Английский язык. Жесткова М.В - 70 стр.

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speed when carrying passengers but when empty it moves at half speed. It is known that traffic is
left-hand in Britain, but when passengers get on the escalator they stand on the right. People who
hurry can run by on the left, and it seems that everybody in the Underground always hurries.
The atmosphere «underground» is considered even better than that outside. There are special
pumps and fans that suck in the air from the street, purify it, and make it warm or cool on its way
to the station. The air in the Underground is changed every quarter of an hour, and the temperature
all year round is maintained at 69-79 degrees Fahrenheit.
The fare in the London Underground depends on the distance you travel, but the lowest is
50 pence. Tickets can be bought in the booking offices but for short journeys that cost a few
pence, tickets can be obtained from automatic machines.
Safety was always one of the main concerns of the London transport. In spite of the fact that
trains often follow each other within 1-3 minutes, it is said that the London Underground is the
safest form of transport in the world. The most up-to-date electronic equipment is used for
controlling train movement: if changes are necessary, they are made automatically and with
lightning speed. No accident can happen because of human errors.
Ex.26. Answer the following general questions.
1) Did the underground railways appear in the 20
th
century? 2) Has the London Underground
been used since 1860? 3) Was the first line of the London Underground built according to
Stephenson’s project? 4) Were the first Metro trains driven by electricity? 5) Did the London
Underground operate during the World War II? 6) Does the London Underground carry over
2.5 million passengers a day at present? 7) Do all Metro trains go under the ground? 8) Are all
stations equipped with escalators? 9) Was safety always one of the main concerns of London
transport? 10) Can any accident happen because of human errors in the London Underground?
11) Is the number of passengers carried by the London Underground constantly growing? 12) Do
express trains stop at all the stations on their way? 13) Are there twelve Underground lines in
London? 14) Do all the underground lines have their own color?
TEXT C
Read and translate the text.
MOSCOW UNDERGROUND
For the first time the idea of building the underground railway in Moscow was discussed before
the revolution. But the construction of the first section (from Sokolniki to Central Park) was
initiated only in 1932. The length of this line was 11 kilometers. The construction lasted 3 years and
it was called the record period of time by the world press. The Russian engineers carefully studied
the existing underground systems abroad before working out their own project, which represents a
significant improvement on the London system.
The engineering difficulties were great mainly because much of the soil was composed of
running sand
1
. Fortunately most of the running sand lay close to the surface, therefore it was found
possible to use out-and-cover method of construction under many streets. But in the center of the
city where the line is 100 ft or more deep, the construction of tunnels was necessary.
The Moscow Underground consists of a circle line, which runs round the city center, several
radial lines crossing the city and connecting with each other and the lines running to the countryside.
Some constructional work is still going on. Now the length of the underground lines reaches about
300 km.
At present the Moscow Metro handles more than 5 million passengers each day. During peak
hours trains run at a speed of 90 km per hour with the intervals of about 80 seconds. One train takes
up to 1,500 passengers. For greater safety of travel all trains are inspected every 6-9 hours of
running. Being in operation for about 13 hours daily each metro train covers the distance equal to

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