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Ex. 18 Read an extract from How to be a Brit by George Mikes, explain the meaning of phrases in

bold type and answer the questions below:

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On the Continent doctors, lawyers, booksellers - just to mention a few examples - are sprinkled all over the city, so you can call on a good or at least expensive doctor in any district. In England the ideas that it is the address that makes the man. Doctors in London are crowded in Harley Street, solicitors in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, second-hand-bookshops in Charing Cross Road, newspaper offices in Fleet Street, tailors in Saville Row, car-merchants in Great Portland Street, theaters around Piccadilly Circus, cinemas in Leicester Square, etc.

Another peculiarity is that an English town is a vast conspiracy to mislead foreigners. Streets are seldom build straight - they make sudden curves, even S-shape ones. Letters L, T, V, Y, W and O are increasingly popular.

Streets are often given different names whenever they bend; but if the curve is so sharp that it really makes two different streets, you may keep the same name. On the other hand, if, owning to neglect, a street has been built in a straight line it must be called by many different names (High Holborn, New Oxford Street, Oxford Street, Bayswater Road, Notting Hill Gate, Holland Park).

The Times showed that the English have almost sixty synonyms for ‘street’. And the town and country planners make a good use of the same name in one neighbourhood: Belsize Park, Belsize Street, Belsize Road, Belsize Gardens, Belsize Green, Belsize Circus, Belsize Yard, Belsize Square, Belsize Terrace, Belsize Arcade, Belsize Heath, etc. In addition to these, a number of streets of exactly the same name are placed in different districts - with about twenty Princes Squares and Warwick Avenues in the town, the muddle - the town and country planners may claim without immodesty - is complete.

There are further camouflage possibilities in the numbering of houses. Primitive continental races put even numbers on one side, odd numbers on the other. In England you may start numbering your houses at one end, go up to a certain number on the same side, then continue on the other side, going back in the opposite direction. You may leave out some numbers if you are superstitious; and you may continue the numbering in a side street; you may also give the same number to two or three houses.

But this is far from the end. Private citizens help in their modest way to confuse and mislead foreigners by keeping house numbers secret. They refrain from putting numbers on their gates or front doors, and - cleverest of all - many people refuse to have numbers altogether, and they give names to

Практический курс первого иностранного языка

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their houses instead of numbers. Who could guess that ‘Fairy Orchard’ is to be found between numbers 117 and 121 in a street seven miles long?

But I have to admit that my chauvinism has been badly shaken by a letter from a girl who lives in a German village. She has read the relevant chapter in my earlier book and she was frankly disdainful of our methods. Her village, she said, beats London hands down - and it does. They have had the brilliant idea of numbering their houses in chronological order. The first house to be built is therefore Number 1, although it stands halfway along the main street. The second to be built, which stands at the beginning of the street at the eastern end, is Number 2. Number 3, the third to be built, is on the opposite side and at the western end, and so on. I have long been prepared to grant that the Germans are more methodical and systematic than

we are, but to find that they can beat us in creating muddle - that hurts.

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1.	Where can you find a book at a lower price in London?
2.	Where can you have a suit made in London?
3.	Where can you go in London to get legal advice?
4.	Where can you go and see a musical in London?
5.	Where can you go and see a movie in London?
6.	What does the author imply saying that “letters L, T, V, Y, W and O are increasingly popular”?
7.	What tendency in city planning are Oxford Street, Bayswater Road and Notting Hill Gate are examples of ?
8.	Point out the synonyms of ‘street’ from the text.
9.	How can twenty Princes Squares make it difficult to get around the town?
10. How is numbering of English houses different from the Russian one?
11. How are the residents of			the German village mentioned in the text better in creating muddle than the
	English?
12. What would you call your house if you could?
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Ex. 19 Match the words with the pictures:
		car van	train	motorbike	moped double-decker coach
		minibus		bicycle	lorry tram	scooter

Практический курс первого иностранного языка

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Ex. 20 a What are the pros and cons of travelling by the following forms of transport?

by bus

on the Underground

by car

by bicycle

by train on foot

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Ex. 20 b Read the glossary carefully and listen the recording “Getting Around” paying attention to the words and phrases from it in the recording:

GLOSSARY

a nightmare n - something that is very frightening and unpleasant, or very difficult

a pickpocket n - a person who steals money, etc. from other people's pockets, especially in crowded places congestion charge phr - an amount of money that people have to pay for driving their cars into the centre of some cities as a way of stopping the city centre from becoming too full of traffic

to mind smth v - to not care or not be concerned about sth ridiculous adj - very silly, unreasonable or absurd

a cycle lane phr - a part of a road that only bicycles are allowed to use

the council n - a group of people who are elected to govern an area such as a city or county

I’d rather ... phr = I would prefer to …

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Ex. 20 c Listen once again and fill in the chart:

The ways

the speakers Good things about their journeys Bad things about their journeys go to work

by bus

on the Underground

by car

by train

by bicycle

on foot

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Ex. 20 d Read the following extracts from the recording and guess the meaning of the phrasal verbs in bold type:

1.Buses often turn up late.

