Two people are discussing travelling by sea. What arguments do they give in favour and against this means of transport? Listen to find out

SEA OR AIR

Susan: Are you looking forward to you trip to Canada, Julie?

Julie: I can’t wait to see Canada, Susan, but I’m scared stiff of the journey. My husband insists on flying, but I want to sail. Planes make me nervous.

Susan: There is nothing to be frightened of. How many planes fly across the Atlantic every day?

Julie: I’ve no idea. Hundreds, I suppose.

Susan: And how often do you hear of a crash?…Once or twice a year?

Julie: Yes, but aeroplanes fly so high and fast that once is enough.

Susan: Look, there are more road casualties per day than air deaths per year. Air transport is really safe compared with road transport.

Julie: I’d still prefer to go by sea. Ships may not travel fast but at least you can relax. I’d love a trip on a luxury liner like the Queen Elizabeth II.

Susan: It’s fine if you are a good sailor, but have you ever travelled far in a rough sea?

Julie: No. I’ve only been in a boat once. I sailed down the river Thames on a sightseeing tour…But in any case I’d rather be sea-sick than dead.

Exercise 19.

TRAVELLING BY SEA

Many people enjoy travelling by sea. They say it is the most pleasant means of travelling. They mean travelling by an ocean liner, which combines comfort and speed. You feel as if you are walking on good solid ground when on board the big liner. You can enjoy fresh sea air, the sights of the sea and the sky. No matter what the sea might be – calm or stormy, you feel comfortable and safe on board the big liner. But smaller ships are less comfortable and in rough sea many passengers will be most unhappy. They get seasick and then travelling by sea becomes a real torture for them.

If you have made up your mind to travel by sea you should book passage on board a modern liner. These liners are real floating cities with all modern conveniences and a wide choice of sport and entertainment facilities. Every modern liner has a number of decks with all sorts of names, such as “promenade deck”, “sun deck”, etc. There are passenger cabins above and below deck. A cabin looks very much like a compartment of a railroad sleeping car, but the windows are different. In a cabin they are known as portholes.

You needn’t worry about your meals on board the modern liner. Restaurants will take care of you. In short, if you are not seasick the voyage will give you many moments of pleasure.

Answer the questions:

1. What facilities for sports and entertainment are provided on big ocean liners?

2. What are some of the advantages of sailing on larger ships?

3. What kind of decks does a modern liner usually have?

Exercise 20.

Lesson № 40

Exercise 21.

1. Imagine that you work for a travel agency. You must provide your clients with exhaustive information. Write about advantages and disadvantages of each way of travelling.

a travel agency – туристическое агентство

exhaustive – исчерпывающая

2. Give comments on the lists of advantages and disadvantages. Work in small groups. Let the others agree or disagree with you.

Exercise 22.

Speak on what means of travelling you would advise to different categories of people and explain why:

- businessmen;

- sick people;

- old people;

- holiday-makers;

- adventurers;

- a family with small children;

- a group of students.

Exercise 23.

Speak on your travelling experience:

- what you have travelled by, when, where;

- how you spent the time and how you felt about the trip;

- …

Exercise 24.

Comment upon the quotations.

· A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.

Moore

· The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page.

St. Augustine

· Travel makes a wise man better, and a fool worse.

Thomas Fuller

· I should like to spend the whole of my life in travelling abroad, if I could anywhere borrow another life to spend afterwards at home.

William Hazlitt

· A wise traveller never despises his own country.

Carlo Goldoni

· When we are young we travel to see the world, afterwards to make sure it is still there.

Cyril Connolly

Exercise 25.

Read this extract from a book called “The Beach” by Alex Garland. Why did the author go travelling?

The Beach

A few years ago I was going through the process of splitting up with my first serious girlfriend. She went away to Greece for the summer and when she came back she’d had a holiday romance with some Belgian guy. More than that, that guy was going to show up in London some time over the next few weeks. After three terrible days and nights, I realised that I was dangerously close to losing my head. I biked over to my dad’s flat and asked him to give me enough cash to leave the country.

On that trip I learnt something important. Escape through travel works. Almost from the moment I boarded my flight, life in England became meaningless. Seat-belt signs lit up, problems switched off. Broken armrests became more important than broken hearts. By the time the plane was in the air I’d forgotten England ever existed.

Here are some reasons for travelling. What reason did Alex travel for?

· to escape boredom

· to run away from a broken heart

· to broaden your experience of the world

· to learn languages

· to get a suntan

· to live out your dreams

· to take a break from your career

· to visit historical places

· to raise money for charity

Have you ever travelled for any of these reasons?

Exercise 26.

Read the extract from Gerald Durrell’s book “My family and Other Animals”. Say what each of the family members took.

We all travelled light, taking with us only what we considered to be the most important things. When we opened our luggage for Customs inspection, the contents of our bags were a fair indication of character and interests.

Thus Margo’s luggage contained a lot of fine and thin garments, three books on slimming, and a very large number of small bottles each containing some elixir guaranteed to cure acne.

Leslie’s case held a couple of roll-top pullovers and a pair of trousers which were wrapped round two revolvers, an air-pistol, a book called “Be Your Own Gunsmith,” and a large bottle of oil that leaked.

Larry was accompanied by two trunks of books and a brief-case containing his clothes.

Mother’s luggage was sensibly divided between clothes and various books of cooking and gardening.

I travelled with only those items that I thought necessary to make my journey interesting: four books of natural history, a butterfly net, a dog, and a jam-jar full of caterpillars.

Thus, by our standards fully equipped, we left the clammy shores of England.

Can you say that the contents of your bags are a fair indication of your character and interests?

Exercise 27.

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