Travelling by train

Exercise 1. Read and reproduce the dialogues which are the conversations at the enquiry-office.

At the enquiry-office

1.

A: Good morning.

Clerk: Good morning, sir.

A: I’ve found out from this timetable that there are several trains to Glasgow daily.

Clerk: Yes, quite so.       

A: Is there a second-class sleeper on the overnight express which leaves at 10.15 p. m.?

Clerk: Yes, the train has sleeping accommodation.

A: What time does the train get to Glasgow?

Clerk: It’s due to arrive in Glasgow at 6.30 a. m.. It usually runs on time.

2.

A: How do I get to Oxford, by train or by bus?

Clerk: The train’s quicker.

A: And how long does it take by bus?

Clerk: The bus takes three hours and goes every hour from Victoria Station and the train takes about one and a half hours.

A: Which station do I go from?

Clerk: From Paddington.

A: What time is the next train to Oxford, please?

Clerk: At 9:45.

A: And when does it arrive in Oxford?

Clerk: It gets to Oxford at 11.18.

A: Can I have a third class return?

Clerk: Yes, certainly.

A: And which platform for Oxford, please?

Clerk: Platform 3.

A: Thank you.

Exercise 2.

a). Do you know that buying a rail ticket is quite easy? You say where you want to go and whether you want a single (one way) or a return.

e.g. A single to London, please.

When you get to the train (or bus) you may want to check that you have the right one by asking:

Is this the train (or bus) to London?

Now practise buying a ticket; and then checking that you have the right train (bus) for these cities:

Sydney

Washington

Seattle

Johannesburg

Toronto

b) Read the dialogues, which are the conversations at the booking-office. Make up dialogues by analogy.

At the booking-office

1.

C: Yes, sir?

T: I’d like to book a seat on an afternoon train to Glasgow.

C: Single or return.

T: Return, please.

C: That’ll be fifty-seven pounds, sir.

T: There you are.

C: Thank you. Your train leaves at two twenty-five. Platform 6.

2.

A: Excuse me, where can I book a ticket to Birmingham?

B: The second window to your right. You’ll see it written up.

A: Could you give me an early morning train to Birmingham tomorrow?

C: How many tickets?

A: Two, please.

C: Just a minute. Let me see.... Well, I can let you have two tickets but in different carriages. Will that do?

A: I’m afraid not. See if you can find two tickets in a non-smoker for the day after tomorrow?

C: Yes, we have some tickets left in a second-class sleeper, if you wish.

A: I won’t have to change, will I?

C: Oh, no. It’s a through train.

3.

C: Good afternoon.

T: Good afternoon. I’d like a rail ticket to Amsterdam, please.

C: Certainly. When are you travelling?

T: I’m taking the four o’clock train today.

C: First or second class?

T: First class, please.

C: That’s 82.25, please.

T: Do you accept credit cards?

C: Certainly. Thank you. Sign here, please.

T: Thank you very much.

C: Thank you.

4.

Mr. Harris: I’d like a second-class ticket for an overnight train to Liverpool for next Monday, please.

Clerk: Yes, there is a slow train at 9.25 p. m.. It arrives in Liverpool at 7.50 a. m.. There is another one which leaves here at 11 p. m. and arrives in Liverpool early in the morning at 6.45. There is nothing after 11.

H: I can’t take 9.25. It’s too early for me. I’d like to go by the fast train. Could you give me a lower berth on it?

C: I’m sorry. I’ve got only upper berths on this train.

H: That’s too bad. Have you got lower berths on the same train on Tuesday?

C: Let me see. Yes, I have one for you.

H: How much is it?

C: Single or return?

H: Return, please.

C: It’s 75.25.

H: Here you are.

C: Thank you, here is your ticket. Carriage 5, compartment 7. Have a nice trip.

H: Thank you.

d) Memorize the rules for those who travel by train.

Does	Don’ts
1.  Be considerate to other people who want to use the station. 2.  Allow plenty of time at the station before your train is due. 3.  Stay off the tracks. 4.  Keep away from the platform edge. 5.  Keep a close watch on small children. 6.  Secure prams and push-chairs.	1. Don’t try to board a moving train. 2.  Don’t ride bikes or use skateboards on the platform. 3.  Don’t ignore signs – they are there to protect you. 4.  Don’t cross the tracks to reach your platform: use the footbridge or subway. 5.  Don’t try to retrieve anything dropped on the line.

Do you think it is necessary to follow all these rules? Why?

Exercise 3. Dramatize the dialogue.

At the station

-  Porter, will you see to my luggage, please?

-  Where for, sir?

-  I’m going by the 10 o’clock train to Glasgow. Will you have this trunk labelled and put in the luggage-van? The suitcase and bag can go on the luggage-rack.

-  Right, sir. What class?

-  First. Try and find me a corner seat in a smoker, facing the engine, if you can.

-  Have you got your ticket yet, sir?

-  Not yet. Where’s the booking-office?

-  Come along with me and I’ll show you. Here it is. I’ll meet you on the platform.

-  Which platform is it?

-  8, over there.

(at the booking-office)

-  One first to Glasgow, please.

-  Single or return?

-  Single. Do I have to change anywhere?

-  No, no change, it’s a through train.

-  Thank you.

