No luggage compartments

When we had been waiting about 15 minutes there was a deuce of a row at the head of the queue. It was due to the fact that two ordinary buses without luggage compartments had been put on, and Blackburn passengers had — quite rightly — refused to board them.

We failed to get on the Blackburn coach, and were left among an assortment of passengers for different towns in East Lancash­ire who were all ushered into one vehicle. The coach seemed to visit every town in the district before arriving at Burnley, where we had to change coaches for the last few miles to Blackburn. There we arrived feeling utterly fed up and wondering if we had case for claiming our money back. The next time I book with a coach firm I shall certainly ask about the type of vehicle I shall be expected to travel in.

Passengers save for 50 weeks for their annual holiday and they expect something a little better than what they get in their ev­eryday lives.

(by J. Wilkins)

Comprehension questions:

1. How long did the journey take?

2. Where did they run into trouble?

3. Why did they step out of the ranks?

4. Where did the man carrying a fistful of papers pile their bags into?

5. Why did they sheepishly get out?

6. Why did they stand at the head of the queue, feeling very foolish?

7. What did they have for lunch?

8. When did he find out he had been charged for 3 full meals?

9. Where did the author decide to take the bags in the morn­ing?

10. What did the gilt letters on the office window stand for?

11. Why did other travellers come out with a bemused look on their faces?

12. What did the inspector mutter when he saw their tickets?

13. Why were his words all double talk to the author?

14. What sign was there at the head of the queue behind the wall?

15. How much time had they been waiting there?

16. What fact was it due to?

17. Did they manage to get on the Blackburn coach?

18. Did the coach go direct to Blackburn?

19. What thoughts did they arrive there with?

20. What do people expect from their annual holiday?

TEXT WORK■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

4

1. Phonetic Drill. Translate, transcribe and pronounce correctly:

Luxury, coach, weary, to usher, inefficiency, consequence, eventually, harassed, excursion, vehicle.

2. Give Russian equivalents of:

A passenger’s experience; a luxuiy coach; a weary traveller; our destination was Scarborough; the departure queue; a fistful of papers; a party of three (four, five, etc.); sheepishly; to feel very foolish; some people get away with it; a harassed waitress; the outward journey; it was all double talk to me; passengers for all parts were lumped together; to feel utterly fed up.

3. Give English equivalents of:

Так называемый; попасть в беду; выйти из шеренги; входить в автобус; во главе очереди; последствия; быть довольным; изнуренный; совсем другое дело; позолочен­ный; озадаченный; поджимать губы; трудности; багажное отделение; пересесть на другой автобус; быть сытым по горло; потребовать деньги назад; ежегодный отпуск.

4. Give synonyms to the following words:

To plonk, plenty, complication, utter, eventually.

5. Explain the following and say in what situations the sentences are used in the text.

1. But every seat was full.

2. ... hearing remarks from the crowd about “jumping the queue”.

3. Some people get away with it.

4. ... feeling quite contented with the world in general.

5. Lunch was a hurried affair.

6. I had been charged for three full meals.

7. ... which was all double talk to me.

8. ... passengers for all parts were lumped together.

9. ... there was a deuce of a row.

10. Passengers save for 50 weeks for their annual holiday.

6. Find evidence in the text to support the following state­ments.

1. As soon as we arrived we ran into trouble.

2. Lunch was a hurried affair.

3. The return journey was a different matter.

4. The inspector’s wards were all double talk to the author.

5. They failed to get on the Blackburn coach.

6. They arrived feeling utterly fed up.

7. Arrange the points in logical order and reproduce the original text using the key-words given below.

1. counter; a bemused look; another point.

2. a deuce of a row; an assortment; everyday lives.

3. the luggage compartment; at the head of the queue; con­sequences.

4. to run into a trouble; a fistful of papers; to step out of the ranks.

5. departure time; coach station; a half-pitying look.

6. conductor; harassed waitresses, price list.

7. to mutter; complications; a sign.

8. Supply the missing adverbs and prepositions.

The driver disappeared .... He emerged helping an old chap crippled with arthritis out from the pub and ... the bus.

