Part 2. Thomas

Ex. 1 Read the text and pick up the terms referring to the topic.

After being in many different countries, I’ve experienced travel by many different modes of transport. I like travelling by airplane, as I really like the speed and the feeling of being high above everything, especially because I like to look down upon the clouds, and on the miniature countryside below.

I’ve only been on an airplane three times. The first time was when I left England for Crete, in Greece. I remember I was in tears at the beauty of watching the sun going down over the clouds in the evening. We arrived at night and stayed awake until morning. As it was October, England was fairly cold and rainy when we left, but as the day began in Crete, the temperature became hotter and hot­ter by degrees until it reached nearly 40 degrees Celsius, which was the hottest weather that I'd ever experienced until that time. It was a blissfully dry heat but I wasn't used to it and it nearly knocked me out.

The other time I flew was recently, when travelling to and from Tunisia with Maria. We went on a very cheap holiday organ­ized by Maria's university, and for a very reasonable price, we got a last minute place on a flight to Tunisia and returned a week later. This seemed such a fast trip for such a long distance, to go all the way from Hungary to Tunisia in just a few hours. And the thing that I remember most about that journey to Tunisia was that on arriving in Tunisia, seeing Africa from the air for the first time, I was amazed how red everything looked. I could see that the sand a little bit away from the coast and the bricks of the houses, the roads and plains, almost everything in fact, seemed to be this beautiful sandy red color. And it was so interesting leaving Tunisia to look out of the window and to see along the coastline and in the distance, all of the places that we’d visited during our stay there.

I like trains very much, I wish that there were more trains and less cars, really. I think the world would be a cleaner, much nicer place. I've often travelled across Europe by train, although often I couldn't afford the price of a ticket, and decided to hitch-hike instead.

Many people imagine hitch-hiking to be dangerous, but I’ve never had any problems, and I’ve hitch-hiked many times very successfully. Sometimes, however, it’s a bit inconvenient to have to wait by the side of a busy road for a few hours. However, because of its uncertainty, hitch-hiking isn't a good method of travelling if you have to be in a place at a specific time. In these instances, I often take the bus. I don’t really like travelling by bus for a long way, as I find it quite uncomfortable and it often makes me feel sick, but it can be less expensive than the train and for fairly short journeys, for example to Vienna, I’ve often found that taking day return buses is the cheapest and most conven­ient method of travel.

My last journey out of Hungary was by bus, to Vienna. I came back by train a few days later. It was a much longer journey than any­body on the bus expected because one of the wheels blew out on the bus just as we were approaching the Hungarian-Austrian border, and we had to wait for over an hour and a half for the driver to change the wheel. Also, because he needed to lift the bus up in order to do this, we had to stand in the snow, so it wasn’t such a comfortable journey overall. When we got to Austria, the bus didn’t take us all the way to the center but stopped in the shopping-center. I think that the bus company was paid by the shopping center to stop there, to try to encourage people to buy their Christmas gifts there. So I then had to take another bus to the center of Vienna to reach my friends.

I like walking very much but I haven’t really found it convenient as a mode of transport, because I can’t carry so many things with me for a long distance in any reasonable amount of time. I prefer it as a recreational thing, when I’ve got time just to walk where I want to, off in the mountains or along the sea somewhere, and take in the sights and sounds of the area that I’m walking through.

I have a friend, his name is Pan. He is Swiss, and he travels everywhere by walking with his large dog. He finds places to sleep wherever he goes, in forests and barns and places like that. The last time I saw him he had just spent two months walking from the Northern to the Southern tips of Sardinia. Along the way he stopped at houses or in towns to sell the pieces of leather ware or small items of jewellery that he'd made along the journey. I don’t know how he could carry so many things with him. He had a full rucksack plus a guitar, his sleeping bag, and a big blanket for the dog to sleep on. He also carried a good strong stick for helping him to walk in the mountains.

One mode of transport which I like very much is travelling by horse. I've got a lot of friends in England who travel by horse all of the year round and who carry their home in a small wagon pulled behind a horse. I think this can be a beautiful way of life, very full and rewarding, and really connected and in contact with the natural environment. I love horses, maybe one day I’d like to take care of one myself.

Although I’ve hitch-hiked a lot, I’m not so keen on cars as a mode of transport as I think that they are becoming too numerous nowadays. I don't like the fact that beautiful areas of the countryside are being ploughed up in order to make roads for the growing number of cars. Also, when they're old and broken-down, and no longer of any use, where can we put them? There aren’t any facilities for recycling cars. They just go on dumps and make more of a mess.

I feel it would be a very good thing if peo­ple made a lot more use of public trans­port, instead of there being so many cars zoom­ing around with so many empty seats in them. I never really felt the need to learn to drive, although I can ride a bike and like to do so whenever I get the chance.

I have a friend who is called Stephan, whose main mode of transport is his bicy­cle. At the same time as I went to the gather­ing in Israel by bus and by boat, he went all the way from Germany down through Switzerland and Italy, across Greece and down through Israel, and afterwards continued through the Sinai desert to Cairo, and then returned along the same routes, all by bicycle. I don’t know why but when he adopted this mode of transport he changed quite a lot. He seemed to become wiser and more peaceful in himself. He definitely got stronger legs, that’s for sure. The last news I heard of him was that he’d succeeded in travelling over land to India, over land also by bicycle.