2.Then, all of a sudden, three will show up one after the other.

3.A few months ago, they brought in this new congestion charge.

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	4. ... sometimes I don’t get back till really late.
	5.	The ticket prices keep going up.
!	6.	Sometimes, if it’s pouring down with rain ...

Ex. 20 e Answer the following questions:

1. How do you get to university? What’s the journey like? 2. How would you like to travel to university? Why?

3. What’s the worst journey to or from university you’ve ever had? Why was it so bad?

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Ex. 21 a Answer the following questions:

1. What do you think of public transport in Khabarovsk? 2. Would you suggest any improvements for it?

3. Which city of those you’ve been to has the best system of public transport?

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Ex. 21 b Read the text and match the underlined words in the text and their definitions or Russian equivalents:

PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN THE UK

Public transport services in British urban areas, as elsewhere in Europe, are not cheap, frequent, or fast. So the majority of people rely on their cars mostly.

What is interesting, trams, which disappeared from the country’s city and town roads in the 1950s and 1960s, are now making a comeback. Research has shown that people seem to have more confidence in the reliability in vehicles which run on tracks.

Britain is one of the few countries in Europe where double-decker buses (i.e. with two floors) are a common sight. Although single-deckers have also been in use since the 1960s, London still has more than 3,000 double-deckers in operation.

At 2 p.m. on 9 December 2005 double-decker bus No. 159 left Marble Arch in central London. It was unusually crowded. About an hour later it crawled slowly - very slowly - into Brixton bus garage in south London. It was working perfectly well, but it had to go slowly because it was surrounded by crowds of wellwishers who were saying goodbye to it. That was the end of the career of the Routmaster. Every London bus used to be a Routemaster.

Originally intended to work for a mere 17 years, they proved so durable, convenient and popular that they lasted half a century. They were convenient because they were «hop-on-hop-off» buses. They had no doors, just an open-sided platform instead, so you could «hop off» at any time you wanted, but «hopping on» in rush hour was considered queue-jumping and wasn’t tolerated. The absence of doors though convenient turned out to be their downfall - they didn’t conform to modern expectations regarding pram and wheelchair access. The other distinctive feature of Routemasters was that they had not only a driver but also a conductor, who walked around collecting fares while the bus was moving.

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Despite the retirement of the original version, the Routemaster has retained iconic status. In the late 2000s work began on a bus inspired by the Routemaster's traditional design, which entered service in February 2012.

The famous London Underground, known as the Tube, is feeling the effects of its age (it was first opened in 1863). However, it is heavily used because it provides excellent connections with the main train stations, airports and the surburbs of London.

Another symbol of London is the distinctive black taxi. According to the traditional stereotype, the ownerdrivers of London taxis, known as cabbies, are friendly Cockneys who never stop talking. While it may not be true that they are all like this, they all have to demonstrate, in a difficult examination, familiarity with London streets and buildings before they are given their taxi licence. This familiarity is known as the Knowledge. Normally these taxis cannot be hired by phone. You simply have to find or hail one in the street. But there are taxi companies that run their business over the phone. These taxis are called minicabs. Both taxis and minicabs are quite expensive, and Londoners rarely use them.

The names of London railway stations are known to almost everybody in the UK: Charing Cross, Euston, King’s Cross, London Bridge, Liverpool Street, Paddington, St. Pancras, Victoria and Waterloo. Each station

runs trains only in a certain direction out of London.

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Definitions:

1.___________ - connected with a town or city

2.___________ - to move forward very slowly

3.___________ - likely to last for a long time without breaking

4.___________ - a person who wants to show that they support sb/smh and want them to be successful, etc.

5.___________ - to continue to exist or to function well

6.___________ - a situation in which a person moves to the front before other people who have been waiting longer for smth

a well-wisher

durable

to retain

urban

tolerated

to crawl

7.___________ - sb/ sth that is annoying, unpleasant but accepted without complaining

8.___________ - to keep sth

9.___________ - the loss of status, importance, money, etc.

