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Trains

There are different kinds of trains: passenger trains, mail trains and goods trains. Mail trains carry mail, or post, that is letters, parcels, newspapers and magazines. Goods trains carry goods. Passenger trains carry passengers. Mail trains and passenger trains are usually combined: they have carriages for passengers and a special carriage or two for mail.

Passenger trains can be slow or fast. A slow train stops at every station. Fast trains have few stops: they stop only at very large stations. So we can call these trains respectively stopping trains and non-stopping trains.

There are local trains and long-distance trains. Local trains connect points situated not far away from each other, say, a hundred or two-three hundred kilometres. By a long-distance train you can travel very far — for thousands of kilometres. If you live in a large city, like St. Petersburg or Moscow or Kiev, you can go to the suburbs of the city by a suburban train.

Sometimes, when travelling a long distance, you have to change trains (or make a changing), that is get off one train and board another, if there is no through train to the place of your destination.

When you are travelling a long distance, it is very convenient to go by an overnight train. Overnight trains have sleeping accomodation: they usually have "corridor cars," i. e. carriages with separate compartments (they are called sleeping cars, or sleepers). In each compartment there are two lower and two upper berths, on which you can sleep like in bed. Trains which run by day are called day coaches. You cannot sleep in these trains: they have only sitting accomodation: very comfortable soft armchairs.

Answer the following questions.

1. What are passenger trains, goods trains and mail trains?

2. What is a combined mail and passenger train?

3. What is the difference between slow and fast trains?

4. What is a non-stopping train? Does it mean that it never stops?

5. What places can you get to by a local train? By a long-distance train?

6. Where can you see suburban trains? Where can they take you? Why are they called suburban trains?

7. Why do you sometimes have to change trains (make a changing) while travelling?

8. Why is a through train convenient?

9. What is an overnight train?

10. What do you call a train which runs only by day?

11. What accomodation do you get on an overnight train?

12. What accomodation do you get on day coaches?

13. What is a corridor car?

14. How many people can travel in one compartment?

15. Which do you prefer: a lower berth or an upper berth? Why?

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14