UNIT 3

IN THE TRAIN
As the train approached the seaside town where I was going to spend my
holidays, I went into the corridor to stretch my legs. I stayed there a short while,
breathing in the fresh sea air and exchanging a few words with one of the passengers,
whom I had met earlier on the station platform.
When I turned to go back to my seat, I happened to glance into the
compartment next to mine. Sitting there was a man who many years before had been
my neighbour. He was a great talker, I remembered; it used to take hours to get away
from him once he began a conversation. I was not at all sorry when he went to live in
another part of London. We had not met since then, nor did I wish to meet him now,
when my holiday was about to begin.
Luckily at that moment he was much too busy talking to the man opposite him
to catch sight of me. I slipped back into my compartment, took down my two
suitcases and carried them to the far end of the corridor so as to be ready to get off the
train as soon as it stopped. The moment the train came to a halt, I called a porter, who
in no time at all had carried my luggage out of the station and found me a taxi. As I
drove towards my small hotel on the outskirts of the town, I breathed a deep sigh of
relief at my narrow escape. There was little chance that I should run into my boring
ex-neighbour again.
When I reached the hotel, I went straight to my room and rested there until it
was time for dinner. Then I went down to the lounge and ordered a drink. I had barely
raised the glass to my lips when an all too familiar voice greeted me. I had not
escaped from my tiresome neighbour after all! He grasped me warmly by the hand
and insisted that we should share a table in the dining-room. This is a pleasant
surprise, he said.
(Donn Byrne: Intermediate Comprehension Passages, p. 35)
VOCABULARY:
about to begin
all to familiar
to approach
to get away from
boring
to breath
- a deep sigh to relief
- in
to catch sight of someone
little chance
to come, came, come; coming
- to a halt
compartment
corridor
dining-room

- skoro otpoeti, trebati poeti

- isuvie poznat
- pribliiti se
- rijeiti se (koga), umai
- dosadan
- odahnuti (s olakanjem)
- udisati
- spaziti, ugledati koga
- slaba vjerojatnost (mogunost)
- zaustaviti se
- odjeljak, kupe
- hodnik
- salon za jelo, restoran

UNIT 3

I do wish
to have a narrow escape
to exchange
- a few words with
ex-neighbour
to glance
to grasp
- sbd. by the hand
to greet
in no time
to insist
to run into
to stretch ones legs
lounge
a narrow escape
neighbour
to order a drink
outskirts
on the outskirts of the town
platform
on the station platform
porter
to raise
relief
to rest
seaside
the seaside town
seat
to share
a short while
to slip
- back
a great talker
its time for sth.
tiresome
it used to (take)

- stvarno elim
- jedva jedvice umaknuti
- razmijeniti
- askati
- bivi susjed
- letimino pogledati, zaviriti u
- uhvatiti za ruku
- pozdraviti
- askom, u tren oka
- zahtijevati, uporno traiti
- sresti koga, namjeriti se na
- protegnuti noge
- salon
- bijeg za dlaku
- susjed
- naruiti pie
- predgrae
- u gradskom predgrau
- peron
- na peronu eljeznike stanice
- nosa
- (po)dii
- olakanje
- odmoriti se
- primorje, uz more
- primorski gradi
- sjedalo
- dijeliti
- na tren, nakratko
- kliznuti, spuznuti
- uljati se
- brbljivac
- vrijeme je
- dosadan
- obino je trajalo

QUESTIONS:
1. Where was the author going to spend his holidays?
2. What was he doing in the corridor?
3. Who was sitting in the compartment next to his?
4. What kind of a person was the authors ex-neighbour?
5. Did the author wish to meet him?
6. How did the author try to escape?
7. What did he do when the train stopped?
8. What did he do when he reached the hotel?
9. When did an all too familiar voice greet him?
10. Did he escape from his tiresome neighbour after all?

