2. Translate the following word combinations:

A passenger car, a covered car, to be commonly used, to carry goods, to unload a tank car, to load a tank car, the damage of goods, a universal type of car, to place the seats, operating characteristics

3. Read the text and translate it: carriages and freight

Nowadays trains have to carry more and more freight, that’s why there are several classes of freight cars. The box-car is the most common type of covered cars. It is intended to carry all kinds of ordinary goods which must be protected from the weather.

A special type of box car is a refrigerator car. It is used for hauling food products. Nowadays fresh meat, fruit, vegetables and other food products can be conveyed for long distances. The walls, floor and roof of this wagon are air-and waterproof to protect goods from the heat of the outside air.

Another type of car is a tank car. It is intended for liquid goods. The long cylindrical tank of the car is filled through an opening on the top and emptied through a special device in the bottom.

Coal, ore, gravel, sand and other similar goods are transported in open-top cars. The principal types of these cars are the gondola and the hopper car. Both types are designed for mechanized loading and unloading. They are especially strong and durable.

The simplest type of cars is the flat cars. They can transport rails, beams, timber, and heavy machines. They can also carry containers. The container traffic is in wide use on all modes of transport. Containers reduce the cost of loading and unloading goods and decrease the danger of their breakage. Goods are packed into containers at factories or warehouses and are not disturbed while in transit. They are conveyed from “door- to- door”.

There are also special freight cars for special kinds of goods for example, a double-deck car for transporting automobiles. The conveyance of automobiles by rail is more economical than by road.

4. Answer the questions:

1. What is the most common type of covered cars?

2. What kinds of goods are covered cars intended to carry?

3. What is a refrigerator car used for?

4. Why can fresh meat, fruit, vegetables and other food products be conveyed for long distances?

5. What kinds of goods do tank cars transport?

6. What goods do open-top cars transport?

7. What types of wagons are designed for mechanized loading and unloading?

8. What do the flat cars carry?

9. What advantages do containers provide?

Grammar gerund

5. Transform the following complex sentences into simple ones using the Gerund.

Model: I am sorry that I trouble you. – Excuse me for troubling you.

1. I am sorry that I ring you up so late. 2. I am sorry that I turned on the radio when you are working. 3. I am sorry that I came so late. 4. I am sorry that I broke your pencil. 5. I am sorry that I went home without waiting for you.

6. Translate the sentences paying attention to the Gerund:

1. I know of his having been sent to work to the Far East. 2. What is the reason for his having left our city so suddenly? 3. We heard of the experiment having been started last week. 4. He improved his report by changing the end. 5. They objected to his remaining at home. 6. Instead of restoring the old theatre they decided to build a new one in the centre of the town. 7. New possibilities for applying atomic energy open up. 8. It is possible to set up power stations based on utilizing the heat of sun. 9. The idea of creating a multi-stage rocket belongs to Tsiolkovsky. 10. Before being sent up the balloon was filled with a special gas. 11. What apparatus do we use for measuring air pressure? 12. Science requires experimenting. 13. Speaking foreign languages is important for every cultured man.