Unit 11 Transport and fravel
2 While you read
1.The white van
The typical white van driver
is usually in his twenties and makes deliveries for a living.
He only ever drivers in second gear because (a)
he's too lazy to change it and (b) because the van makes more noise that way!
He is completely antisocial,whistling at women swearing at everyone else.
and cutting in front of everybody when he drives.
2.The second-hand French car
Typical drivers of anything old and French in the UK tend to be old hippies.
who have Greenpeace and Save The Whales stickers in the windows.
In the back of the car.
there are always piles of old papers and bottles and clothes
that they always mean to take to the recycling centre.
but never quite seem to get round to!
3.The customised saloon car
The typical driver of this kind of car is still in his teens.
tends to have terrible spots and has only just started shaving,
but his parents have bought him a car.
It may only be a pathetic little Ford Escort or something like that,
but he drivers it as if it's a Formula One car,
racing up and down the local high street with his friends.
all of whom spend most of their time and money
buying new lights and bigger wheels for their precious cars-
which they call' motors'or my wheels'.
4.The car with tinted windows
There are some cars that you feel before you see.
as the bass from their car stereos is so unbelievably loud
that your windows start to shake
and things fall from your shelves as they make their way up the road towards you.
When you do finally see them.
they're nearly always the same-BMWs or Mercedes.
which are either open-topped or have tinted windows,
and are driven by macho men wearing sunglasses.
gold chains and designer sportswear.
5.The big Harley Davidson
The typical Harley rider is usually in his mid-forties.
He's going bald and he's getting increasingly fat.
Women have stopped looking at him (if they ever did)
He wakes up one morning and suddenly realises I'm going to diel!
but instead of spending more time with his wife and kids.
he buys a twenty-thousand-pound Harley Davidson-customised,of course-
and then he rides around,desperately trying to pretend he's still young.
Of course,he usually only goes round town at 30 kph.
just in case he gets too excited and has a heart attack!
6.The people carrier
People carriers are usually driven by middle-class mums,
who use them to take their kids on their eight-minute drive to school.
They tend to have a sticker in the back window saying Baby on Board!
no matter how old the children are.The funny thing is,
these kinds of drivers say that the only reason they drive their kids to school
is because there are so many cars on the roads these days
that they're worried their children would get hit by one if they let them walk!
Comparatives and superlatives
When do you want to eat,then?
The sooner.the better,I'm starving.
Where were you thinking of going?Did you have anywhere special in mind?
Well,I was thinking of this place just round the corner,actually.
it's one of the best places to eat in town,
but it depends on how much you want to spend.It is quite expensive.
Well,I'm a bit short of money at the moments.so the cheaper,the better,to be honest.
OK.well,
in that case.there's a nice little cafe on the other side of town we could go to,
but we will have to get a bus.Is that going to take a long time.
No.it shouldn't be too bad.There's a bus that goes straight there now.
almost non-stop.It's much better than it used to be.
You used to have to go a really roundabout way.
OK.so shall we go,then?
Yeah,Let me just get my things together and then we'll be off.
Listening
Journey 1
Jimmie!Jimmie!
Oh,there you are,Hi,How are you?
Fine,fine,How're you?How was your journey?
Terrible!Really,it was just awful!
Really?Because you're here on time.Yeah,well,
that wasn't the problem,It's actually quite a fast line.
No.the thing was,it was just so crowded that I had to stand up all the way here.
Oh,no,poor you.That's two hours,isn't it?
Two and a half actually
and it felt like much longer because I was stuck next to about seventy football fans
all smoking and drinking and shouting at everyone who walked past.It was horrible.
Oh,no.That must've been the big game that was on in Coventry today.
Yeah,maybe.I didn't really ask them too much about which club they supported!
Journey 2
Oh,there you are!I was starting to get worried about you!
I thought you might've missed the flight or something.
How are you?Come in.Come in.
No.no.We caught the flight OK,
it was just that it was delayed by about two hours before take-off because of the weather.
Oh,dear!Was it a bit of a bumpy flight,then?
Yeah,It was awful!I really thought we were going to crash at one point.
Oh,no.I must say,I hate flying at the best of times,
let alone when it gets like that.I know!
Anywaywe got here in one piece,
but then they managed to lose one of our bags somehow,so
we had to wait around for an hour or so while they tried to locate it.
And did they find it?Yeah-on board a flight to Peru!
They're not going to be able to return it until Tuesday or Wednesday.they said!
So how did you get from Gatwick to here?Did you get the train?
No.we were so tired and fed up once we got in that we decided to take a cab.
It was fifty pounds.Does that sound about right?
Fifty pounds?!That's twice the price it should've been.I'm afraid.
I hope you got their number.