London Traffic

Traffic in London differs from that of the Continent. In England people say: ‘If you go left, you go right. If you go right, you go wrong’.

They say that once upon a time people kept to any side of the road they liked. But then they decided to make it a rule to keep to the left. As Napoleon hated the British very much, he decided that in France the people should keep to a different side. And later on in all the countries which he conquered he made the traffic keep to the right.

8. Speaking Practice Asking the Way

A. Here are some questions to answer. You are standing outside the railway station.

1. Can you tell me the way to the bus stop?

2. Can you direct me to the cinema, please?

3. I’m looking for the post office. Can you help me, please?

Now practise some more questions and answers in pairs.

B. Complete the questions in list A and the answers in list B to make dialogues of your own:

A. Could you tell me where ______________________ is?

the way to ____________________?

Where can I find a _________________________ ?

How far is the nearest _________________________?

Is there a_________________________ nearby?

You’ll find _________________________ on your left.

on your right.

right opposite.

on the corner.

B. It’s about a _________________________ minute’s walk.

Your best bet is to _________________________.

Carry straight on until you see _________________________ and

then _________________________.

C. Here are boxes of prepositions of movement

along up down over under past through out of across

and place

opposite on the corner of near between in front of behind in

Now work in pairs. Give each other detailed directions to get to the different places on the plan.

Unit four. Cars

Pre-reading Activity

• Can you drive a car?

• What make of a car do you like best of all?

• What various parts of a car do you know?

Make sure you know the following words:

queer – дивний

highway – широка дорога

stage-coach – диліжанс

rival – суперник

coach – екіпаж, запряжений кіньми

jolt – трясти, підкидати

stick out – висовувати, стирчати

cab – кабріолет, будка на возі

1. Read Part 1 and answer the following questions. How the Automobile Learned to Run

The automobile and the locomotive are the cousins. They have the same grandmother, who lives in a museum in Paris. It has a long body on three wheels, a seat in the middle and a steam-boiler in front. It was built by a Frenchman, Nicholas Cugnot, in 1769.

Other engineers continued his work, producing various strange-looking cars. One had its steam pipe in front, another at the back. One had three wheels, another had six. These queer machines were the parents of the locomotive and the automobile. They were just learning to go by themselves. Some could go as fast as six or seven miles an hour. People looked in amazement. To put a stove on wheels and expect it to take you somewhere!

In those days people travelled from one city to another in big stage-coaches. Each of them carried twenty passengers. The coachman sat on the top, driving a team of horses. The postman sat beside him and blew a horn.

Then the first steam coaches began to roll along the same dusty roads. The steam coach had many enemies, first of all the owners of horse-drawn stage-coaches. In Britain they got the government to help them in their war against the steam coaches. Very strict rules for steam coaches were introduced. The war between the two kinds of vehicles lasted thirty years. The stage-coach won.

1. What was queer about the parents of the automobile and the locomotive?

2. What were the stage coaches drawn by?

3. Who were the enemies of the steam coach?

Read Part 2 and respond by putting a plus (+) if the statement is true or a minus (-) if the statement is false.

The steam coach had still another rival – its younger brother, the railway train. One of the first locomotives was built in Russia by self-taught mechanics Cherepanovs, father and son. They did it in 1834-1835. The outstanding Russian inventors took the steam-engine off the roads and put it on rails – and they were right. The roads in those days were very bad, and it was hard for a heavy steam coach to move upon them. The engine often got damaged. Other engineers tried to build stronger engines, but could only make them heavier, which was still worse. And what a load of coal it took to draw such a heavy vehicle over a bad road! It was different however, when the machine was put on rails. The engine could be much lighter and it needed less coal, so did not cost so much to run.

The first railway was built by George Stephenson between Stockton and Darlington in England. The new invention seemed to put an end to the steam coach. But suddenly the highway locomotive, the old steam coach, blew its horn again. It raced along the roads at an unheard-of speed, leaving the coach horses far behind. How did this happen? The steam coach had stopped using steam. In 1886 Daimler and Benz, two German inventors, built a petrol engine. Have you ever come across the picture of the first automobile? If you look at it again, you will see how light and simple the fire cart has become. Of course, the motor of the first car is still weak; it is only one and a half horsepower. And when the automobile moves, it snakes and jolts its passengers very hard, much harder than a horse-drawn carriage.

1. The railway train was invented before the steam coach. ( )

2. The first steam coach moved upon bad roads. ( )

3. Those steam engines that were put on rails needed a lot of coal to draw them. ( )

4. The first railway was built by Stephenson in Germany. ( )

5. The inventors of the first petrol engine were from England. ( )

6. The first automobile was far from being comfortable. ( )

Read Part 3 and choose the one best answer A, B, C to the statements.

How to stop the terrible jolting? The roads could be made smooth by laying floors over them, or pillows could be attached to the car’s wheels.

Both of these things have been done. An asphalt pavement has been laid over the road like a smooth floor, and the wooden wheels have been replaced by rubber tyres filled with air. Motorcars have been constructed employing two, three and even four hundred horsepower engine. Today there are racing cars with as much as a thousand horsepower. The old stage-coaches have been forgotten. Even the railway can’t keep up with the automobile. The trains can run only on rails. But the automobile needs no rails. It can go anywhere. We now have cars that can run on ploughed fields, climb steep hills and even cross rivers and seas. The network of automobile highways has been greatly enlarged too.

A modern automobile is very beautiful. It has nothing unnecessary sticking out on it. It is streamlined – straight and smooth like an arrow. How comfortable and strong it is! Faster than a train and it can carry huge loads. It takes us out of town on a week-end, and it helps us build giant power-stations.

In the beginning automobile looked like a locomotive. Then it looked like a horse-drawn cab. Now it does not look like anything else. It looks like what it is – an automobile.

1. The terrible jolting could be stopped by

A. improving the roads.

B. putting pillows into the automobile.

C. making the wheels of a car more mobile.

2. The car wheels were

A. repaired.

B. reconstructed.

C. made better than before.

3. The automobiles which were invented afterwards could

A. run on rails.

B. go anywhere.

C. be enlarged greatly.

4. The automobiles of a new generation

A. look like a horse-drawn cab.

1	2	3	4

B. can make many different operations.

C. are very beautiful.