Разговорный английский

G. Three, please.

ANN. I wonder why they don’t have more trams running on Sundays? These tram rides are horrible.

B. They are indeed, especially on a day like this. But isn’t it time to move ahead?

G. Yes! I think it is. (To a passenger.) I say, young man, could you possibly move a little to the left. Come on, Ann.

ANN. Well, here we are, after all.

3.      A TAXI

P. Are you engaged, driver?

D. No, sir. Where do you wish me to take you?

P. To the station.

D. Victoria Station, sir?

P. Yes, but I have to pick up my luggage first.

D. Where is it, sir?

P. 21, N. Street.

D. All right, step in, please.

D. Well, here we are, sir.

P. Yes, I’ll be back in a moment. (Goes into the house; shortly after comes out with a suitcase.)

D. Allow me, please. (Takes the suitcase and puts it into the car.) Is that all, sir?

P. Yes, we may start.

D. Yes, sir. Bang the door, please.

P. Drive faster. I’m afraid I shall be late.

D. Yes, sir. What’s your train?

P. The 5.15.

D. It’s 4.30 now. We shall be there much before time.

P. I hope so.

D. Here is the station, sir.

P. Yes. How much is it?

D. ... shillings, sir. Here is your suitcase.

P. Yes, thank you. Here you are.

D. Thank you, sir. A pleasant journey.

XIV. Travelling

1. TRAVELLING BY TRAIN

There are various means of travel. We can travel by train, boat, aeroplane, car and finally we can travel on foot. You have, ail of you, done a certain amount of travelling, so let’s talk about the method of travel you like best.

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. Suppose you want to go from Moscow to Vladivostok. The taxi brings you to one of the biggest stations in Moscow — the “Severny Terminal.”

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 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 train.

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, and here you are — Car number 2, Train —.

You show your ticket to the guard and in you go into a most wonderful carriage. All is bustle and confusion, with people filing in,

bumping into each other, and what not. 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 have come to see you off.

But you have scarcely time to kiss and hug your friends when the station-master on duty, in a red cap, 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 dinner¹ 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 in². 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 woodland 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.

Vocabulary Notes

¹ to take booking for dinner — сделать предварительный заказ на обед ² to turn in {coll.) — ложиться спать

2. TRAVELLING BY SEA

For me there is no travel so fine as by sea. There are many things that make travel by sea a fascinating thing for me. Though I am not much of a sailor, I love the sight of a ship with its many decks, cabins and staterooms. It looks like a huge white floating city. It is delightful to be out at sea, too, and promenade the desk or sit in a deck-chair and take the sun.