UNIT 1

TOURISM AND TRAVELLING

LEAD-IN

1 Work in pairs. Ask your

partner the following questions.

 Which forms of public transport do you

use? Which do you use most?
 Which form of transport do you
like/dislike? Why? Use expressions like:
I love / hate / can’t stand / don’t mind going
by bus.

2 Work in groups and list some different means of transport. Then discuss these
questions.

 What are the advantages and disadvantages of each one for long or short distances?
 How do you prefer to travel? Why?

3 Are these statements true or false in your experience?

1 Trains are more reliable than buses.

2 Train fares are more expensive than bus fares.
3 Train journeys are more interesting than bus journeys.
4 Cars are more convenient than buses.
5 Railway stations are nicer places than bus stations.
6 Travelling by plane is more comfortable than travelling by train.
7 Travelling by boat is cheaper than travelling by any means of transport.

READING

4. You will read an article about different kinds of vehicles. Before you read, discuss the
following questions.
• What kind(s) of transport do you use when you travel for pleasure?
• Have you ever managed to go on board one of the largest liners? What did you see there?

5. Match the words in the box with their definitions (1-10).

bicycle landing-stage top deck bridge harbour steamer
porter airfield crew pier
1 It’s a large ship that uses steam to produce power.
2 It’s the outside top level of a ship that you can walk on.
3 It’s a wooden structure onto which passengers and goods are landed from boats.
4 These are people working on a ship, plane, etc.
5 It’s a structure built over a river, road, etc. that allows people or vehicles to cross from one side
to the other.
6 It’s an area of water next to the land where the water is calm, so that ships are safe when they
are inside it.
7 It’s a structure that is built out into the water so that boats can stop next to it.
8 It’s a place where planes can fly from.
9 It’s someone whose job is to carry traveller’s bags at railway stations, airports, etc.
10 It’s a two-wheeled vehicle that you ride by pushing its pedals with your feet.

6. Read the text then, for questions 1-5, choose the best answer, A, B, C or D.

There are various means of transport at the disposal of those who travel either for
pleasure or on business. If you don't like travelling on foot you can also use a bicycle or a motor-
bike. With motor-car one can travel comfortably for long distances. You can also travel by sea
and modern liners. They are very comfortable for the passengers.
Last Wednesday I went down to Belfast Docks to see my friend off to France on one of
the largest liners. These steamers are huge indeed when you see them from the landing-stage.
I managed to go on board and have a look round. From top deck I could see the huge
cranes lifting the cargo and depositing it in the holds. I saw members of the crew carrying out
their duties in various parts of the ship while the captain watched the operations and gave his
orders from the bridge. Then the siren sounded and the visitors left the ship. Finally the ship
began to move off, and the passengers, leaning over the rails, waved good-bye tо their friends
standing below. Slowly the ship left the harbour, passing beyond the pier and gradually
disappeared in the distance.
You can go by air as well, as air ships can carry passengers to various parts of the world
very quickly.
A few days later I myself had to go to New York. The journey was urgent and I went by
air. I went to the airport by a special bus provided by the company. On the airfield we saw a
large plane waiting for us. We climbed into it, and in some minutes it took off. Very soon we
saw New York. It wasn't long before we arrived at our destination. The pilot made a perfect
landing and we got out of the plane.
But a lot of people prefer travelling by train, too. Railway is still one of the most popular
means of communication and it is cheap.
Now we are at a big railway station. There are many platforms at which trains come in
and from which they go out. We see a train standing at one of the platforms. It is ready to leave.
Some of the passengers are looking out of the windows. They are watching the late-comers who
are hurrying and looking for empty seats. Many people have come to see their friends and
relatives off. They say goodbye to each other, the porters are very busy. They are carrying
luggage to the train or pushing it on their tracks. On one of the platforms a train has just come.
Some passengers are getting out. This train has made a long journey. It's an express train. It
doesn't stop at each station. There are other trains on the platform ready to leave. Some of them
are stopping trains, some long distance and fast trains. People are hurrying in all directions. The
station-master is in the office next to the booking-office.
Some people are choosing books, newspapers and magazines for the journey at the
bookstalls. The refreshment rooms are crowded with people, who are having a hasty meal.

