Text 1. Should sleepers wake up to a new age

Черемисина Т.И., Обухова М.С.

Учебное пособие

По практике культуры речевого общения по теме

«Путешествие»

(длястудентовIIIкурса)

Москва

2014

CONTENTS

 

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ………………………………………………………

 

UNIT I. TRAVELLING BY TRAIN

Text 1. SHOULD SLEEPERS WAKE UP TO A NEW AGE?..............

Text 2. LET THE TRAIN TAKE THE STRAIN……………………….

Text 3. WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN TRAVELLING BY TRAIN?......

Text 4. TRAVELTIPS…………………………………………………...

Text 5. THECHUNNELANDEUROSTARSERVICES……………..

Text 6. TRAVELLINGBYTRAIN……………………………………..

Text 7. BRITISHRAIL…………………………………………………..

Text 8. TRAIN ACCIDENTS……………………………………………

 

UNITII. TRAVELLING BYAIR

Text 1. AIRPORT…………………………………………………………

Text 2. CHECKINGIN…………………………………………………..

Text 3. HOW TO SURVIVE A PLANE CRASH?..................................

Text 4. AIRPLANE TICKETS……………………………………………

Text 5. BAGGAGEESSENTIALS…………………………………….

Text 6. JETLAG………………………………………………………..

Text 7. MOBILEPHONESONAIRCRAFT…………………………….

Text 8. SECURITY PROTECTION……………………………………

 

REVISION ……………………………………………………………………

 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Text 1. MAGLEV TRAINS AND BULLET TRAINS…………………….

Text 2. A TALE OF TWO CITIES………………………………………….

Text 3. LONDON AIRPORTS………………………………………………

Text 4. TIPSFORPLANETOURISTS……………………………………..

Text5. FOOD ON THE FLY: IN-FLIGHT CATERING…………………

Text 6. SLEEPING ON PLANES………………………………………….

Text 7. FLYINGWITHPETS…………………………………………….

Предисловие

     Настоящее пособие предназначено для студентов III курса, обучающихся по специальности «Теория и методика преподавания иностранных языков и культур» и «Теоретическая и прикладная лингвистика».

     Пособие ставит своей целью совершенствование коммуникативных навыков студентов, увеличение объема их знаний по специальной тематике, значительное расширение словарного запаса, закрепление аналитического подхода к тексту, а также дальнейшее развитие умения вести беседу и полемику на английском языке.

     Учебное пособие освещает вопросы, связанные с областью транспортных коммуникаций, являющимися актуальными в современном мире глобализации и всеобъемлющей логистической системы.

     Пособие состоит из двух тематически организованных разделов. Каждый раздел включает задания и упражнения, способствующие формированию у студентов навыков устной речи, как монологической, так и диалогической, а также развитию навыков ведения дискуссии на заданную тему.

     Учебное пособие включает задания, большинство из которых направлены на закрепление тематической лексики и стимулированию устной речи в виде связанного и логически стройного высказывания. Цель заданий заключается в увеличении словарного запаса, а также расширении кругозора студентов и углублении их знаний страноведческого характера.

     При подготовке пособия использовались современный аутентичный материал, составивший его информативную основу.

     Материал пособия соответствует программе по дисциплине «Практикум по культуре речевого общения» и может быть использован на занятиях по практическому курсу английского языка полностью или выборочно в зависимости от уровня подготовки учебной группы.

UNIT I

TRAVELLING BY TRAIN

Text 1. SHOULD SLEEPERS WAKE UP TO A NEW AGE?

In the good old days of business travel there was only one way to get across Europe- by sleeper train. You would go to bed in one capital city and wake up in another, halfway across the continent, refreshed and ready for a full day's work.

But today sleepers are approaching the end of the line. Only a fraction of the services available 50 years ago are still running.

The railways tell us that this is because faster trains make overnight journeys unnecessary, but many travellers have simply become disenchanted with the standards of service on trains and have gone to great lengths to find alternative-and less environmentally friendly- ways of reaching their destinations.

Noisy, uncomfortable and all too often horribly cramped, the utilitarian sleepers of today are a far cry from the marvelous old wood-panelled cabins and luxurious dining cars so beloved by Hercule Poirot.

