Read the following texts, paying your attention to the words in bold type. Think of the Russian equivalents for them.
AIR TRAVEL
When you arrive at the airport, you can look at the departures board which shows the flight numbers(e.g. BA735), departure times (e.g. 0840) and destinations (e.g. Venice). At the check-in desk they weigh your luggage. Usually you can take about 20 kilos. If it is more, you may have to pay excess baggage (= you pay extra). They also check your ticket and give you a boarding card for the plane with your seat number on it. Then you go through passport control where an official checks your passport, and into the departure lounge. Here, you can also buy things in the duty free, e.g. perfume or alcohol. About half an hour before take-off, you go to a gate number, e.g. gate 14, where you wait before you get on the plane. When you board (= get on) the plane, you find your seat. If you have hand luggage, you can put it under your seat or in the overhead locker above your seat. If there are no delays (= when you have to wait until a later time for some reason), the plane moves towards the runway. (= the area where planes take off and land). The captain (= the pilot) or cabin crew (= people who look after passengers) may say these things:
• Please fasten your seat belt and put your seat in the upright position.
• May we remind passengers that there is no smoking now until you are inside the terminal building.
• The cabin crew are now coming round with landing cards.
When the plane lands, you have to wait for it to stop. When the doors are open, you get off the plane and walk through the terminal building and goto the baggage reclaim. You go through customs (GREEN = nothing to declare; RED - goods to declare). At most airports, you can hire a car.
TRAINS
These are things train passengers often say or ask:
Singleto Edinburgh, please. (= a ticket to Edinburgh)
Return to Bath, please. (= a ticket to Bath and back)
Does this train go to (= take me to) Oxford? Do I have to change? (= change to another train) Is it a fast train or a stopping train?
A:Whichplatformfor Liverpool?B: Number three.
A: And when is the train due to arrive? (= timetabled to arrive)
BUSES
Sometimes buses are punctual(= arrive at the correct time), but not always. Where I live, buses should run(= travel/operate) every ten minutes, but sometimes I wait at the bus stopfor half anhour in a queue(= line of people), and then three buses come together, and they're all full up.(= full of people) Other times the bus is early and Imissit. (= Idon't catch it)
TAXIS
Taxis show what you have to pay on the meter.When you want the driver to stop, you can say this: Could you drop mehere? (= Could you stop here?) People often give taxi drivers a tip(= extra money as well as the fare). For example, if the fareis £8.40, you can give the driver £9.