1 Someone could find out from this text

A how to reach France in the most comfortable way.
B how to carry passengers fast to various parts of the world.
C how to travel comfortably for long distances.
D a variety of travelling methods.
2 Last Wednesday the man went down to Belfast Docks
A to meet his friend.
B to go on board one of the largest liners.
C to say good-bye to his friend.
D to watch the crew’s operations.

3 What did the man do a few days later?

A provided a special bus to the airport.
B was waiting some minutes to climb into the plane.
C arrived in New York as quickly as he had done before.
D left for New York.
4 How many types of trains are mentioned in the text?
A one
B two
C three
D four
5 What is the writer’s attitude to travelling by train?
A It is convenient to watch the late-comers out of the windows.
B Itis not expensive.
C There are too many platforms.
D You can choose any book you like at the bookstalls.

7. Work in pairs. Answer the following questions on the text. Then, using your
answers, give a summary of the text.

1 What means of transport can people use when they don’t like travelling on foot?
2 Why did the man go down to Belfast Docks?
3 What did the man see on board one of the largest liners?
4 When and how did the ship leave the harbour?
5 How did the man get to New York?
6 Did it take him much time to arrive at the destination?
7 What can be seen at a big railway station?
 WELCOME TO HEATHROW

London’s Heathrow is the busiest

international airport in the world. It handles over
350,000 international flights every year – about 41
million passengers. Around 54,000 people work at
Heathrow, roughly the population of a country
town.
Huge machines wash the airport’s three
runways and clear away the oil left by jet engines.
Burst tyres can cause a crash, so special trucks
continuously check the runways and pick up any
loose pieces of metal. Birds can cause crashes if they
get pulled into the engines, and staff work day and night to keep them away from the runways.
Their trucks have
loudspeakers which send out bird alarm calls and they also use guns with blank cartridges to
frighten the birds away.
In the control tower, 150 air traffic controllers bring the planes in and send them off
safely. As a plane comes in to land, it normally keeps a distance of five or six kilometres from
the planes in front and behind, but in the case of large jumbo jets, the distance behind has to be
10 kilometres. The air turbulence behind these planes can send a small plane out of control.
Near the centre of the airport is the police station. It has a huge picture board of known
world terrorists, 14 dogs that can smell drugs and 300 police officers.
There is an aircraft alert almost every day. This happens every time an aircraft lands with
one engine shut down or if the pilot cannot lower the plane’s wheels. The emergency services
can lay a carpet of foam on the runway in less than four minutes.
The Medical Centre has eight nurses and three doctors always on standby. The most
common illness is heart attack. Every year about 30 people die in this way while travelling to or
through Heathrow.
Because of the noise, only a few flights are permitted between midnight and six in the morning.
So during the night Heathrow Airport has its most welcome visitor of all – silence.
Amazing facts …
• Every year Heathrow handles over 57,000,000 items of baggage.
• There are 9,200 baggage trolleys for passengers – more than at any other airport.
• Airport’s cafes and bars serve over 23,500 cups of coffee and tea and 11,500
sandwiches every day.
• Heathrow’s duty-free shops sell 500 million cigarettes every year.
• For every 10 cm of snow falling on the airport, staff have to remove 74,000 tons of
snow to keep the airport open.
• Heathrow averages around 100 take-offs and landings every day – that’s about one
per minute from 6 a.m. till midnight.
3,000,000 litres of aviation fuel are used every day.
• 70 airlines use Heathrow. They fly direct to 214 destinations in 85 countries.

