Unit 9 Visitors and travelers 9.1 Going abroad Vocabulary Add the missing words to the puzzle. 1. You may need a __________ if you’re staying in the USA for longer than a month. 2. __________ class is cheaper than business or club. 3. You can _________ a car at the airport. 4. You can _________ to a connecting flight without reclaiming your luggage. He has _________ his trip to the USA till next month. What is the best _________to the city center? An American asks for the check, a British person asks for the _________. The _________ is cheaper than choosing dishes from the à la carte menu. After the main course you can have a _________ . I’m attending a _________ in Geneva next month Can you get a _________ to help us with this Japanese document, please? Our visitor doesn’t speak English, so we’ll need an _________. How many _________ will there be altogether at the congress? What time do you have to __________ for your flight? The annual _________ is held in a different city each year. A charter flight is less expensive than a _________ _________. 9.2 Air travel in the USA Reading ＆ Listening A. Before you listen the recording, read this article and answer the questions in B below. Hubs and spokes Domestic flights in the USA are organized on the principle of hubs and spokes, like a bicycle wheel which has a hub at the center and lots of spokes radiating out from it in all directions. One such hub is Huston in Texas: flights to over 100 other airports radiate out in different directions from there and half of these are non- stop flights. For example, if you want to get from Miami to Los Angeles, you can catch a Continental Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale (a few miles north of Miami and less hassle than Miami International Airport), change planes in Huston and fly on to Orange County (John Wayne Airport!) or Hollywood-Burbank Airport- both of which are much more relaxing and less crowded ways into Los Angeles than the appealing LAX (Ls Angeles International Airport). The hub and spoke network had made flights cheaper and means that even quite small places are connected to each other by a major airline or feeder service. Another advantage of the system is that connecting flights are to some extended guaranteed. If one incoming flight is up to one hour late, all the connecting flights (up to 30 or 40) will be held until it arrives. So if you are on a delayed flight, that’s good news — but it’s bad news for everyone else because they all have to wait for your plane to land. From the point of view of overseas connections, many hubs also operate as entry points or ‘gateways’, where passengers flying in from another country can join the hub and spoke system. The same type of system does operate in other parts of the world: for example, you can fly from one part of Europe to another via Frankfurt or Pairs or Amsterdam or London, but the difference in other parts of the world is that the fares are not any cheaper so there’s no special advantage. Flying in to the USA, it’s advisable, if you possibly can, to avoid any major gateway, such as Los Angeles International, Miami and JFK (New York) in favor of a smaller gateway like Charlotte, Pittsburgh or Orlando. B. Using the information in the text, complete each of these sentences. The first is done for you as an example: If you want to get from Miami to Los Angeles, you can … fly from Fort Lauderdale and change planes at Huston, Texas. If you want to avoid flying into Lax (Los Angeles International Airport), you should… 3. If your flight is less than an hour late, your connecting flight will… 4. If you fly between London and Vienna via Frankfurt or Paris, instead of direct, the fare… 5. If you are entering the United States from abroad, you should… C. Now listen to the recording. You’ll hear an interview with Nigel Isaacs, the editor of Business Travel Weekly. Using the information in the interview, complete each of these sentences: If the flight is scheduled to take off at5p.m, it will probably… If you are sitting in a plane that hasn’t taken off yet, you can’t… If your flight is flying round and round, waiting to land, you may feel… If you volunteer to leave on a later flight, make sure that… If you are traveling before a national holiday, you can expect that… If possible, don’t fly via… If you have a small amount of luggage, don’t… If you want to be prepared for delays, take… 9.3 Traveling Functions Write down what you would say in each of these situations. The first is done for you as an example: Your flight to Charlotte is delayed. Find out the reason. Can you tell me why there is a delay on the flight to Charlotte? You are booked on flight LJ879 on May16. You want to change this to ZZ857on May17. ……………………………………………………………………………………………. Flight RA372doesn’t leave till5pm but you’ve arrived at the check-in desk at12 noon. ……………………………………………………………………………………………. You don’t understand how to take a ticket from an automatic machine. Ask a passer-by for help. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 5. Someone asks you how to get to the main railway station-tell him or her that it’s two blocks down and then left. ………………………………………………………………………… 6. You have arrived late because your rented car wouldn’t start. Apologize to your host or hostess. ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7. You don’t understand some of the dishes on the menu. Ask your companion for help. ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8. You want to order a plain omelette, which is not on the menu. …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9. Ask your companion to recommend a local dish. …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10. At the end of the meal you want to pay the bill, but the waiter has given it to your companion. …………………………………………………………………………………………………. Preposition Fill the gaps in these sentences with a suitable verb or noun + preposition. The first is done for you as an example. 1. That reminds me _____a funny thing that once happened to me. 2. She ______ the firm after 25 years’ service. 3. He ______post after the scandal. 4. Have you read this _____ West African market? 5. We’re ______computer disks-I’ll order some more. 6. We must achieve our targets _____the amount of work we have to do. 7. He is not really _____ job he has applied for. 8. Their products ______ paints _____ pens and stationary. 9. There has been a _______ the fares to the USA. 10. She is_____ making travel arrangements for the staff. 11. While I was abroad I nearly _____ money. 12. Jan and Pat both ______ Mr. Brown, the export manager. What the clever traveler knows Listening A. Which of these ‘tips for travelers’ do you agree with? Which do you disagree with? Always take a good long book to read on a journey, in case of delays. Take one large suitcase -- but don’t pack it full. Always try to do some work on planes and trains-there are no phone calls to interrupt you. Always be very careful about local food and drink. When you’re abroad treat every person you meet respect. Do your ‘homework’ before you go: read books about the place you’re going to, its people and their customs.   B. Listen to the recording. You’ll hear more advice from Nigel Isaacs (the man you heard in 9.2c). Complete these sentences, using the information given in the interview. This first is done for you as an example. 1 you can avoid delays by… Only taking carry-on luggage onto a plane. 2 you can avoid losing any important documents by keeping them… …………………………………. 3 you can sometimes save money flying to Australia by buying… ………………………………… 4 you can sometimes save money flying to Rio by buying… ………………………………… 5 you will need a long time to recover from a flight to Japan via… ………………………………… 6 you will lose efficiency and energy by… ………………………………… 7 when scheduling important meeting it’s wise to… ………………………………… 8 if you make a lot of trips abroad, it’s essential to … ………………………………… 9 if you plan to travel with your husband or wife, it’s worth… …………………………………… 10 you can get special facilities at a hotel by staying their regularly and… …………………………………… References 9.1 Going abroad 1. visa 2. economy 3. hire 4. transfer 5. postponed 6. route 7. bill 8. set 9. dessert 10. conference 11. translator 12. interpreter 13. delegates 14. check 15. convention 16. scheduled 9.2 Air travel in the USA B. Suggested answers 2. fly to Orange Country (John Wayne Airport) or Hollywood-Burbank Airport 3. wait for your plane 4. won’t be any cheaper 5. avoid a busy gateway like New York, Miami or Los Angeles-Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Orlando are less busy C. Suggested answers 1. be delayed because too many flights are scheduled to take off around that time. 2. get anything to drink or eat. 3. frightened, especially if you’re in the clouds. 4. you get a guaranteed seat and a free phone call to the person who is meeting you the other end. 5. airports will be especially busy. 6. O’Hare (Chicago), Atlanta or Denver. 7. check it in –take it as hand baggage. 8. something to eat and drink in your hand luggage. Transcript Presenter: Nigel Isaacs is editor of Business Travel Weekly. Nigel, what kind of problems do airline passengers face in the USA? Nigel:Most of the problems are caused by the heavy volume of traffic. All airports have a limit to the number of takeoffs and landings they can handle. All flights from a hub arrive and leave at more or less the same time: if 60 aircraft are scheduled to take off between 5 pm and 5.15 and the airport can only handle 120 an hour that means some will always be late landing or taking off. And if the weather is bad…So, passengers have to be loaded into each plane and then the planes have to line up to take off. There’s a marvelous story of the people who’d been waiting for over an hour for their plane to reach the head of the line to take off, when they heard the captain on the intercom telling them that he was so fed up he was quitting his job, and he walked through the cabin, opened the door, jumped to the ground and walked off across the tarmac! Queuing on the tarmac is frustrating (with no drinks or meals available until you’re in the air), but queuing in the air with other planes circling just below you and above you is downright terrifying. Especially if you’re in the clouds. Another problem that’s very common is overbooking: you hear an announcement on the airport loudspeakers: “We have oversold on this flight and would like volunteers to go on the next flight out.” If you decide to volunteer, you may get a cash bribe, or a free trip voucher-but make sure you get a guaranteed seat on the next flight and a free phone call to whoever is meeting you the other end. Worse still you arrive with a confirmed reservation and you discover you’ve been bumped off the flight. There’s another story of a man who was raising hell when this happened to him and he said to the check-in clerk, ‘If I was a Senator, you’d get me a seat’ and the man behind him in the line said, ‘Son, I am a Senator and they won’t give my a seat either.’ Presenter: Presumably, if you choose to travel at off-peak times, there are no problems. Nigel: Well, there are no off-peak times-all flights seem to be full, expect Saturday, oddly enough. If there’s public holiday, things are likely to be especially busy: Thanksgiving in November, Labor Day in September, Independence Day in July and so on. The special fare systems on the airlines’ computers encourage more people to fly on less popular flights and this means that as a result all flights are equally full. Presenter: So what advice would you give to a traveler in the USA? Nigel: The worst hubs are O’Hare (Chicago) and Atlanta and Denver because they have so many flights-I’d say these are to be avoided at all costs. Don't ever check your baggage if you can help it. And be prepared for delays-take something to eat and drink in your hand luggage. 9.3 Traveling Suggested answers 2. I’d like to change my reservation on flight LJ879 on May 16 to flight ZZ 857 on May 17. 3. Is it too early to check in for flight RA 372? 4. Excuse me, could you show me how to get a ticket from this machine? 5. The main railway station? Yes, you go down this road for two blocks and then turn left. You can’t miss it. 6. I’m terribly sorry I’m so late. I rented a car and it wouldn’t start, you see. 7. Could you explain some of these dishes on the menu for me, please? 8. I’d like to have just a plain omelette, if that’s all right. 9. Can you recommend a nice local dish? 10. Oh, do let me pay for this, please. 9.4 Prepositions 2. retired from 3. resigned from 4. report on 5. running short of 6. regardless of 7. qualified for 8. range from … to 9. reduction in 10. reduction in 11. ran out of 12. report to 9.5 What the clever traveler knows B. Suggested answers 2. in your hand luggage 3. an RTW (round the world) ticket. 4. a ticket to Buenos Aires and not using the Rio to Buenos Aires leg. 5. Bahrain, Hong Kong and Taipeh 6. staying away for more than two weeks. 7. allow time for delays and breakdowns. 8. get to know a good travel agent. 9. finding out which airlines offer a free seat for your spouse. 10. becoming eligible for ‘special customer status’. Transcript Presenter: Here’s Nigel Isaacs again with some more advice for business travelers. Nigel, welcome back. So what kind of mistake do inexperienced travelers make? Nigel: The first mistake business travelers make is to take far too much luggage. You don’t need ten clean shirts-your hotel can wash and press them for you. So take only carry-on luggage: at most airports you can get away with two small bags. If you do have to check in any baggage, make sure all your important documents are in you hand luggage-you know the old joke: breakfast in London, Lunch in NewYork, Luggage in Nairobi. Another mistake people make is to think that you have to pay full price for air tickets. you should find out about the different ticket options: for example, an RTW fare can save up to 40%on normal fare. Presenter: RTW? Nigel: Round the world. For example, if you’re going to Australia, you could go out Via Singapore and come back via North American. Another way to save money is to see if a ticket to a destination beyond is cheaper. For example, a ticket from London to Buenos Aires via Rio may be cheaper than London to Rio, so you can book through to Buenos Aires and don’t use the next leg of the flight. Or Amsterdam-London-NewYork may be cheaper than London--New York. But don't be tempted to go for the cheapest possible fare: going to Japan via Bahrain, Hong Kong and Taipeh may be cheaper than flying non-stop but it takes quite a long time to recover! Another mistake is to go away for too long. Most people’s efficiency and energy starts to fall of after two weeks away. So, keep your trips short: only go for two weeks-and never for longer than three. Don't expect everything to go according to plan. Expect the unexpected: there may be heavy snow in July or Your taxi may break down on the way to the airport. In other words, don’t be optimistic about plans. Don’t schedule important meetings too closely together-allow time for delays and breakdowns. And another thing: get to know a good travel agent and make sure he gives you the best possible service. Take discounts for example. A good travel agent can get first class for the price of business class and he does enough volume of business to get discounts with airlines on his own behalf, which he should pass on to you-so make sure he does. Another thing worth knowing is that some airlines have lower fares if you travel at less popular times of day and some offer a free seat for your husband or wife. It’s worth finding out about these-again it’s your travel agent whose job it is to know about these things .A travel agent who deals with a lot of business travel is obviously going go know more about these things than one whose main trade is package tours to Spain. Presenter: How about accommodation? Nigel: Not everyone realizes that almost all hotels offer discounts. Your travel agent, if his turnover is high enough, should be able to offer up to 50% off certain hotels in other parts of the world. If you regularly stay in the same hotel, you should be eligible for ‘special customer status’-that means you get rooms at a discount or frills like double for the price of a single or late checkout-if you’re lucky you can get both discount and frills. Presenter: I think the worst parts of a trip are having to travel overnight or get up at 3 am to catch an early flight. Or being there any ways of avoiding that? Nigel: Yes, a weekend break or a stopover in a more relaxing or lively city is often available at a special cheap weekend rate-various airlines and hotel chains offer these and it’s always more pleasant to stay the night in a hotel than on a plane, even if you are in business class. For example, for no extra charge you can spend an evening somewhere nice like Copenhagen, Madrid or Vienna before a long-haul flight the next morning.