(on the platform)

-  Here you are, sir. I’ve found you a corner seat next to the corridor. Your carriage is near the dining-car, and you can order lunch when the attendant comes along.

-  What time do we get to Glasgow?

-  You’re due to arrive at 6:15.

-  Thank you. Here you are.

-  Thank you, sir. I hope you’ll have a comfortable journey.

-  Well, I’ve still got a few minutes to spare, so I’ll go and get myself a novel or a detective story to while away the time during the journey.

-  Mind you don’t miss the train, sir.

-  That’s all right. The train doesn’t leave for another ten minutes, and it won’t take me more than five minutes to get a book.

Exercise 4. a) Render the story in the third person singular.

Last Tuesday I went to the railway station to see my friend off to New York. As we had about a quarter of an hour to spare before the departure of my friend’s train, we could have a look around.

A train was standing at one of the platforms ready to leave. Some of the passengers were looking out of the windows watching the late-comers who were hurrying along looking for empty seats. The engine was ready to draw the train out of the station. On another platform a train had just come in; some passengers were getting out, others were getting in. Those who had not taken the precaution of getting their tickets beforehand were waiting in queues at the booking-office.

At the bookstalls people were choosing books, magazines or newspapers for the journey. At the cloak-room others were leaving or collecting their luggage. Further along there were refreshment rooms with people snatching a hasty meal, while those with time to spare were sitting in the waiting rooms.

Exercise 5. Read the text and speak on the advantages of travelling by train.

There are various means of travel. We can travel by train, boat, plane, car and finally we can travel on foot. Should you ask me what kind of transport I like best, I’d speak in support of the train. With a train you have speed, comfort and pleasure combined.

Fancy your arriving at a station. What place is more interesting than a big station? There is the movement, the excitement, the gaiety of the people going away and sorrow of those who are seeing others off. There are the shouts of the porters as they pull luggage trucks along the platforms to the waiting trains, the crowd at the booking-office getting tickets, the children tightly holding on to the skirts of their mothers, and passengers hurrying to board the trains.

At last you manage to make your way through the crowd, closely following the porter, who has taken care of your luggage, and get out on to the platform. There are many tracks and trains there. No need for you to look round and read the signs that tell which train you must take. You follow your porter.

You show your ticket to the guard and in you go into a most wonderful carriage. All is bustle and confusion, with people filling in, bumping into each other. At last you manage to stow away your luggage and get out on to the platform for fresh air and bid farewell to the well-wishers who’ve come to see you off. But you have scarcely time to kiss and hug your friends when the station-master on duty signals the train. You hear no shrill whistle of the engine – the train pulls out of the station noiselessly and without a jerk.

You are on your way. You start up a conversation with your fellow-passengers (people take to each other quickly when travelling), and soon you get to know who is who and what. Now that the excitement of the day is over, you begin to feel hungry.

The dining-car steward happens to come along and you take bookings for dinner or supper, whichever it might be. As you go for the second sitting you have time to wash. By that time the guard has made your bed. You take your towel and go to the toilet to wash yourself.

You feel tired now, after a hearty meal, so you decide to turn in. You get into your upper berth and begin to absorb the beauty of the changing scenes that fly past you – the cheerful fields of wheat and corn, the meadows under a mantle of flowers, grass and green moss, the rivers that run through wood-land countries, the forests with their delicious sense of peace, and the mountains ribbed with sharp, steep ridges. But drowsiness creeps over you. You close your eyes and soon drift away into that vast mysterious void which men call sleep.

Exercise 6. Read the text and do the assignments.

Mrs.L. panted along the platform in the wake of the porter carrying her suit-case. Mrs.L. was burdened with a large quantity of parcels, the result of a day’s Christmas shopping. The race was, therefore, an uneven one.

No I platform was not at the moment unduly crowded, a crowd was rushing in several directions at once, to and from undergrounds, left-luggage offices, tea-rooms, inquiry offices, indicator-boards, and the two outlets, Arrival and Departure, to the outside world.

Mrs.L. and her parcels arrived eventually at the entrance to No 3 Platform. She searched her bag for the ticket that would enable her to pass the stern uniformed guardian at the gate. At last Mrs.L. found her ticket and presented it. The man clipped it and murmured: «On the right-rear portion».

Mrs.L. went up the platform and found her porter outside the door of a third-class carriage.

«Here you are, lady».

«I’m travelling first-class», said Mrs.L.

«You didn’t say so», grumbled the porter.

The porter retrieved the suit-case and marched with it to the adjoining coach where Mrs.L. was installed in solitary splendour. Mrs.L. handed the porter his tip which he received with disappointment clearly considering it more applicable to third-class than to first-class travel.

Comprehension questions.

1.  Why was Mrs.L. burdened with a large quantity of parcels?

2.  Where was a crowd rushing to and from?

3.  Who is allowed to pass to a platform by the uniformed guardian?

4.  Where did Mrs.L. find her porter?

5.  Was the porter satisfied with the tip?

6.  What class was Mrs. L. travelling by?

Compose a dialogue on the following situation:

Mrs. L. arrives home and tells her husband about the trip to the city. She

complains of crowds in shops, crowds at the railway station, a stern guardian at the gate, an impolite porter, etc.