1. Before reading the text below, match the words in the box with their definitions (1-8).
 handle runway tyre truck engine jumbo jets aircraft wheel
1 It means to control the movement of a vehicle, tool, etc.
2 It’s a plane or other vehicle that can fly.
3 It’s a long specially prepared hard surface like a road on which aircraft land and take off.
4 It’s a thick round band of rubber that fits around the wheel of a car, bicycle, etc.
5 It’s a large road vehicle used to carry goods.
6 It’s a piece of machinery with moving parts that changes power from steam, electricity, oil, etc.
into movement.
7 It’s a very large aircraft for carrying passengers.
8 It’s one of the round things under a car, bus, bicycle, etc. that turns when it moves.

2. Fill the gaps (a-k) with numbers (1-11) from the box. Then check your answers in
the text.

a Heathrow airport handles over ___ items of baggage every year. 1 14

b More than _____ people work at Heathrow airport. 2 30

c Every day around _____ planes take off and land at Heathrow. 3 85

d Around _____ litres of aviation fuel are used every day. 4 1000
e Heathrow’s police station has _____ dogs that can smell drugs. 5 9,200

f The duty-free shops sell _____ cigarettes every year. 6 23,500

g Every year, around _____ people die of heart attacks travelling to or 7 53,000
through Heathrow.
h _____ cups of tea and coffee are served in the airport every day. 8 74,000

i There are _____ baggage trolleys for passengers to use. 9 3,000,000

j If 10 cm of snow falls, staff have to clear _____ tons of snow. 10 57,000,000
k You can fly direct from Heathrow to _____ countries. 11 500,000,000

3. Read the text to decide if each statement (1-6) is correct or incorrect. If it is

correct, choose A (Yes). If it is not correct, choose В (No).

Statements A B
Yes No
1 ‘They have to keep washing the runways.’
2 ‘Birds aren’t a problem to modern aircraft.’
3 ‘If you’re in a small plane, you shouldn’t fly too close behind a
jambo jet. ’
4 ‘If a plane can’t lower its wheels, it has to land on the grass beside
the runway.’
5 Annually about thirty people die of different diseases while
travelling through Heathrow.
6 ‘There aren’t any flights from Heathrow after midnight.’
 4. Work in pairs. Discuss the following questions.

 Have you ever flown on a plane or helicopter?

 When did you last go to an airport?
 Why did you go there?
 Which airport was it, and what was it like?
 Have you been to any other airports?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of flying compared to other kinds of
 transport?
5. You will hear a radio announcer giving
some information about a cycling
holiday with Pathway Holidays. Before
listening discuss the following
questions.

• Is cycling an exciting method of travelling?

• Have you ever cycled around 40 km a day?
• Would you like to go on a cycling holiday one
day? Why? Why not?
• If you went on a cycling tour, would you rather
hire a bicycle or bring your own one?

6. Fill in the table with the words below. There is an example (1). Use the words more
than once.

driver, car, drives, board, taxi rank, train, flies, harbour, rides, plane, cyclist,
airport, (air)fare, catch/take, taxi, get on/get off, bicycle, get in/out, pilot, rides,
railway station, bus, boat, sail

1 bus driver drives fare catch/ get on/ bus

take off station
2
3
4
5
6
 7. Cross out the incorrect word in these sentences.

1 You mustn’t ride/drive a motorbike without a crash helmet.

2 She told him to get in/get on the car and fasten his seat belt.
3 Bus fares/tickets are getting more expensive.
4 Trains to the airport travel/run every half hour.
5 The pilot couldn’t drive/fly the plane in such bad weather.
6 We were late, so we had to take/catch a taxi.
7 I left my house a bit late and I lost/missed the bus.
8 I get to work by/on bus.
9 I waited at the bus/railway station for ten minutes, then two buses arrived.
10 If you don’t like travelling by/on foot, you can go on a cycling tour.

8. Match these verbs with the correct forms of transport, then use one of the verbs to
complete 1- 6. You may use some verbs more than once.
sail park drive ride catch miss get into get off/on take land ship bus car
bike plane train
1 Cars are not allowed to … through the city centre.
2 You can … your car outside our house.
3 You should never … a bicycle without wearing a safety helmet.
4 The plane … on the runway in the airport.
5 I was late for school because I … the bus.
6 The policeman stopped me and asked me to … the bike.
7 The young people had a chance to … on a large ship.
8 Some passengers … the trains to make a long journey.
9 The cyclists have to … up too many hills.
10 Unfortunately they couldn’t manage to … the bus.

