I had my luggage weighed. I didn’t have to pay excess. The check-in clerk gave me my boarding card. On the airfield I saw a large plane waiting for its passengers. I got on the liner, found my seat and very soon it took off. The stewardess asked the passengers to fasten the seat belts. It wasn’t long before we arrived at our destination. The pilot made a perfect landing and we got out of the plane. I enjoyed my journey very much. In three days I had to return home, and though I was not in a hurry, I decided to fly by the airplane again.

3.Answer the questions:

1.For what reasons do people usually travel?

2.Why is it very popular nowadays to travel by air?

3.At what speed do the passenger planes fly nowadays?

4.Why did the narrator go to New York by air?

5What ticket did he book?

6.Where did he go when the plane was announced?

7.He paid the excess, didn’t he?

8.Who gave the narrator his boarding card?

9.What did the stewardess ask the passengers to do in the plane?

10. Did the narrator enjoy his journey? Yes/No? Why?

4.Fill in the blanks:

1.Travelling by a… is very convenient, because the speed of the planes is very h….. 2.We no longer compare d….. in numbers of kilometers. 3.Nowadays people can c…. distances under 2,000 km by modern p….. planes without landing to re….. 4.I booked a s….. t….. 5.Very often the flights are d…… because of bad weather. 6.Your luggage is overweight. You’ll have to pay e….. 7.There are a lot of planes on the a…..d. 8.F….. your s….. b….. . The plane is t…ing off.

5.Are you for or against travelling by plane? Think of more arguments:

FOR:

1)The speed is very high.

2)You can see beautiful clouds in the sky.

3) . . . . . . . . . .

AGAINST:

1)If the weather is very cloudy you can sit in the airport and wait for your plane for hours.

2)It takes you a lot of time to get to the airport.

3) . . . . . . . . . . .

6.Tell about your last (imaginary) travel by air.

Reading Text a. A Tragedy in the Air.

1.Read and translate.

The plane had taken off from the air-field in London, and the journey to South Africa, to Johannesburg to be exact, had started.

It was just after the war, and it was not a jet, as is the case nowadays, but it was a big plane with four engines, and four propellers, of course.

When a few minutes later we were crossing the Channel, one of the engines went wrong, but the stewardess (a smashing blonde) said there were three engines left and passengers were quite safe.

However, when the plane reached the Mediterranean Sea, the second engine broke down, but the stewardess told us there was nothing to worry about because two engines were quite enough to keep us in air.

As we got near to the shores of Africa, the rumour spread that only one propeller was working. The stewardess kept her mouth shut, this time, but we came to the conclusion the plane must have developed engine trouble and so it had.

Presently we were flying over the jungle in Central Africa and my fellow travellers were terribly upset. Women were holding their children tighter and tighter and men were drinking more and more heavily… I too was terribly frustrated, and as I looked down at the bush, I could not help thinking of cannibalism, death and things of the kind.

At that moment, the loud-speaker was switched on, and the captain’s voice was heard: “Ladies and gentlemen, I have tragic news for you.”

The faces of all the passengers turned pale. Some burst into tears. My heart sank into my boots…

The captain continued in a gloomy voice: “It is my sad duty to inform you that England has lost her last football match against Scotland.”

a smashing blonde – надзвичайно гарна блондинка

the plane developed engine trouble – щось трапилося з двигуном

one of the engines went wrong – один з двигунів вийшов з ладу

2.Make up a few dialogues between the passengers of the plane. What they might have been talking about when: a)one of the engines went wrong; b)the second engine broke down; c)just before the captain’s announcement.

3.Retell the story, thinking of another way to finish it.