Unit 8 Arrivals and departures

Inside view

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Conversation 1

Assistant Hi, how can I help you?

Mark I'd like to book a flight and make a hotel?reservation.

Assistant Going to...?

Mark To New York, please.

Assistant Is that a one-way or a return?

Mark A return, please. Out on the 17th of June?and coming back on the 10th of September.

Assistant OK, and I guess you want economy not club?

Mark Yes, economy, please. Could I have an?aisle seat, not a window seat?

Assistant I'm afraid you'll have to do that at the airport. What about accommodation?

Mark Well, most of the time I'm working in?upstate New York, but I need a cheap hotel in New York City and one in Boston for a few nights.

Assistant How many nights will you be staying?

Mark Three nights in Boston and two nights in?New York. The 12th to the 15th of August in Boston, leaving on the 15th, so three nights in Boston. Then the 15th to the 17th in New York, leaving on the 17th. So two nights in New York.

Assistant OK, I can check that out for you. Single or double room?

Mark Single. With a shower, please.

Assistant I can get you rooms in budget預(yù)算的?hotels and motels for around 75 dollars a night.

Mark Does the price include breakfast?

Assistant Let me see. Yes, I can do that for you.

Mark What time is check-out?

Assistant Usually midday中午?... Do you have a student card? You'll need it for the cheap flights and the accommodation. Oh, and any travelling within the US? We can get you?seats on Greyhound buses, if you want.

Mark Actually, that would be great. Can you?get me a seat from New York to Boston, travelling on the 12th of August? And then one from New York to Chicago on the 17th? After Chicago I'm going to DC and then back to New York, but I'll get those tickets when I'm in the States.

Assistant No problem, just give me a few minutes ...

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Conversation 2

Kate Have you made plans for the summer?vacation yet?

Mark Yes, I'm travelling around the States for three?months.

Janet Three months! Wow, you're lucky!?Whereabouts are you going?

Mark Well, I'm flying to New York City, and then?I'm working for eight weeks as a counselor?顧問on a summer camp in upstate北部的?New York. And?then I'm travelling around for about four?weeks, back in time for the start of term.

Kate Where are you staying?

Mark On the campsite營地　?in the mountains. It's about?an hour away from New York City by bus.

Kate What are you going to do there?

Mark I'll be looking after teenagers, city kids?mostly. We're going swimming, rafting and?canoeing獨(dú)木舟, and maybe backpacking in the?mountains.

Janet That sounds amazing! And after that, what?are your plans?

Mark I'll catch the Greyhound bus to Boston, and?relax in a hotel for three days.

Kate The museums in Boston are great! You?absolutely must visit them.

Mark OK, I'll do that. Then I go back to New York?for two days, to watch a baseball game.

Kate The New York Yankees? That's my team!

Mark Then I'm flying to Chicago for six days, to?stay with some friends.

Kate And will you fly home from Chicago?

Mark No, then I'll go to DC for six days to do some?sightseeing. And then I'll be back a few days?before the beginning of term.

Janet It sounds like a dream vacation.

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Outside view

Speaker 1?Let's take a trip to Australia.

Speaker 2?That sounds like fun, but I won't be able to come. I'm too busy. You can go if you promise to tell me all about it.

Speaker 1?OK.

Speaker 2?Oh, and get me some photos of kangaroos and koalas. I'd love to see them.

Voice-over So here I am in Australia. How about a few facts to start with? Australia is the largest "island" in the world. There are over 27,000 kilometres of coastline. It's the world's smallest continent, but the sixth largest country. Its population is only 20 million, so there's a lot of space. This is Perth on the west coast. It's famous for its black swans. If you come here, you'll definitely want to go sailing. This is Uluru, or Ayers Rock. This amazing rock formation is in the traditional lands of the original inhabitants of Australia -the Aborigines. Their rock paintings have been preserved here for centuries. If you want sun, sea and sand, Queensland is the place to be. This is where you can find the famous Great Barrier Reef. It's the world's largest natural feature and is 2,300 kilometres long. Sydney is Australia's biggest city with over four million people -nearly a quarter of the entire population. The Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge are famous landmarks. If you like surfing, you'll have to visit the world-famous Bondi Beach. The smallest state is the Australian Capital Territory around the city of Canberra, which is the capital of Australia. And finally, this is Melbourne -a lively city in the southeast. I did promise pictures of koalas and kangaroos. Are these OK?

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Listening in

Passage?1

Part?1

Matt So how was your visit to the USA? How?did you get on?

Caroline Well, it was great. A bit difficult at the start, but it got better.

Matt So what happened?

Caroline Well, I started my trip in New York, but the trouble was I forgot to ring my friend Dave before I left London and ask him to meet me. Then, just as the plane was landing at New York airport, this French businessman sitting next to me called Serge, gave me a warning, "You shouldn’t arrive in New York alone." This made me a bit worried, but I was going to call Dave as soon as I arrived, so I hoped I'd be OK. But when we got off the plane, I was feeling a bit nervous. As soon as I walked out into the arrivals hall this crowd of people surrounded me. And when Serge disappeared, I did feel lonely and rather foolish.

Matt I can see why.

