Разговорный английский

P. Oh, you were rather quick, I should say. I hadn’t time to take a bite. Well, never mind. Will you help me to take the suitcase down?

M. Certainly.

P. Now where is my hat?

M. Look for it in the wardrobe.

P. It’s not there.

M. Have you looked for it in the other room?

P. Not yet.

M. Then do so.

P. Oh, here it is. Well, it seems that there’s nothing left behind. Go ahead, please. I’ll be down in a moment.

P. Here we are. Here, driver, take this. No, you may keep the change.

M. What are we going to do now?

P. We’ll have to hail a —. I say, porter, are you engaged? PORTER. No, sir. I’ll see to our luggage, if you please. What train?

P. The 9.00 to N. But we have to get tickets first. Say, Michael, you go with the porter to the waiting-room. I’ll go and get the tickets now. By the way, what’s your number, porter?

PORTER. 46, young man.

P. Thank you. Well, Michael, we meet in the waiting-room?

M. Yes, but do be quick — our time is short, you know.

P. No need to worry. Now where is the booking-office, I wonder? Oh, there it is.

P. Two tickets to L., please.

CLERK. What seats, young man?

P. Reserved berths, if you please.

CLERK. ... pounds, please.

P. Here you are. Thank you.

6.      IN THE PORT

N. {To a passer-by.) How do we get to Pier 2, please?

P. You are on your right way. Straight ahead and then to the right.

(They see the ship at the pier.)

M. My, what a beauty she is!

N. Yes. How many passengers can she accommodate, I wonder?

M. Some 500—600 at least. She is on her maiden voyage, don’t you know?

N. Really? They have lowered the gangway. Let’s hurry on board.

M. {On board the ship.) Which is the way to Cabin 24, 3rd class, please.

SAILOR. Straight ahead, then right and down. You’ll be attended to there.

N. It’s rather difficult to find one’s way here with all these narrow corridors, isn’t it?

2ND SAILOR. You’ll get accustomed to things here in no time, gentlemen. Well, here we are, Cabin 24, 3rd class. These are your berths.

M. But how small the cabin is! There is hardly any room to turn in here.

SAILOR. You may put your things here in this locker.

N. Who are we sharing the cabin with, I wonder?

SAILOR. You’ll find out in due time, I hope. The restaurant is on the main deck. A pleasant voyage, gentlemen.

N. We hope so. Thank you very much.

M. What do we do now? Go up on deck?

N. Of course. Let’s go up now.

7.      THE VOYAGE

M. I say, N., I feel rather queer.

N. Sea-sick already? Why, we are hardly out at sea yet.

M. Well, this rolling motion of the ship affects me somewhat.

N. I wouldn’t say you are much of a sailor then. Want to go down?

M. I’d rather not.

N. Hold on to the rail. Isn’t it a nice breeze?

M. Yes, it —. Say, N., are there any life-boats on this ship?

N. What! Have you lost confidence in the ship already?

M. Not quite, but —. We are in for a storm, I suppose. The sea is getting rough.

N. You’d better not look down, M. You’ll get giddy. Here, take this deck-chair and sit down for a while.

M. No, I think, I’ll go down, after all.

N. Hold tight, I’ll take you to your cabin. You’ll be all right by the morning.

M. I hope so.

N. We touch at K. at nine o’cl —.

M. I feel like vomiting, N.

N. Well, relax yourself and you’ll feel better. Well? How do you feel now?

M. Much better, thanks.

8.      IN THE PLANE

STEWARDESS. This way, gentlemen. These seats are yours.

N. Have we to strap ourselves with these belts now?

S. No, this is in case of emergency.

N. When we begin to tumble down, eh?

S. Complete safety is guaranteed. How do you take to flying, gentlemen?

N. Can’t say. I’ve never been in a plane before. Have you, M.?

M. Neither have 1.1 hope it won’t make me feel bad.

S. So do I. If you should want anything, gentlemen, there’s a stewardess call button over there. The individual loud-speaker is at your right.

M. With whom may we talk?

S. With the captain and me, sir.

M. Is smoking allowed here?

S. The sign over there will answer your question, sir.

M. Oh, yes. Thank you. It’ll be a good reminder.

S. The smoking-room is at the rear of the plane.

M. When do we take off?

S. In ten minutes’ time. If you feel tired you may adjust the seat in a reclining position.

N. Yes, thank you. How many hops do we make in our flight?

S. We are in for a non-stop flight, sir. If you feel hungry, you’ll be provided with a hot meal on the way.

N. Oh, that’s fine! And when can we have it?

S. As soon as we reach altitude. In the meantime you may read this booklet entitled “The ABCs of Jet Flight.” The reading light is above you. I hope you will enjoy the flight, gentlemen.

BOTH. Thank you.

9.      TRAVELLING BY CAR

As for me there is nothing better than to travel by car — a good, fast car I mean. When you are in an aeroplane, you have to be driven by someone else; travel by car is a more personal experience, for there you can drive yourself. You just sit down at the wheel, switch on the motor, step on the pedal with your foot and off the car goes.