10.___________ - an official document that shows that permission has been given to do, own or use sth

11.___________ - to signal to a taxi or a bus, in order to get the driver to stop

12.___________ - having a lot of people or too many people

13.___________ - a person from the East End of London

licence

to hail

crowded

Cockney

queue-jumping

to last

downfall

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Практический курс первого иностранного языка

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reliability a distinctive feature convenient excellent

to hire

to conform to a pram

to rely on access inspired by familiarity heavily used a fare

rush hour vehicles

a wheelchair

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Russian equivalents:

1.полагаться на кого-то / что-то - ____________

2.надежность - ____________

3.транспорт - ____________

4.удобный - ____________

5.час пик - ____________

6.соответствовать (требованиям) - ____________

7.коляска - ____________

8.инвалидное кресло - ____________

9.доступ - ____________

10.отличительная черта - ____________

11.плата за проезд - ____________

12.вдохновленный - ____________

13.интенсивно используемый - ____________

14.превосходный - ____________

15.знакомство (знание) с чем-то / кем-то - ____________

16.нанимать - ____________

Ex. 21 c Look through the text again and choose the right variant to complete the sentences:

1.	The British generally prefer to use ...
	A. double-decker buses.		B. the Tube	C. their own cars.
2.	The trams are being ... in the UK.
	A. reintroduced	B. going out of operation.			C. broken.

3. ... other European countries have double-decker buses in operation. A. A very small number of B. Plenty of C. Hardly any

4.Many people wanted to go on double-decker bus No. 159 on 9 December 2005 because ...

A.they were going to Brixton for a farewell party.

B.they wanted to experience the last ride on this model.

C.wanted to check the durability of the Routemaster bus.

5.Routemaster buses had been in operation about ... times longer than initially intended.

A. two

B. three

C. five

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6. If you had got on a Routemaster bus anywhere between appointed bus stops, other passengers might

have ...
A. applauded your courage.	B. looked down on you.	C. become irritated with you.

7.Routemaster buses went out of use because ...

A.they started to break down repeatedly.

B.they were difficlult to get on and off for certain categories of passengers.

C.a number of people in wheelchairs fell off buses.

8.The new model of the double-decker bus resembles the Routemaster in ...

A. its appearance.	B. the construction of doors.		C. the location of passenger seats.
9. The Tube isn’t perfect according to the author because ...
A. it is inefficient.	B. it’s not modernised enough.			C. it’s never on time.
10. Cab drivers in London ... the cabs they drive.
A. decorate	B. hire	C. own

11.In order to become a London cabbie you are ...

A. to be sociable. B. to know the names of London streets by heart. C. to know the way around London.

12.Minicabs differ from cabs in ...

A. colour.		B. the way you hire them.		C. size.
13.	A resident of Oxford is ... know the names of London train stations.
A. likely to		B. unlikely to	C. must
14.	In the sentence «You simply have to find or hail one in the street» the word one refers to ...
A. public phones		B. tourists	C. cabs

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Ex. 21 d Read the summary of Public Transport in the UK and replace the words and phrases in bold type with suitable forms of those from the box:

Public transport services in British city and town areas are not cheap, frequent, or fast. So people mostly trust their cars. British people have confidence in the means of transport which run on tracks too.

Britain still has many double-deckers in operation. For instance, the Routemaster bus has certain iconic status in the UK and in the 2012 models of double-deckers the Routemaster design has been kept. During the last ride of the last Routemaster in operation in the UK many people who wanted to show their fondness of the Routemaster came to see it off. The Routemaster was full of people on that ride. Routemasters were in operation for a long time without breaking and easy to ride on, except for people in wheelchairs and

Практический курс первого иностранного языка 2 курс

parents with prams. That fact meant that Routemasters didn’t comply with the new requirements for easy way of entering and leaving vehicles for all kinds of passengers.

The Tube (first opened in 1863) is in intensive use because it provides very good connections between all districts of London and its suburbs.

The black cab is another symbol of London. Cabbies are generally thought to be friendly and talkative. The thing they all definitely have in common is the fact that they know London streets and buildings, which is tested in a difficult exam they all have to take. Cab drivers respectfully call it the Knowledge. Cabs cannot be ordered by phone, but simply signalled with a wave of a hand in the street, while minicabs can be hired by phone.

The names of London railway stations are widely known to UK citizens. Trains run from those London

railway stations only in a certain direction out of London.

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Ex. 22 a What are the pros and cons of travelling by underground in your opinion? Read the glossary carefully and listen the recording “What Do You Think of the London Underground?”

paying attention to the words and phrases from it in the recording:

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The London Underground (often shortened to the Underground, and also known as the Tube) was first opened 1863. With 270 stations and 402 kilometres of track, it's the fourth largest metro system in the world in terms of route kilometres (after the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, the Shanghai Metro and the Beijing Subway) , and it's got the largest number of stations. It's also the third

busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow and Paris. Air conditioning and Wi-fi coverage are being introduced.