9. Three people say how they get from Washington to New York. Fill the gaps (1-8)
with words from the box. Use the words more than once.

costs reaches gets takes leaves arrives

A B
I usually fly. I leave home at
6.30, I can catch the 7.30
a.m. flight, which (1)
______ to La Guardia
Airport at about 8.30. I’m in
the centre of New York by
9.15 so the whole journey
(2) ______ less then three
hours. It’s expensive – it (3)
______ about $ 300 return –
but it’s very quick. And
there’s a plane every hour.
I usually take the
Greyhound bus. It (4)
______ Washington at 9
a.m., and (5) ______ in New
York at 1.40 in the
afternoon. The New York
bus terminal is in
Manhattan, so it’s very
convenient, and it only (6)
______ about $ 85 return on
weekdays.
C
I usually go by train,
because it’s only a bit
slower than the plane and
it’s more reliable. It’s about
$ 100 return. The journey
(7) ______ about 4 hours. I
usually catch the 10.30
train, which (8) ______
New York at 10 past 2. It’s
comfortable, and it’s always
on time.

Say what’s the best thing about • the plane? • the bus? • the train?

10. A travel agent is explaining transport choices to a customer who wants to

travel from London to Edinburgh. Use the information below and the words in the
box to complete the explanation.

journey time fare

bus 10 hours £40
train 5 hours £75
plane 1 hour £99

quicker • the cheapest • more interesting • the most expensive • more expensive • the
quickest • the longest

‘Basically, you can go by train, by bus, or you can fly. The bus is (1) _______ option, but it
takes (2) _______ . Flying is (3) _______, but obviously it’s (4) _______ - it only takes an hour.
The train is (5) _______ than the bus, but it’s (6) _______, and because it goes through beautiful
countryside it’s a (7) _______ journey.’
11. Сhoose the most suitable word (A, B, C or D) for each space (1-15).

Most people enjoy going (1) …C… for their holidays, and having the opportunity to (2)
… in an interesting city or a seaside (3) … . If you speak (4) … languages, you can make new
friends, and (5) … home some interesting (6) … as presents. But before you can do that, you
have to (7) … your destination, and that is often a problem! If you fly, then you may find that
your flight has been (8) … . (9) … by train can also be difficult, since trains are often (10) … in
the summer, and you might have to reserve a (11) … in advance. Whichever way you (12) …,
you can have problems with your (13) … , and it is often difficult to find good (14) … . Apart
from this, you might not be able to afford the (15) … !

1 A out B forward C abroad D foreign

 2 A remain B pass C spend D stay
3 A resort B post C too D one
4 A strange B stranger C foreigner D foreign
5 A fetch B take C go D get
6 A memories B souvenirs C memoirs D recollections
7 A reach B arrive C go D travel
8 A waited B reversed C delayed D booked
9 A Journeys B Travels C Voyages D Passes
10 A filling B occupied C overdone D crowded
11 A post B chair C seat D position
12 A voyage B travel C trip D tour
13 A baggages B luggage C goods D sacks
14 A staying B homes C lodges D accommodation
15 A fare B fair C far D fur

WRITING

31 Imagine that you recently accompanied a group of travellers on a trip involving

several means of transport. Write a story (in 100-120 words) of the trip using as many of
the words in the box below as you can.

liner sail set off platform harbour cruise baggage passenger

stewardess landing taking off destination airport delay
far-away places en route via total cost bicycle cheap expensive beautiful
countryside departure

Useful tips
•before starting your story, it is important to make a plan;
•write down some ideas for the story; think about these questions:
1 When and where did you start?
2 Who did you go with?
3 How much baggage did you take along?
4 What means of transport did you go by first?
5 What was the route/itinerary like?
6 What happened in the middle of the journey?
7 How did you get your destination?

•don’t try to write a complicated story that needs words you don’t know.