Booking Airline Tickets by Telephone

Clerk: Good morning, can I help you?

Client: I’d like to reserve a seat on a morning flight to London next Wednesday.

Clerk: I can offer you two flights: at 7.30 a.m. and at 10 a.m. Which would you prefer?

Client: I’d rather go by the 7.30.

Clerk: First class or economy?

Client: Economy, please.

Clerk: Ok. Anything else?

Client: When is the plane due in London?

Clerk: At 12.30. There are no delays, as a rule. Can I have your name, address and telephone number, please?

Client: Sure. (gives the information required)

Clerk: We’ll deliver the ticket two days before your departure. Thank you for calling us.

Checking in for the Flight

Clerk: May I have your ticket, sir?

Passenger: Yes, here it is.

Clerk: Will you put your bags on the scales?

Passenger: Shall I have my carry-on things weighed, too?

Clerk: Yes, sir. I’m afraid, you’ll have to pay extra.

Passenger: How much?

Clerk: Twenty pounds, please.

Passenger: Here you are.

Clerk: Thank you, sir. Where would you like to sit?

Passenger: I’d rather have a window seat.

Clerk: Smoking or non-smoking?

Passenger: Non-smoking, please.

Clerk: Here is your boarding pass, sir. And hurry up. Your flight is boarding at Gate 7.

Going through the Security Check

Officer: Will you put all your carry-on luggage on the belt, sir?

Passenger: Sure, here you are.

Officer: Now go through here, please. Are you wearing any metal?

Passenger: Metal? Yes, this watch.

Officer: Please, take it off and step through here again. Now it’s okay. Thank you. Here is your watch. Have a good flight, sir.

Passenger: Thank you.

Going through the Passport Control

Officer: May I see your passport, sir?

Passenger: Yes, of course, here it is.

Officer: Is it your first visit to Great Britain?

Passenger: Yes, that’s right.

Officer: And what is the purpose of your trip?

Passenger: It’s business. I am going to participate in a trade exhibition.

Officer: I see. How long and where are you going to stay in London?

Passenger: About ten days. I’ll be staying at the Central Hotel. Here is the reservation.

Officer: Very well, sir. Welcome to London and I hope you will enjoy your visit.

Passenger: Thank you.

UNIT 7

Staying at a Hotel

When people go to other countries or cities, either on business or for pleasure, they usually stay at a hotel. There are different kinds of rooms available at hotels: a single room, a double room and a suite. Any room will have a bed, a shower or a bath, a TV-set, nowadays – access to the Internet, sometimes a balcony, etc. Good hotels try to make their accommodation comfortable and cosy to attract guests.

Modern hotels offer such facilities as a swimming pool, a sauna, a gym, a business centre or a conference hall, car park and an airport shuttle, that is, a special bus which takes the guests to and from the airport. Also, there can be different restaurants, cafes, bars and shopping centres on the territory of the hotel. If necessary, the guests can use such services as the hairdresser’s or the barber’s, the laundry, the dry cleaner’s, etc.

When you plan your trip, it is a good idea to choose and reserve your hotel accommodation in advance. This can be done by phone. The information that the receptionist can ask you will include your name and nationality, the number of nights and the method of payment, that is, cash or cheque or credit card, for example. Sometimes this information has to be confirmed by fax.

Study and learn the following vocabulary:

1 hotel [həʊʹtel] – отель, гостиница

2 stay at – останавливаться в

3 on business – по делам, в командировку

4 for pleasure [ʹpleʒə] – дословно ради удовольствия, т.е. в личных целях

5 either … or … – либо …, либо

6 single room одноместный номер

7 double [dʌbl] room – двухместный номер

8 suite [swi:t] – люкс

9 access [ʹækses] to – доступ к

10 accommodation [əʹkɔməʹdeɪʃn] – жилье

reserve [ri:ʹsə:v] accommodation in advance [əʹdva:ns] – зарезервировать жилье заранее

11 guest [gest] – гость; здесь жилец, постоялец

12 cosy [ʹkəʊzɪ] – уютный

13 comfortable [̗̗̗ʹkʌmfətəbl] – удобный

14 facilities [fəʹsɪlɪtɪz] – условия, удобства, возможности

15 airport shuttle [ʃʌtl] – автобус, совершающий регулярные рейсы между конкретной гостиницей и аэропортом

16 hairdresser’s [ʹhɛədresəz] – женская парикмахерская

17 barber’s [ʹba:bəz] – мужская парикмахерская

18 laundry [ʹlɔ:ndrɪ] – прачечная

19 dry cleaner’s [ˌdraıʹkli:nəz] – химчистка

20 receptionist [rɪʹsepʃənɪst] – администратор в гостинице

21 nationality [̗̗̗ˌnæʃəʹnælɪtɪ] – гражданство

22 payment [ʹpeɪmənt] – оплата

pay in cash [kæʃ] – платить наличными

pay by cheque [ʧek] – платить чеком

pay by card [ka:d] – платить картой

23 confirm [kənʹfə:m] by fax [fæks] – подтвердить по факсу

Answer the following questions on the topic:

1 Where do people usually stay when they go to other countries or cities?

2 What types of rooms are usually available at hotels?

3 What will any room have?

4 What facilities do modern hotels offer their guests?

5 What services can the guests use at hotels?

6 When is it better to choose and book your accommodation when planning a trip?

7 What information will the receptionist ask you?

8 How can you pay for your hotel room?

Read the dialogues and memorize them or make up your own by analogy.