Traveling by Train

АУДИРОВАНИЕ

I. Прослушайте текст Taking the Train и заполните пропуски недостающей информацией.

Man: Uh, where am I? Tsk, hum…

Woman: Excuse me. Do you (1) __________ any help?

Man: Nah, I ... I’m just looking … well … Uh, well, actually… yeah. Um … I want to go to the (2) _________ museum, but I’ve been lost the past few hours, and I can’t make heads or tails of these ticket (3) ___________.

Woman: Ah, well, just press this (4) ____________. And from here, it’s a dollar fifty.

Man: Okay.

Woman: Then, get on the train at (5) ___________ number 4.

Man: Alright. Oh, and how (6) __________ do the trains come around this time of (7) ___________?

Woman: Usually, they come about every (8) __________ minutes.

Man: Okay. And where do I get off the train?

Woman: Get off at State Street Station, three (9) _________ from here.

Man: Okay. I got it. Thanks for your help.

Woman: No (10) __________. Good luck.

II. Выберите правильный вариант ответа.

1. Where does the man want to go?

a. to the science museum

b. to the art museum

c. to the natural history museum

2. How much is the train ride?

a. a dollar fifteen

b. a dollar forty

c. a dollar fifty

3. Where should the man get on the train?

a. platform number 3

b. platform number 4

c. platform number 5

4. How often do the trains come?

a. about every five minutes

b. about every six minutes

c. about every seven minutes

5. Where should the man get off the train?

a. at the State Street Station

b. at the Star Palace Station

c. at the Seventh Street Station

III. Вы услышите 5 высказываний. Установите соответствие между высказываниями каждого говорящего (1–5) с утверждениями, данными в списке (A–F). Используйте каждую букву, обозначающую утверждение, только один раз.

A. This person himself didn’t have any problems on overnight trains but he heard a lot of scary stories.

B. This person was forced to give money in order not to be disturbed on an overnight train.

C. This person never had any problems on overnight trains. Nevertheless, he/she complains that these trains are overcrowded.

D. To feel more safe this person tries to travel with someone from his hostel.

F. The main concern of this person is about his/her backpack.

ЧТЕНИЕ

I. Установите, в каком из текстов (1–6) можно найти информацию, соответствующую разделам (A–F). Один тест лишний.

A. Development

B. Station facilities

C. Configurations of train station

D. Superlatives

E. Train station

1. This is a point of call for trains, allowing the loading or unloading of goods, or allowing passengers to board and alight. Early stations were usually built with both passenger and goods facilities. This dual-purpose is still common today, although in many cases, goods facilities are now restricted to major stations. Generally stations are sited next to a railway or railroad line, or form the terminus for a particular route. Usually platforms are present to allow passengers easily and safely access trains.

2. The first train stations resembled tram stops, with little in the way of buildings or facilities. Although the Stockton and Darlington Railway was the first railway, it only carried freight. So the first train stations in the modern sense were on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened in 1830. Various forms of architecture have been used in the construction of railway stations, from those boasting grand and intricate almost baroque-style edifices, to more stark utilitarian or modern styles. Stations built more recently often have a similar feel to airports, with a cold and plain abstract style.

3. The world’s busiest train station, in terms of daily passenger traffic, is Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan. Ikebukuro Station, just minutes away, is the world’s second-busiest. By train traffic, the world’s busiest train station is Clapham Junction in London. The world’s largest train station, in terms of floor area, is Nagoya Station in Nagoya, Japan.

4. A terminus is a station sited where a railway line ends or terminates. Thus, platforms can be reached without crossing tracks. Often a terminus is the final destination of a train, but not necessarily. When a train is required to travel onwards from a terminus, it must reverse out of the station to continue the trip.

5. Train stations usually include either ticket booths, or ticket machines. Ticket sales may also be combined with customer service desks, or convenience stores. All but small rural stations usually include some form of convenience store. Larger stations usually have fast-food or restaurant facilities. In some countries, such stations would also have a bar, or pub. Other station facilities include: toilets, left-luggage, departures and arrivals boards, luggage carts, waiting rooms, taxi ranks and bus bays.

6. In addition to the basic configuration of a train station, various features set certain types of station apart. The first is elevation. While most stations are at ground level, those in cities or urban areas are often elevated, or situated below ground, even if the station is not necessarily part of an underground metro system. The reason is usually to grade-separate road systems. Elevated stations are more common, not including metro stations.

Another unusual configuration is where the station serves railway lines at differing levels. This may be due to the stations situation at a point where two lines cross, or may be to provide separate station capacity for two types of service, e.g. intercity and suburban, or simply two different destinations.

