KINDS OF TRANSPORTATION. There are three main kinds of transportation: (1) land, (2) water, and (3) air

There are three main kinds of transportation: (1) land, (2) water, and (3) air. Each has advantages and disadvantages. For example, trucks and trains can operate in storms that may ground airplanes or keep ships in harbours. Weather and geographical conditions may also determine the type of transportation used in a region. In snowbound arctic regions, dog sleds remain one of the most dependable means of land transportation. Sure-footed donkeys and llamas are still an important form of land transportation on the narrow mountain trails of rural regions in Latin America. In some jungle areas of South-eastern Asia, dugout canoes provide the swiftest means of travel.

On Land, the chief forms of transportation are (1) automobiles, (2) railroads, (3) trucks, and (4) pipelines.

Automobiles provide the most important means of passenger travel in the United States and Canada. They account for more than four fifths of all the miles travelled by Americans. The remaining passenger travel in the United States is about equally divided among airplanes, trains, and buses. The automobile also is important in land transportation in Western Europe and some other parts of the world.

Railroads haul about half of the freight transported in the world. Tracks carry about a fifth of this freight, and pipelines transport a little less than a fifth. Boats, barges, and airplanes transport the remaining freight. Railroads have equal or greater importance in the transportation of freight in Canada, Europe, and other areas. In addition to hauling freight, most railroads provide passenger service between cities and towns. Commuter trains transport thousands of persons daily between their homes in suburban areas and large cities.

Railroads move every type of material, but are best suited to haul great quantities of heavy freight. For this reason, railroads play an important role in transporting coat, iron ore, grain, lumber, and other heavy products. Trains can haul freight cheaply because a single locomotive can pull as many as 200 freight cars.

Trucks cost relatively more than railroads for transportation, because they require more power and more men to move the same amount of freight. But trucks can travel wherever there are roads. Special trucks used in logging, mining, drilling oil wells, and laying pipelines can operate even in areas that lack roads.

The big trucks we see on the highways carry from 15 to 20 tons of freight. Any company or factory with this much freight to ship can load a truck at its door. The truck can then be driven directly to the customer's door.

Other Methods of Land Transportation include buses, streetcars, electric elevated trains, subway trains, motorcycles, motor scooters, and bicycles. Buses serve as a main means of transporting people between cities in many parts of the world, and also within larger cities and towns. Streetcars, elevated trains, and subway trains are kinds of passenger transportation usually found only in larger cities. People in some countries use motorcycles, motor scooters, and bicycles as widely as Americans and Canadians use automobiles. The high cost of petroleum fuels outside the United States and Canada prevents most persons from driving vehicles that use as much gasoline as automobiles.

 

2. Переведите на русский язык следующие английские словосочетания:

1 nearly everything 6 bell buoys

2 jet airliner 7 in other ways

3 wooden wheels 8 isolated farm

4 choked in clouds of smoke 9 times of disaster

5 crowded streets 10 advantages and disadvantages

 

3. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты следующих словосочетаний:

1 повседневная жизнь 6 заснеженные регионы

2 накаченные воздухом шины 7самые быстрые средства путешествия

3 жесткие деревянные сидения 8 поезда пригородного сообщения

4 средства связи 9 самые надежные средства транспорта

5 погодные условия 10 такое же количество груза

4. Найдите в тексте слова, имеющие общий корень с данными словами. Определите, к какой части речи они относятся, и переведите их на русский язык:

Transport, pipe, high, motor, wide, neighbour, every, spring, wood, west.

5. Задайте к выделенному в тексте предложению все типы вопросов (общий, альтернативный, разделительный, специальный: а) к подлежащему, б) к второстепенному члену предложения).

 

6. Выполните анализ данных предложений, обратив внимание на следующие грамматические явления: причастие I и II (Participle I & II), независимый причастный оборот, герундий, конверсия:

1 Long trains roar across the countryside carrying passengers, mail, and such products as food, livestock, and coal.

2. Developments in transportation have cut travel time greatly in the past 200 years.

3. Air conditioning keeping the air clean and cool, dining cars serve passengers.

4. They improved the engine by constructing the new tipe.

5 Buses serve as a main means of transporting people between cities in many parts of the world.

7. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:

1 How long did it often take a businessman to travel by sailing ship from London to New York City?

2 Why would transportation not be possible without communication?

3 How does transportation affect our lives?

4 How many main kinds of transportation are there?

5What are the chief forms of transportation on land?

6 How much freight do railroads haul in the world?

7 What do other methods of land transportation include?