Travelling

Talking points:

• Travelling as a necessity and a hobby, commuting to school
• Means of transport. Which of them do you prefer
• What are advantages and disadvantages of different means of transport
• Public transport, travelling by train
• Transport in London
• Travelling on holiday, abroad. Staying in hotel
• Travelling by plane

Travelling is very popular in the 21^st century. People all around the world travel for various reasons: one of them is tourism – especially during holidays. People want to see the most beautiful sights of world’s famous metropolis: Rome, Venice, London, Paris, Prague etc. Some people travel on business, for political or cultural reasons. Others travel for scientist purposes. Many people like travelling because it is exciting, they can see new places, meet new people and friends, eat something unusual. On the other hand travelling has some disadvantages – it may be dangerous: we can meet bad people, we can get lost, be murdered or our money can be stolen.

For travelling we can use many kinds of luggage according to the kind of trip. We use a knapsack for a longer sport journey, we can fix a tent and a sleeping bag to it. We use a rucksack when we go for a walk or to school. We use a suitcase when we go by coach and we needn’t carry it so often.

• Bus, train, tram, car, plane, ship, underground, cab, bike. There are many means of transport to choose from. Young people like hitchhiking. Some people prefer going by car, by air, by train, by bus. Some people love more romantic means of transport, e.g. going by yacht, hot-air ballooning, roller-skating. I preferred riding my bicycle because it is the cheapest and it doesn’t spoil nature. Now I prefer going by car because I’m lazy riding bicycle and going by car is comfortable.
• Train:
  advantages: fast, comfortable, not stressful, you can relax, work, eat here
  disadvantages: expensive, often delayed, sometimes crowded, you must travel at certain times, use other transport to get to the station

  Car:
  advantages: fast, quite a big trunk for luggage, you can travel everywhere and everytime
  disadvantages: expensive, expensive petrol, you can have a car accident

  Bus:
  advantages: it goes on time, in town there are many bus stops, cheaper than car and train
  disadvantages: slow, dirty, often crowded

• The most frequent public means of transport are buses and trains. The network of bus and train stops cover most inhabited places. Public transport is cheap, but also less comfortable. The bus and train stops in major cities are called stations. An ordinary railway station looks like this: a big hall with a ticket office where you can buy a single or return ticket and a seat reservation, the departures and arrivals board, a left luggage office or lockers, telephones, waiting hall, a restaurant and a drink machine. From this hall you go directly onto the right platform. From the platform we get on the train and look for a free seat in the compartment. If all the seats are occupied you must move into another carriage and try again there. When you are sitting in the train you can spend the time talking with some passenger, observe the landscape out the window. When the conductor comes you show him your ticket and he checks it. There aren’t conductors in many trains in Britain., but you usually hand over your ticket to a ticket collector after the journey before leaving the platform. After the train’s arrival we can get off.
• In London we can travel by a double-deckers, tube, cabs.
• When you travel on holiday you should look for accommodation appropriate to your demands. Before your arrival you should make a reservation and a book the room. You can get bed and breakfast or full board at a daily or weekly rate. Then you can enjoy your stay with help of some of the hotel’s services – a restaurant, a bar, a coffee shop, beauty salon or sport facilities like swimming pool or a fitness centre. The motels are situated mostly by the roads. The guest can park his car at the door of his own room. A special kind of accommodation for young people are youth hostels where it is possible to stay overnight at a low rate but only for a limited number of times. When you travel abroad you must have a necessary documents like valid passport, insurance and changed money.
• You arrive at the airport, get a trolley, go to the checking desk, check in your luggage, get a boarding card, go through passport centrum, go to the departure lounge, go to the duty free shops. You look at the departure board to see if your flight is boarding yet. The tells you which gate to go to. You go to your gate and bought the plane.