Activity 3. Travelling by railway

Step 1. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step (Lao Tzu, a philosopher and poet of ancient China). Use the following phrases to make up your own dialogues to book / return/ exchange/ cancel the tickets. One of you will be an airport personnel representative and the other - a customer.

to get tickets on the day of the train`s departure

to book a (single, return, a round-trip, a one-way) ticket in advance

first-class ticket for a day train

to take a slow train (fast train, express)

to take a lower (upper) berth

carriage, compartment

to find the car number and the seat number on the ticket

change the date on the return journey

Is it possible to change my ticket?

My voyage's been cancelled and I'd like to reschedule.

Could you tell me the times of trains to..., please?

Do I need to change?

How long does it take to get there?

Is there a buffet service on the train?

Step 2.В In the compartment.В Read the dialogue and guess what questions the passenger asked the conductor.

– Hello. Can I have your ticket, please?

– Sure. Here you are.

– Thank you. Is everything OK in here? Are you comfortable?

– Yes, it’s very nice. It’s getting a bit stuffy in the compartment. ____________________?

– Well. You can while the train is still on the platform. But when the train leaves you should close it. Don’t worry the air conditioning system will be on.

– Fine. ___________________?

– What would you like: tea or coffee?

– I’d like some tea with lemon, please. And don’t forget the sugar.

– I can also offer you mineral water, chips, biscuits and pastry.

– I think some biscuits would be fine with my tea.___________________?

– Yes, there are some English ones.

– Great. I guess I’ll do that a bit later. Thanks. ___________________?

– At 8.15. I will wake you up at 7.15.

– Very well. I’d like to make my bed and have a rest. By the way, ___________________?

– I’ll bring it in 5 minutes. Have a nice trip!

– Thank you very much!

Step 3. Work in pairs. One of you is the conductor and the other is the passenger. The passenger states the possible problems in the compartment whereas the conductor tries to solve them. Use the phrases from the previous step.

Activity 4. Travelling by bus

Step 1. Read the instructions on how to stay comfortable when traveling by bus.В Fill in the gaps, using the correct words given in brackets.