Read and translate the text. Holidays.Travelling

Last summer Nick spent his holidays in London. His schoolmate moved there some years ago and invited Nick to visit him. He went there by plane. He booked his ticket in advance. He rang up the air-travel booking office and reserved a seat for the fifteenth of July. " Will you come for your ticket yourself or do you want it delivered? " asked the booking-office clerk. " I'd like my ticket delivered, please, " said Nick, because he did not want to waste his time going to the booking office and standing in a queue. The plane to London took off at 9 a.m., but he had to be at the airport an hour before to register his ticket. Nick's seat was near the porthole and he could see how they took off in St.Petersburg and landed in London. They were flying at a height of six thousand metres, so Nick could see only clouds through the porthole. The hostess offered the passengers some snacks and soft drinks. The flight was very pleasant. It took Nick some hours to get to London. The way back was also pleasant. Nick could get a ticket for a plane. He had to stand in a long queue to get a ticket for a plane. When at last his turn came, he said to the booking-office clerk: " Please, I want a ticket to St.Petersburg for the fourth of August with changing in Moscow.” He wanted to visit his sister in Moscow. There were a lot of trains going from Moscow to St.Petersburg every day, so he hoped to punch the ticket. He was right. When he arrived in Moscow, he consulted the time-table and saw that there were ten trains to ST.Petersburg. It did not take him long to punch his ticket. He just had time to drop into a bar and have a snack before his train started. The train was comfortable. Nick had a lower berth in a separate compartment. In the morning he was in ST.Petersburg.

Active vocabulary

To spend – проводить

To book – заказать

Queue – очередь

Porthole – иллюминатор

To take off – взлететь

To land – приземлиться

Cloud – облако

Hostess – стюардесса

Snack – закуска

Berth – полка

Answer the following questions.

1. Where did Nick spend his holidays? 2. How did he travel to London? 3. How did Nick book a ticket? 4. What date did he reserve a seat for? 5. Why did Nick have his ticket delivered? 6. Why did he have to be at the airport an hour before taking-off time? 7. What height was the plane flying at? What could Nick see through the porthole? 8. What did the hostess offer the passengers? 9. Was Nick's way back pleasant? 10. Why did Nick have to make a changing in Moscow?

Exercise 1.Mind the pronunciation: advance, fifteenth, July, St.Petersburg, pleasant, queue, august, punch, lower.