II. Установите, в каком из текстов (1–7) можно найти информацию, соответствующую разделам (A–G).

A. these trains are not very popular with people

B. on these trains a new technology is used

C. this kind of train goes over three hundred miles an hour

D. these trains usually run inside cities over ground

E. these trains run under the ground

F. the most popular U.S. railroad system

G. these trains are mostly used in the morning and the afternoon

1. There are different kinds of trains used in public transit. Light rail trains, or trolleys, usually run over ground. They run on electricity from power lines over the train tracks. They can go as fast as fifty-five miles an hour, although they usually go much slower in the city.

2. Commuter trains often run on the same train routes built over a hundred years ago. They’re called commuter trains because they run most often in the morning and the afternoon, when people need to go to and from work.

3. Heavy rail trains are also called subways, or metros. They usually run under the ground. Heavy rail trains go faster than light rail trains, and cost more to build. They get their power from a “third rail” next to the train tracks. This third rail is very dangerous!

4. Monorails are a special kind of train that run on just one track … a monorail! Monorails have never gotten very popular, although some people think they should be.

5. Not all passenger trains are built to carry people inside a city, or from a city to a suburb. Some passenger trains carry people much longer distances. Amrak is the name for the U.S. national railroad system. If you want to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles, but don’t want to fly, you can take an Amrak train. Amrak trains run all over the United States. They’re nice inside, like commuter trains.

6. In Europe and Japan, some new, special trains have been built to carry people much faster than other trains can go. The French TGV draws electric power from an overhead wire, like a light rail train, but goes much faster: up to 186 miles an hour. One TGV went over three hundred miles an hour!

7. The MagLev is a new type of train. Powerful magnets on the track and on the bottom of the train keep the train floating about four inches over the track. It doesn’t touch the track at all when it’s running. MagLev trains can go over three hundred miles an hour.

III. Прочитайте отрывок из рассказа Артура Конан Дойля “Человек с часами”, а затем выберите правильный вариант ответа.

At five o’clock on the evening of the 18th of March in the year already mentioned, a train left Euston Station for Manchester. It was a rainy, squally day, which grew wilder as it progressed, so it was by no means the weather in which anyone would travel who was not driven to do so by necessity. The train, however, is a favourite one among Manchester businessmen who are returning from town, for it does the journey in four hours and twenty minutes, with only three stoppages upon the way. In spite of the inclement evening it was, therefore, fairly well filled upon the occasion of which I speak. The guard of the train was a tried servant of the company - a man who had worked for twenty-two years without a blemish or complaint. His name was John Palmer.

The station clock was upon the stroke of five, and the guard was about to give the customary signal to the engine-driver when he observed two belated passengers hurrying down the platform. The one was an exceptionally tall man, dressed in a long black overcoat with astrakhan collar and cuffs. I have already said that the evening was an inclement one, and the tall traveller had the high, warm collar turned up to protect his throat against the bitter March wind. He appeared, as far as the guard could judge by so hurried an inspection, to be a man between fifty and sixty years of age, who had retained a good deal of the vigour and activity of his youth. In one hand he carried a brown leather Gladstone bag. His companion was a lady, tall and erect, walking with a vigorous step which outpaced the gentleman beside her. She wore a long, fawn-coloured dust-cloak, a black, close-fitting toque, and a dark veil which concealed the greater part of her face. The two might very well have passed as father and daughter. They walked swiftly down the line of carriages, glancing in at the windows, until the guard, John Palmer, overtook them.

1. The businessmen prefered trains because …

a) it was more comfortable

b) it was quicker

c) it was cheaper

2. The evening in question was …

a) mild

b) cool

le

c) extreme

3. The guard of the train was …

a) polite

b) rude

c) trusted

4. The main protected his throat because …

a) of the cold

b) he didn’t want to be recognized

c) of the rain

5. The lady went … the gentleman

a) quicker than

b) slower than

c) the same as

6. The gentleman and lady …

a) entered one of the carriages at once

b) were stopped by the guard

c) didn’t know which carriage to enter

IV. Прочитайте приведенный ниже текст. Преобразуйте слова, напечатанные заглавными буквами так, чтобы они грамматически и лексически соответствовали содержанию текста.

The guard turned the handle of the (1)________ door. In the carriage which he opened sat a man of thirty-four or thirty-five years old, dressed in some grey material, sharp-nosed, alert, with a ruddy, weather-beaten face, and a small, (2)________ cropped, black beard. He glanced up as the door was opened. The tall man paused with his foot upon the step. “This is a (3)_________ compartment. The lady (4)_________ smoke,” said he, looking round at the guard. “All right! Here you are, sir!” said John Palmer. He opened the door of the next compartment, and thrust the (5)_________ in. At the same moment he sounded his whistle and the (6)_________ of the train began to move.