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GLOSSARY

people-watching n if you do some "people-watching". you sit in a bar (for example) and watch people

city types n the type of people who work in the City (the financial district of London) : stockbrokers, bankers, etc.

a suit n clothing that consists of a jacket and trousers / skirt of the same material and colour to faint v if someone "faints", they lose consciousness

in no time phr - quickly

to doze off phr v if you "doze off', you fall asleep a line n a train route with stations

to fancy v if you "fancy" doing something, you want to do that thing to shove v if you "shove" someone, you push them

unbearable adj something "unbearable" for you is very bad and you don't want to accept it grumpy adj if someone is "grumpy", they're a bit angry

to time v if you "time" a journey. you calculate how long it'll take

a busker n a musician who plays in the street. People give him/her money

fascinating adj - extremely interesting

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Ex. 22 b Listen to the recording again and fill in the gaps in the following sentences with appropriate numbers of the speakers:

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Speaker ____ likes reading on the Underground.

Speaker ____ likes watching people on the Underground.

Speaker ____ likes it because it's fast and reliable.

Speaker ____ thinks it's too hot in the summer.

Speaker ____ prefers to walk or get the bus.

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Ex. 23 Fill in the gaps with the words in the box:

The quickest way from the airport to our office is by ____________. Take the Piccadilly _____________ to Holborn and then _______________ to the Central Line. From there it’s three _______________ to Bank and

our office is immediately opposite the ________________ to Bank station.

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Ex. 24 a Answer the following questions:

1. What means of transport do you use to get to university?

2. What are the pros and cons of having a tram network in a city?

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Ex. 24 b Read the glossary carefully and listen the recording “Tram Time” paying attention to the words and phrases from it in the recording:

GLOSSARY dedicated adj used for one particular purpose only

tracks n metal lines that a train/tram travels on caught up in traffic exp trapped behind a lot of cars

boring n from the verb «to bore», which means to make tunnels/holes in the ground to run on phr v to use something to make something work

an emission n the gas or other substance that is produced during a process - in this case, the CO2 produced by cars

to encourage v to motivate someone to do something, often by giving them good reasons to do it residential properties n houses that people live in

accessible adj easy to go into / use / reach / see

room n space / an area with nothing in it that can be used for something

a mayor n an elected leader of a town / city

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Ex. 24 c Listen to the recording again and tick the advantages of trams mentioned in it:

1.Trams can carry more people than other vehicles.

2.Trams are faster than other means of transport.

3.It doesn’t take much time to get on and off a tram.

4.Trams do not get stuck in traffic jams.

5.Tram lines are cheaper to build.

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6.Trams are cheap to produce.

7.Tram tickets are cheaper than bus tickets.

8.Trams are ecologically-friendly.

9.Trams are not boring to ride.

10.Business in the areas near tram lines improves.

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Ex. 24 d Listen to the recording again and decide whether these statements are true (T), false

(F) or the speaker doesn’t say anything about it (DS):

1. A tram can transport 170 more people than a bus. _____

2. There are three doors in trams. _____

3. Tram doors are located lower than bus doors. ____

4. With the introduction of trams traffic decreases by 12 % during the week, and by 15% at the weekend. _____

5. Trams do not emit CO2. _____

6. With the introduction of trams in Dublin the number of customers in the city’s main shopping area increased by nearly a third. _____

7. House prices near tram routes can increase by 15%. _____

8. If you want to rent a flat, it’s cheaper to rent one near tram routes. _____

9. Tram stops are easier to find than underground stations. _____

10. Car owners might not like trams as trams take up a part of a road. ____

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Ex. 24 e Look at the sentences below and think of Russian equivalents for the phrases in bold type:

• Trams can transport up to ... people at a time, compared to a maximum of ... on a bus.

• Studies have shown that where tram lines are installed, road traffic decreases by ... % during the week...

• This led to an increase in trade....

• Residential properties benefit too.

• House prices beside tram routes can increase by as much as ...%

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Ex. 24 f Make up sentences of your own (about any kind of public transport) with the phrases

from the previous exercise.

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Ex. 25 Choose the most natural-sounding words in the following sentences:

1.Tickets can be purchased from any station ticket office / window or can be booked / paid online at www.southenrail.com.

2.I caught the last / final bus back. It’s a good thing I didn’t lose / miss it.

3.I’ll meet you at / in the station. I’ll be at / on platform 3.

4.To get to / in Cardiff, you have to move to another train / change at Bristol.