Question

Ответить на вопросы.
Travelling. Transport
It is early spring now, but the Volkovs are already making plans for their summer holidays because it is always better to arrange everything beforehand than to make a fuss the last minute.
Vlad has already decided to go to St. Petersburg with Lena and his friends from college. They want to visit the Hermitage and Petergof and many other places of interest. They will go there by bus. Nina and Boris are planning to go abroad to Prague or to Warsaw for a week or two, if they are through with their repairs. Now Alexei and his parents are discussing where to go.
Father: Well, Alexei, what are your plans for summer holidays?Alexei: It is difficult to say anything for sure now, but I thinkI will
spend the whole July in the sports camp, if nothing chang es. My coach has already included me in the list of the people who go there.
Mother: What are you planning to do in June and August, then?Alexei: I think I’ll either stay in town or go to the country to live
with grandmother and grandfather. Besides, we have a tour nament in football in June. Our team has strong chances to win.
Father: So far asI understand, you’ve already made plans for June and July. What about August? Would you like to go with us somewhere?
Alexei: Most willingly. Where are you planning to go?Father: We are thinking about going to the seaside, if you have
nothing against it.
Mother: We can spend a month by the sea, sunbathing, swimming, diving, and having nothing to do.
Alexei: Which is the best place to go, in your opinion?Father: What would you both say about going to the Crimea?
Alexei: Why,I was there whenI was a little boy, andI don’t
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remember much except a tiresome journey by train. I wouldn’t go there if I were you.
Father: Going by train in summer is very uncomfortable. But this
time we won’t go by train. We can fly there, if you want to.
It will take no more than three hours to get to Sochi. You
will enjoy wonderful views while we go. Or we might go
there by bus with air-conditioning:buses are comfortable. If
we buy a voucher to a resort or a holiday centre, we won’t
have to take trouble about meals and accommodation.
Mother: I must sayI am airsick.
Alexei:
Resorts are boring. I can suggest you doing a more exciting thing: why don’t we go by car? We can travel as much as
we want to, visiting as many places as we like. We won’t have to book tickets and hotel rooms in advance, or to queue in a booking office. We will visit all the towns along the coast, provided that we have time.
Father: When
I come to think about it, it seems a very attractive idea, except for the fact that you don’t drive and I will
have to drive all the way there and back. But still I have nothing against it: we can travel all over the Crimean coast
Alexei:
or stay in one place for the whole month, if we like.
And we don’t have to carry the luggage. Just put everything
you want to take into the car, and that’s all!
Mother: Now we must decide on where to stay during our journey.
Father: There are plenty of opportunities: we may take a tent, or
Alexei:
stay in a hotel, or rent a room or a cottage.Living in a tent is a bad idea. What if it rains? And, besides, it will occupy too much room in the car if we take it.
Mother: All right, dear. We will rent a room or stay in a hotel, then.
Father: Now we’d better take a map and choose the best route for our journey.

Письменно ответить на вопросы:
1. Why do some people prefer hiking to other kinds of travelling?
2. Why are holidays the best time for travelling?
3. Where do people buy railway tickets?
4. When did you first travel by air?
5. Is travelling by air more expensive than travelling by train?
6. How many railway stations are there in your native city?
7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of travelling by car?
8. What can people do during a journey by train?
9. Are you planning to go anywhere this year?

Answer 1

1. I think some people prefer hiking to other kinds of travelling because they want to be closer to the nature. Sometimes the destination place can be reached only walking. But the main reason I see in money. 
2. Because you have enough time. Travelling needs time.
3. Nowadays you can buy almost all the tickets you need through internet. But still you can go to a special ticket office of the railway company, or to the main station. 
4. When I was about three, my parents took me to the Bulgarian seaside, and that was my first travel by air. 
5. I think that today travelling by train sometimes turns out to be more expensive. If you book plane tickets very beforehand, they would be cheaper for sure. Also I think there are cases when you have to count not only the money, but your time as well. 
6. I'm not sure, there is a big main station, and maybe 10 smaller stations. Если речь о Питере или Москве, ответ нужен другой - There are nine big main stations in Moscow; there are five big main stations in St.Petersburgh)
7. The main advantage is that you are the master of your travel, and you have your luggage in the trunk. Among the disadvantages are: the driver is never relaxing; it's dangerous and expensive to travel by car; when you travel for long distances you spend the days sitting. 
8. During a journey by train people can look in the windows, sleep, read, talk to each other, play table games, eat.
9. Right now I do not have any special plans. Of course, I would like to go to the seaside or to the mountains, or maybe visit a beautiful European city, but by now I haven't thought about it seriously.