NEAR CLOSE SMOKE LIKE TRAVEL WHEEL

V. Прочитайте текст с пропусками и обведите выбранный вами ответ.

Many years ago, when I (1)____________ still a mere youth rather than the old wrinkly dinosaur that I (2)_____________ today, I (3)______________ commute to work and home again each day on the train. As I had no attachments and no cares in the world, I (4)_____________ often work late, or do shifts. This meant that I would often travel back late at night. This didn’t bother me, as I (5)_______________ travelling on the train. In those days the trains were real trains, with wood and leather, and not like the plastic and metal things we (6)_____________ now. Anyway....

One night I was travelling home late as usual, and (7)________________ the beginning of the journey with a handful of people. One of my travelling companions was a little old lady with a very large shopping bag. As soon as I saw her get on, I had the sudden thought that she (8)___________________ be the talkative type.

1. A. am	B. was	C. were	D. have been
2. A. am	B. was	C. were	D. has been
3. A. had used to	B. use to	C. have used to	D. used to
4. A. would	B. will	C. shall	D. should
5. A. have liked	B. likes	C. liked	D. like
6. A. have had	B. have	C. had had	D. has
7. A. shared	B. shares	C. would share	D. share
8. A. should	B. shall	C. will	D. would

ГОВОРЕНИЕ

Составьте диалог.

• What other forms of public transportation do you have in your country and city?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using public transportation instead of your own car to get to school and work?

ПИСЬМО

Write an answer to these questions:

Would foreigners visiting your country have a difficult time using public transportation in major cities? Why or why not?

Keys:

Аудирование

I. 1) need; 2) science; 3) machines; 4) button; 5) platform; 6) often; 7) day; 8) six; 9) stops; 10) problem

II. 1) a; 2) c; 3) b; 4) b; 5) a

III. 1) D; 2) C; 3) A; 4) F; 5) B

Чтение

I. 1) E; 2) A; 3) D; 5) B; 6) C

II. 1) D; 2) G; 3) E; 4) A; 5) F; 6) C; 7) B

III. 1) b; 2) c; 3) c; 4) a; 5) a; 6) b

IV. 1) nearest; 2) closely; 3) smoking; 4) dislikes; 5) travelers; 6) wheels

V. 1) B; 2) A; 3) D; 4) A; 5) C; 6) B; 7) A; 8) D

ТЕКСТЫ ДЛЯ АУДИРОВАНИЯ

Taking the Train

Man: Uh, where am I? Tsk, hum …

Woman: Excuse me. Do you need any help?

Man: Nah, I … I’m just looking … well … [Okay …] Uh, well, actually … yeah. Um … I want to go to the science museum, but I’ve been lost for the past few hours, and I can’t make heads or tails of these ticket machines.

Woman: Ah, well, just press this button. [Oh, yeah] And from here, it’s a dollar fifty.

Man: Okay.

Woman: Then, get on the train at platform number 4.

Man: Alright. Oh, and how often do the trains come around this time of day?

Woman: Usually, they come about every six minutes.

Man: Okay. And where do I get off the train?

Woman: Get off at State Street Station, three stops from here.

Man: Okay. I got it. Thanks for your help.

Woman: No problem. Good luck.

Impressions on Overnight Trains

1. I’ve never taken a night train in Italy. I’ve only taken buses overnight which have been no problem and one night train from Hungary to Poland. I didn’t encounter any problems and it was a train that people said was a bit shady. There were only about three other passengers so I guess you could end up alone which may not be too safe. I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable. It’s always best to be cautious though, if I were travelling alone I’d try and find someone I felt comfortable with in my hostel who was heading the same way around the same time and see if they’d want to take the train together just to be on the safe side.

2. I’ve taken a few night trains across Europe. The Italian ones were usually old and packed to the gills but I had no problems with thieves or cut-throats of any kind.

3. Another time I was sharing with a family from somewhere in the Balkans. I don’t think the average Italian uses night trains, so you see backpackers sometimes and poorer people but I had no bad experiences apart from the lack of sleep and room. As for Eastern Europe, I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about robbery and scams but I don’t know how common that is. It’s enough to make me think twice about rail travel at night in certain countries though.

4. Once in a while on train trips, I’d go back from the bar or wherever to my seat to check my backpack at regional stops. Sometimes opportunistic thieves board, steal stuff, and then get off at a later stop. I think everyone does that though (checks their stuff I mean) but someone once told me I was the most paranoid non-pot head they ever met, so maybe I’m too cautious.

5. I say it’s a rare occurrence to have any problems on a night train, but there is still that chance. I got ripped off on a night train through Romania. The “nice guy”, who said he was an off-duty train conductor, could tell I was exhausted and kept waking me up throughout the trip. He finally took advantage of me and I handed him 40DM.