Four reporters from The European boarded some of Europe's remaining sleepers to judge for themselves the standards of service and decide whether there is still a place for them in the hectic business world of the 1990s.

France. Ian Harding competes with snoring companions and noisy SNCF staff.

THE four-coach-train, pulled by a rumbling diesel, drew in at the little station of Najac in Aveyron, in the south of France, and a surly conductor checked my ticket in a darkened corridor.

He slid open a compartment door and shone his torch at the bottom bunk, telling me to climb in. From the snoring I could tell that two bunks were already occupied.

After fumbling in the dark, I finally found an overhead light, and in its feeble glow, could just make out plastic bags on the bunk- one containing a very thin sheet and the other a very flat pillow.

I dozed off and slept fitfully for a short while before being jolted awake by SNCF workers clumsily clanking extra carriages on to the train. Sometime after midnight our forth occupant climbed noisily into the bunk above me and after a fewminutes, dropped a whisky bottle which rolled around on the floor until I managed to retrieve it and hand it back to him.

I woke all hunched up and with biting back pain just after 6 am and climbed out of my bunk, only to find that queue for the bathroom had already formed outside in the corridor. I decided not to bother shaving.

When Ifinally got off the train in Paris at 7am I did not feel up to a full day's work. Instead, I chose to recover from the experience by checking into a hotel and going straight to sleep. I would not travel on a sleeper again if you paid me.

 

Germany. Anton Katz finds that he should have booked first class, after all.

As someone who has a natural aversion to pre-dawn dashes to the airport, I decided to travel to my early morning meeting in Munich in comfort and style, and catch the Bonn-Munich leg of the Trans- Europe Night express.

Despite the name, the TEN is not particularly fast. The daytime express covers the 600 km in 6 hours, but the TEN adds 30 minutes to the journey, perhaps as a token gesture to travellers like myself who consider six-and-a-half-hours the bare minimum necessary for a decent night’s sleep. Beyond getting two instead of six passengers to a compartment, the main difference between first and second class appears to lie in the dubious distinction of being able to share a tiny shower cubicle with the rest of the carriage, so I decided against the Dm215 supplement that first class carries and opted instead for considerably cheaper second class sleeper with six bunks which comes with a more modest Dm27 supplement.

The error of my ways became clear when it came to stripping off the bed. Space in a six-bunk compartment is at premium especially when in a top bunk there is even less room for manoeuvre. When, after some miracle of contortion, I managed to take off my clothes, I folded them carefully and placed them at the foot of the bunk – only to spend the rest of the night creasing them thoroughly with my thrashing feet.

After a short while a fellow passenger decided that the train’s ventilation system was inadequate and opened the window a crack. This caused such a racket that a compromise had to be found and the door was slid back instead. At last, sleep of a kind was possible – but not for long. About an hour out of Munich, the breakfast trolley came crashing down the corridor, and the smell of Wurst, cakes, soft drinks and coffee wafted into the compartment.

An undignified run to beat the stampede for the washroom and half an hour lying cramped on my bunk reading a book left me creased, tired and determined next time to travel first class.

United Kingdom. Affectionate memories of upholstered wood are soon dashed for Sally Malcolm-Smith

I have very fond childhood memories of travelling by sleeper. We used to take theovernight train from Edinburgh to London on our way to holiday in France. Тhе train journey was always the most exciting part of the trip – the old-fashioned carriages trimmed withwood,the ceramic chamber pot in a cupboard under the sink, which cleverly emptied onto the track, the anticipation of biscuits and morning tea served in green British Rail china cups. My sister andI, who invariably shared a compartment used to race up and down the upholstered wooden ladder to the top bunk until, tired from our excitement and lulled by the clickety clack of the wheels on the tracks, we fell fast asleep, having stuffed our clothes out ofthe way in nets beside our beds. So it was with some nostalgia that a friend and I booked a sleeperоn the same journey back to London Euston.  But it wasn’t long before excitement gave way to trepidation. “Have fun”, smirked the man at the ticket office insinuatingly, but, as we approached the train, I knew it was going to be difficult to relive any memories.