Another friend of mine, an Italian girl named Salena, also travelled a long way with her bicycle, although she rode it very rarely. She was living in Holland and took her bicycle all the way to Israel. All the way along the journey she planned to make an extended trip on her bicycle, but somehow she was always offered a lift with it, like when a friend would carry it on top of a van for her, or she would take it on a bus or train. She took it with her on ferries going across the Greek islands and by the time she'd got to Israel, she had only ridden it for a few kilome­ters. When we were staying together at a friend’s house in Jaffa, which is on the Mediterranean Sea in Israel near to Tel-Aviv, in a beautiful big house by the beach over­looking the sea, she was not too sad when one of the local thieves broke into the house and stole her bike, as I think it was more of a burden to her than a help in her travels.

Ex. 2 Suggest the Russian equivalents to the English ones: to experience, the feeling of being high above everything, to go on a very cheap holiday, a trip for a long distance, to be amazed, sandy red color, to see something from the air, a little bit away from the coast, to travel across Europe, to be in a place at a specific time, to lift the bus up, in any reasonable amount of time, to prefer something as a recreational thing, to take in the sights and sounds of the area, to walk through, to become too numerous, no longer of any use, to make more of a mess, instead of, to recycle cars, that's for sure, to make an extended trip, to get a last minute place on a flight,

Ex. 3 Suggest the English equivalents to the Russian ones: смотреть свысока, проливать слёзы по поводу чего-либо, садиться (о солнце), бодрствовать, блаженно, утомлять, по приемлемой цене, по прибытию, быть изумлённым, пребывание, позволять, продвижение автостопом, неудобный, у обочины дороги, чувствовать себя больным, лопнуть (о шине), приближаться, в целом, для того чтобы, целом, граница, куда бы ни было, драгоценности, кожаные вещички, тележка, круглый год, полезный, находиться в контакте с природой, увлекаться, вспахивать, поломанные машины, свалка, заботиться, всякий раз когда, оборудование, собрание, принимать, преуспеть, ноша.

Ex. 4 Fill in the gaps in the sentences.

1. When Thomas was in Crete, the temperature … until it reached…

2. As he wasn't used to … and it nearly knocked him out.

3. Maria and Thomas … to Tunisia and…

4. Thomas thinks … can be a beautiful way of life, very full and rewarding, and really connected…

5. There aren't … for recycling cars, they just…

6. If people … it would be a very good thing.

7. Stephan went … Switzerland and Italy.

8. Thomas never really felt …, although he can…

9. Salena travelled …, although she rode it very rarely.

10. The bicycle was … to Salena than…

Ex. 5 Complete the sentences.

1. Thomas has experienced travel by many different modes of transport after…

2. Thomas likes travelling by airplane as…

3. When Thomas was in Greece he was in tears at…

4. This seemed such a fast trip for such a long distance, to go…

5. And it was so interesting leaving Tunisia to…

6. Thomas was amazed seeing…

7. Thomas wishes that…

8. He hasn’t really found walking convenient as a mode of transport because…

9. One mode of transport which Thomas likes very much is…

10. One day Thomas would like…

11. Thomas is not so keen on cars as a mode of transport as…

12. Beautiful areas of the countryside are being ploughed up in order to…

Ex. 6 Are these statements true or false?

1. Thomas has experienced traveling by many different mode of transport.

2. Thomas has never flown as he hates flying.

3. The hottest weather Thomas has ever experienced was in Crete and he felt very it very well.

4. Thomas went to Tunisia. It was a very cheap holiday as he got a last minute place on a flight.

5. Hitch-hiking is very good and convenient mode of traveling.

6. Thomas finds walking very convenient mode of transport.

7. Thomas is run on cars as a lot of good roads are made and you can go on a tour around the countryside.

8. Thomas is a good driver, he prefers going by car to using public transport.

9. Thomas is indifferent to bicycle.

10. When Thomas’s friend Stephan adopted bicycle he seemed to become wiser and more peaceful in himself.

11. Salena traveled a long way with her bicycle and she planned to make an extended trip on it.

12. Thomas and his friend were staying at a friend’s house in Juffa, in a beautiful big house in the mountains overlooking a wonderful scenery.

13. Salena was very frustrated when her bicycle was stolen.

Ex. 7 Answer the questions.

1. Why does Thomas like to travel by airplane?

2. Where does he travel on it the first time?

3. What the weather was then?

4. What was the thing that Thomas remembers most about the journey to Tunisia?

5. How does he describe Africa from the air?

6. What does he usually travel across Europe by?

7. What does he think about hitch-hiking?

8. Why isn’t hitch-hiking always convenient method of travel?

9. Why doesn’t Thomas like travelling by bus?

10. Does Thomas take many things with him when he is walking?

11. Where does he like walking?

12. Whom does Pan always travel with?

13. What does he carry in his rucksack?

14. Why does Thomas consider that travelling by horse is very rewarding?

15. How does he think about cars?

16. Does Thomas want to learn to drive?

17. What is the main Stephan’s mode of transport?

18. Where did he travel?

19. Where is Salena from?

20. What occurs when Thomas and Salena were staying together at a friend's house in Jaffa?

Ex. 8 Translate the sentences into English.

1. Я пользуюсь разными видами транспорта.

2. Вся эта ситуация выбила почву из-под ног.

3. Он сбил своего противника с ног.

4. Автобус остановился, потому что у него лопнуло колесо.

5. Им пришлось распахивать землю.

6. У него не было благоприятных условий для занятий.

7. Комната была в беспорядке.

8. Машины с шумом проносящиеся по автостраде, мешают жителям рядом расположенных домов.

9. Он избрал для себя этот вид транспорта.

10. Сад доходит до самой реки.

11. Он совершала длительные поездки на велосипеде.

12. Окна этого дома выходят на сад.

13. Ухаживать за садом было ей в тягость.

Ex. 9 Give a summary of the text.