Аудирование (записи, тексты, задания): A commuter's story (показать текст + задания)


A commuter's story

I work in the City of London. I don't live there. Nobody lives in the City of Lon­don except care-takers and night watchmen. The City has a night popu­lation of only 5,200 but a day popula­tion of over 400,000. Four hundred thousand commuters every working day! Most of them don’t come from Central London but from the vast sub­urbs in the north, south, east and west. Some don't come from London at all but from places further away - small towns and country villages in Kent, for example, or the “garden cities" to the north of London.

The City sucks commuters in like a giant vacuum cleaner every morning. They come by British Rail and the Tube, by bus and on foot. Yes, on foot too! If you stand on London Bridge between eight and nine in the morning, you can see thou­sands of people all hurrying in one direction - north.

I come in on one of the countless commuter trains. If the train's on time, I arrive at Cannon Street at 8.53. Often the trains don't run on time. I don't know why British Rail can’t keep to their timetables. According to them, it's because the weather’s too cold - or too hot because of a strike or some technical failure, or any of a long list of other reasons.

We live in Blackheath. We, that's my wife Kay, our daughters Susan and Vicky, myself, and our dog Griff. Our house isn't new - in fact, it's 85 years old - and we've still got a heavy mortgage on it. But it’s homely, in a quiet road and not too far from the shops and the school. There’s a small garden - just right for people like us who don't have much time for gardening.

Kay works part-time in a local accountant’s office. We don't see much of each other in the week because I don’t get home till about seven and Kay has all sorts of even­ing activities in the local community. I don't usually go out in the evenings except perhaps to play squash or to have a drink with friends at the pub.

 

Задания:

1. Дайте краткие ответы на следующие вопросы.

Примеры:

Do you work in the City? - Yes, I do.
Do you live there too? - No, I don’t.
Are you single? - No, I'm not.

a) Do you live in Blackheath? b) Is Blackheath north of London? c) Do you go to work by bus? d) Do you go by British Rail? e) Do you arrive at Victo­ria? f) Are the trains always on time? g) Do you only work part-time? h) Have you got a house? i) Is it very far from the shops? j) Is there a garden? k) Do you have much time for gardening? l) Can you play squash?

2. Дайте ответы.


a) What kind of people live in the City of London? b) What’s the population of the City of London? c) Where do the commuters come from? d) Do the commuters all come to the City by British Rail? e) Do the trains always run on time? f) Why are trains delayed, according to British Rail?

3. Употребите подчеркнутые слова в отрицательной форме.

a) I’m very well, b) Our house is new. c) We’re in a hurry. d) They'ie complaining, e) You can use it as a vase, f) We’ve got a mortgage on our house, g) We have enough time for gardening, h) Most of the people who work in the City live in Central London, i) British Rail trains always run on time, j) I usually go out in the evenings.

4. Дайте ответы на следующие вопросы, касающиеся вас и вашего окружения.

a) Where do you work? b) Do you live in a house or in a flat? c) Is it quiet where you live? d) What kind of place do you live in? (City, town, village, suburb?) e) What’s the population of your city/town/village? f) How do you get to work? (By bus/tram/train/underground / on foot?) g) What time do you get home from work? h) Do trains in this country always run on time?

Have you got a dog? j) Have you got a garden? k) What do you do in the evening? 1) Do you watch TV a lot? m) Do you sometimes have a drink at the pub?

5. Дополните предложения.

Most of the people ... work in the City of London don’t live there ... working day, 400,000 commuters come to work in the City. They arrive by British Rail, by Tube, by bus or ... foot. The trains are often delayed - be­cause of the weather, because of strikes or technical failures, or for ... of a long list of other reasons. Brian Baker is an accountant … Blackheath in southeast London. He works ... a bank in the City. He usually leaves ... work at 8.15 a.m. and gets back at about 7 p.m. His wife has all sorts of even­ing activities, so they don’t see much of ... other in the week. Brian some­times goes out ... the evening to play squash or to have a drink with friends … the local pub.

6. Переведите.

а) Если поезд приходит вовремя, я приезжаю на <вокзал> Cannon Street в 8 <часов> 53 <минуты>. b) Если у вас работа в саду не занимает много вре­мени, то это как раз подходящий для вас сад. с) Если ты являешься руко­водителем тургруппы на Майорке, то у тебя остается мало времени для того, чтобы загорать, d) Если на Майорке слишком холодно, то я лечу на Канар­ские острова, е) Если мы торопимся, то (мы) можем взять (take) такси. f) Если стоишь утром между 8 и 9 часами на Лондонском мосту, то можешь видеть тысячи людей, спешащих на работу, g) Если хочешь стать руководи­телем тургруппы, то нужно быть холостым.