Caroline And when I saw a smiling group of new arrivals, you know, tourists from England, I wanted to join them. Just as I was starting to panic, someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was Serge. I was so relieved.

Matt Thank heavens for strange men!

Caroline Exactly! But when I called Dave from Serge's office, he was out. It was late by now so I had to find a hotel. Serge told his driver to take me to a hotel in the Bronx. As soon as I got out of the car, two policemen in a police car stopped me and asked what I was doing in the district區(qū)域?as it was dangerous at night. And at the reception接待?desk, when I explained that I was on my own, they didn't want to give me a room.

Matt So what did you do?

Caroline Well, I had to wait at reception until the school in Albany, where I was going to?work, sent an email. When the hotel knew what I was doing in the States, I got a room.

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Part?2

Caroline Well, in the end I got in touch with Dave and spent the next few nights with his family. But it was cold, and a freezing cold wind was blowing all the time.

Matt But it all went better for you after that?

Caroline Well, yes, until one morning I decided to go for a walk. I was really enjoying the fresh air, when I realized that I was lost. Then I found a street, which looked like the one the fiat was on ... but then I found another one, and another one.

Matt Oh no! You must have been very?frightened!

Caroline Well, I was. I couldn't remember the?address of the flat. It was freezing cold, minus 12 degrees. I was standing by the side of the road, praying that Dave would . send out a search party when suddenly a car stopped, and the driver said, "Taxi?" I was so relieved. Within a couple of minutes I was drinking tea with Dave and the driver back home. His name was Kevin and he was on his way to work. He wasn't a taxi driver at all.

Matt Was he a friend of Dave's?

Caroline No, just someone who was going to work when he saw someone looking lost, I think. They can be very friendly, the Americans.

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Part3

Caroline I then took the train to Albany. No one was waiting for me at the station, although the school where I was working was going to send someone. I later learnt that the person didn't recognize me because I was wearing a thick coat and a warm hat. So I took a taxi to the school, where I met one of the other teachers, Rebecca. She invited me to stay with her. She lived in a fiat near the school, which she was sharing with three other people. I didn't have much money, because I hadn't been paid yet,?and I wasn't living on the school campus, so I tried to find some cheap food in the evenings. There was an old man selling hot dogs on a street corner. By the end of the first week, he greeted me and had a hot dog and coffee ready for me. Ah, it was an amazing experience.

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Passage 2

There was this man, and he's riding his bike along the road, heading towards the border between Mexico and the United States. So he comes up to the border, and this guard stops him. And he points to two sacks the man has on his shoulders.

"What's in the bags?" says the guard.

"Sand," says the man on the bike.

So the guard says, "Sand? Get them off your shoulders. We'll take a look."

So the man on the bike did as he was told, emptied the sacks, and poured the sand on the ground.

"Sure enough, it's nothing but sand," says the guard, and the man on the bike loads the sand back into the sacks, puts them on his shoulders and goes across the border.

Anyway, two weeks later, the man on the bike turns up at the border again, on his bike with two sacks on his shoulders.

So the guard says, "What's in the sacks?" The man takes them off his shoulders, pours the sand onto the ground, puts the sand back in the sacks, puts the sacks on his shoulders, gets back on his bike and goes across the border.

This goes on every week for six months, man on the bike, guard at the border, sacks on the man's shoulders, sand on the ground, sand back in the sacks, man across the border ... until one day the man on the bike with the sand bags doesn't turn up.

A few days later, the guard happens to meet the man on the bike downtown. "Say friend, you sure made us crazy," says the guard. "We knew you were smuggling something across the border. I won't say a word - but what is it you were smuggling?"

The man on the bike says, "Bicycles!"

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Passage 3

Speaker 1 I don't know if I've told you, but?apparently this is a true story. There's this?small airline somewhere in New Zealand, I think, and it uses planes that carry about seven or eight passengers. So you sit just behind the pilot and get a really good view.

Speaker 2 Yeah, I get the picture.

Speaker 1 Anyway, the passengers are told to board the plane, and they climb in, you know, not much room. And they sit there waiting. A few minutes later the last passenger, a really cool-looking guy, turns up and takes his seat, and they all wait for the pilot to arrive and take off. And they wait. And they wait some more. And they're still waiting, not long, you know, a few minutes, but just enough to make them wonder where the pilot is. Then the cool-looking guy at the back starts looking at his watch, and saying, "Well, where's the pilot? We're going to be late." And they wait a bit longer, and the guy says, "I've got some people to meet, and I don't want to miss my appointment." And they wait some more, and the pilot still doesn't turn up. So this guy says, "Right, I'm not going to wait any longer, if we don't have a pilot, I'm going to take off and fly this plane myself.

Speaker 2 What?

Speaker 1 Exactly, and everyone is going ... duh??What's happening? And this guy gets into the pilot seat, turns on the engine, starts heading for the runway ... and takes off.

Speaker 2 I don't believe it!

Speaker 1 Yeah, well nor did the passengers. But the funny thing is ...

Speaker 2 What?

Speaker 1 Apparently, the cool-looking guy really is the pilot. He plays the same trick on passengers fairly often because he gets bored with doing the same flight every day.