London Traffic

London is so large that visitors must learn to use buses and the underground to get about. London taxis are too expensive for any but the rich. You can get a map of the underground and the bus routes at any ticket office. The London underground is called the "tube".

Bus stops are marked clearly. In the suburbs buses do not stop unless there are passengers who wish to get on or off. These stops are marked "request stops". Inside some buses you will see the notice: "Please, state your destination clearly and have the exact fare ready". It is easy enough to tell the conductor where you want to go to, but not always possible to have the exact fare. The conductor will always give you the change.

The London buses are very large. They have seats both upstairs and downstairs. English children like to sit on the front seats of a big London bus. They can see everything that is happening in the streets.

Here are some of the phrases which you may hear on a bus in London:

"Fares, please". (Плата за проезд, пожалуйста.)

"Four pence, please". (Четыре пенса, пожалуйста.)

"Full up inside; plenty of seats on top". (Внутри автобус полный. Много свободных мест наверху.)

"No more seats on top; five seats inside". (Наверху все места заняты; есть пять мест внутри.)

"Standing room only". (Места только стоячие.)

"No, sir, this bus does not go to Victoria Station". (Нет, сэр. Этот автобус не следует до станции "Виктория".)

"You need a number 11". (Вам нужен автобус № 11.)

In Great Britain traffic keeps to the left. Cars, buses and cyclists must all keep to the left side of the road. In most other countries traffic keeps to the right. There is heavy traffic in London and you must observe traffic rules.

Vocabulary:

bus route [ru:t] – маршрут автобуса

change [t∫eind3] – зд.: сдача

conductor [kən`dΛctə] – зд.: кондуктор

cyclist [`saiklist] – велосипедист

exact [ig`zækt] – точный

expensive [iks`pensiv] – дорогой

front seat [`frΛnt si:t] – места, расположенные в передней части автобуса

passenger [`pæsənd3ə] – пассажир

reguest stop [ri`kwest stop] – остановка по требованию

suburb [`sΛbə:b] – пригород

the rich – богатые, обеспеченные люди (for any but the rich – для всех, кроме богатых)

the Tube [tju:b] – название лондонского метро

the underground [`Λndəgraund] – метрополитен

traffic [`træfik] – движение, heavy [`hevi] traffic – интенсивное, плотное движение

ticket office [`tikit `ofis] – билетная касса

to mark [ma:k] – обозначать, to be marked – быть обозначенным

to state [steit] – формулировать, утверждать, заявлять

to get about – зд.: распространяться

to get on / off – зд.: входить / выходить из автобуса

to keep to the left / right – придерживаться левой / правой стороны

to observe [əb`zə:v] – наблюдать, замечать, следить

upstairs [Λp`steəz] / downstairs [`daun`steəz] – зд.: на верхнем / нижнем ярусе автобуса