The old light blue carriages had long since been scrapped, to be replaced by fiberglass orange and cream modern lettering. When we reached our compartment I looked for the chamber pot with sinking heart. Sure enough, it had been replaced by a blackwastepaper basket. The wood had also gone. All around was plastic. Only the old Irish guard who came to ask us what time we wanted to be brought ourtea was consistent with the past. But the biggest let-down was the journey itself. Pulling out of the station, there was no rumbling from the wheels, just the smooth tug of the train gliding at speed over welded tracks. For hours we lay sleepless in the cramped berths as we were thrown around at every curve in the track.

When we arrived at Eustonbleary-eyed andtwo hours late, we realized that the ticket office man¢s smirk was only a tease - there must be more romantic and ways of traveling south.

Single from Edinburgh to London first class 100 pounds, 2nd class 59 pounds (plus 5.25 for a shared berth). Passengers travelling alone are booked into compartments with someone of the same sex.

Italy. Judith Harris says those who travel together seldom remain strangers long

A lot of people I know detest over-nighters, but if you are fond of trains and a sound sleeper there can be few more pleasurable ways of travelling. The journey from Rome magnificent Stazione Termini to Paris on the Palatino train is one of the world's most delightful. The sights you see on the way are quite unforgettable.

At around 8pm, as the sun is just setting, the stark outlines of thousand-year-old castles proudly stand guard over the Tyrrhenian coast before giving way to snatched glimpses of rocky inlets and huddled fishing villages bathed in the moonlight. And beyond Genoa... well, by then I have succumbed to the gentle rhythm of the train and fallen fast asleep.

The compartments are basic but comfortable. All have soft, cotton sheets, plaid blankets, comfortable mattresses and a corner washstand with hot and cold running water.

First class compartments have one bed but I usually travel second class because other people's snoring does not bother me. I also like the camaraderie.

In my numerous nights spent on the Palatino, I have shared my compartment with a female psychiatrist, a 35-year-old matron who simply likes to travel, and an Italian princess's lady-in-waiting, who had a remarkable store of gossip about her mistress's life style. When you travel together strangers seldom remain strangers long.

 

WHAT TO DO:

1. Find in the text English equivalents for the following phrases and use them in sentences:

Путешествовать ночью, уровень обслуживания на поездах, тесные купе, сесть на поезд, открыть дверь купе, нижняя/верхняя полка, беспокойно спать, проснуться с болью в спине, приятный способ путешествовать, путешествовать вторым классом, зарезервировать место в спальном вагоне, билетная касса, разобрать на металлолом, падать на повороте, часть пути, мять одежду, попутчик, тележка с завтраком.

2. Give the Russian equivalents for the following words and word combinations:

a rumbling diesel, to snatch glimpses of smth., upholstered ladder, replaced by fiberglass, pre-dawn dashes, a decent night’s sleep, to decide against smth., to opt for smth., to fumble in the dark.

 

3. What is meant by:

a far cry from, wood-panelled cabins, hectic world, jolted awake, (not) to feel up to a full day’s work, a sound sleeper, basic compartments, consistent with the past, to open a door with a crack.

 

4. Look for synonymous and antonymous meanings to the following words and word combinations used in the text:

to become disenchanted, to be available, to board a train, to judge for oneself, hectic world, business travel, bottom bunk, sleep fit fully, to detest smth., sound sleeper, sights, a let-down, to strip off for bed.

 

5. Answer the following questions:

1. In what way could one travel on business in the past?

2. Why do many travelers become disappointed while travelling on trains today?

3. What was the journey that Ian Harding made like?

4. What made Judith Harris like the journey she made on the Palatino train?

5. Do you agree that those who travel seldom remain strangers long?

6. Does snoring on trains bother you?

7. Do you have any affectionate memories of travelling by sleeper?

8. Do you prefer conventional or ultra-modern high-speed trains (e.g. Shinkansen in Japan) to travel by?

9. Why did Anton Katz wish he had booked first class?

10. What is the practical application of different kinds of doors - sliding door, swing door, revolving door, etc.?