... Less than 200 yards ... the road Bert helped the old man ... again. Thanks to our bus driver the old man gets a twice- weekly social outing all through the year.

... the next comer a small boy stopped the bus to hand... a basket of eggs ... my auntie.

... the next village we were joined by Mildred and Peggy, who both have “bad legs”. Much conversation... the legs ensued, and eventually each lady displayed her leg ... the other.

The bus was now pretty full, but when a young mother, lad­en ... baskets and a toddler, got ...she was squeezed ... and the baskets and toddler taken ... various people’s laps.

A little later “auntie’s eggs” were handed awaiting ur­chin — then at last we reached the big city.

9. Translate the Russian words into English and insert them. Speak on the advantages and disadvantages of travelling by long-distance buses in Spain.

HOLIDAYS BY BUS IN SPAIN

1 can never understand why more visitors to Spain—especial­ly those who want more than just sun-bathing and wine — do not take advantage of the network of long-distance buses as a means of seeing the country. On my last three holidays in Spain I (проехать) many hundred miles by bus, from San Sebastian to Zaragoza and over almost the whole of Old Castile. Yet only once did I meet other foreigners travelling in the same way. In the more mountainous regions the buses that (связывать) the provincial capitals are often more (удобный) and (быстрый) than trains. Let me give one example. It is possible (выехать) San Sebastian at about 9.30 in the morning and (попасть) Lo- grono in time to find a hotel and have a stroll before lunch. To travel to Logrono by train the traveller must (делать пересадку) at Miranda del Ebro and the whole (поездка) would take about nine hours.

In the mountainous parts, too, the journey by road is usual­ly far more interesting. (Дороги) twist and turn over the moun­tain ranges, providing one breath-taking view after another as the bus negotiates the hair-pin bends.

There is also the advantage of (доставлять) right to the cen­tre of the town, and not being left on the outskirts, as the trav­eller by train so often is. The visitor to Guadalajara, for exam­ple, finds that (вокзал) is so far from the city that he is forced to take either a taxi or (городской автобус) and there is sel­dom (место) for (багаж) on the latter.

(Маршрут, автобус) themselves vary greatly, and so do the passengers. Some buses, on (отходить), are filled with passen­gers who (ехать) all the way, and one wonders how the people manage who live in intermediate towns and villages. Perhaps they only travel in winter. On other (линия, маршрут) the bus is constantly (пустеть) and (наполняться) again, taking a whole family of three generations to visit a relative in a sanato­rium or a group of young folk to the next village where there is a fiesta. The bus (останавливаться) in the village market square, gaily bedecked with flags, and with wooden barricades and stands that make it into a fair imitation of a bullring. When it (отправляться) again after ten minutes’ halt the traveller sud­denly finds the bus almost empty, its former occupants having joined the crowds round the side-shows and stalls.

A Spanish (междугородный, дальнего следования) bus is always a single-decker, but much longer than a British motor- coach, and it can usually seat up to sixty-five passengers. There are nearly always two classes, the (передний) (20 or 25 seats) (предназначаться) for the first class passengers, while the oth­ers occupy the seats at (задняя часть) where they cannot fail to notice all the bumps on the road. I would recommend the British to travel (первым классом).

There is no need to travel especially (налегке) when going by bus. (Чемоданы) are stowed either in (багажник) or on the roof rack, and small bags may be taken (вовнутрь).

All seats in the bus (нумеровать) and can (заказать зара­нее). Before (заказывать; покупать) a seat it is advisable to glance at a map, work out on which side of the bus the sun will be shining most of the time, and then ask for a seat on the op­posite side.

Once the traveller (достичь) (место назначения) it is usu­ally an easy matter to find (где можно остановиться).

10. A coach tour of Europe

1. You are going to read the itinerary of a European coach tour. Before you read, look at the map of Europe and discuss the best order in which to visit:

London, Amsterdam, Paris, Beaune, Lausanne, Lugano, Innsbruck, Lake Maggiore, Venice, Florence, Rome. The tour starts from London.

How long do you think it will take?

2. Read the itinerary quickly and see if you guessed the order and time correctly.