UNIT 3

RECONSTRUCT THE PASSAGE

TRANSLATE:
Vlak se pribliava stanici i zaustavlja. Izlazim iz kupea u hodnik da protegnem noge.
Gledam kroz prozor. Udiem svjei morski zrak. Na eljeznikom peronu malog
primorskog gradia ima puno ljudi i nekoliko nosaa. askam sa susjedom iz kupea.
On se pozdravlja s nekim prijateljem kojeg je sreo u hodniku. Osjeam pravo
olakanje; uskoro otpoinje moj godinji odmor.
MAKE SENTENCES OF YOUR OWN:
familiar (to) catch sight of (someone) (to) have a narrow escape in no time (to)
insist lounge on the outskirts of the town (to) share (to) slip back its time for
(sth.) a short while (to) grasp (sbd. by the hand)
EXERCISES:
I. INSERT THE MISSING ARTICLES:
(1) As ... train approached ... seaside town where I was going to spend my holidays, I
went into ... corridor to stretch my legs. I stayed there ... short while, breathing in
... fresh sea air and exchanging ... few words with one of ... passengers, whom I
had met earlier on ... station platform.
When I turned to go back to my seat, I happened to glance into ... compartment
next to mine. Sitting there was ... man who many years before had been my
neighbour. He was ... great talker, I remembered; it used to take ... hours to get
away from him once he began ... conversation.
CONSULT YOUR GRAMMAR BOOKS AND REPEAT EVERYTHING ON THE
ARTICLES.
(2) USE THE ARTICLES IF NECESSARY:
The is ... train at seven o clock in ... morning. This is ... first passenger train to ...
seaside. Then you have ... express train at eight. After that ... number of ... trains
leave on ... regular three-hour basis. I guess I will take ... express. ... friend of
mine always takes ... eight oclock express.
(3) INSERT THE ARTICLES:
1. The train approached ... seaside town. This wasnt ... seaside town where Iwas
going to spend my holidays.
2. There was ... man sitting in ... compartment next to mine.
... man was my ex-neighbour.
3. I called ... porter. ... porter carried my luggage and found me ... taxi.
4. I drove to ... small hotel on ... outskirts of the town.
I ordered ... drink in ... hotel lounge.
* GIVE THE PLURAL OF:
seaside, town, holiday, station platform, taxi, ex-neighbour
* USE THE FOLLOWING NOUNS IN SHORT SENTENCES SHOWING THE
NUMBER:

UNIT 3

outskirts news statistics mathematics

IN THE PROCESS PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE USE OR OMISSION OF
ARTICLES.
II. STUDY THESE SENTENCES FROM THE TEXT
It used to take hours to get away from him once he began a conversation.
I did not wish to meet him now, when my holiday was about to begin.
Luckily he was much too busy talking to the man opposite him to catch sight of me.
I took down my two suitcases and carried them to the far end of the corridor so as to
be ready to get off the train as soon as it stopped.
CONSULT YOUR GRAMMAR BOOKS AND REPEAT AND PRACTICE THE
PRONOUNS.
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES BY CHOOSING ONE OF THE
WORDS GIVEN IN BRACKETS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

I am not satisfied with ... (it, its, itself)

She sent a present to ... (I, me, my, mine, myself)
I misunderstood ... (he, him, his, himself)
She received the money I sent ... (she, her, hers, herself)
I had not met ... before. (they, them, their, theirs, themselves)
I can never depend on ... (you, your, yours, yourself)
We received a letter from ... (you, your, yours, yourselves)
You saw ... a moment ago. (we, us, our, ours, ourselves)

III. SUPPLY THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERBS IN BRACKETS:

A. 1. That summer day a year ago, as the train (approach) ... a seaside town, he (go)
... into the corridor and (stay) ... there for a short while.
2. While he (stand) ... there, he (listen) ... to the sound of quick footsteps on the
station platform.
3. He (breath) ... in the fresh sea air when somebody (grasp) ... him by the hand.
4. It (be) ... his ex-neighbour. He (rember) ... that the man (be) a great talker.
5. While his ex neighbour (talk) ... about this and that, he (try) ... to think of an
excuse to slip back into his compartment.
6. When the train (move) ... off again, he (tell) ... his tiresome ex-neighbour that
he (must) ... go back to his compartment.
7. The man (be) ... much too busy talking to notice that he (breath) ... a deep sigh
of relief as he (greet) ... him.
8. At the time it used to take hours to get away from him when he (begin) ... a
conversation.
B. RECONSTRUCT THE STORY IN THE ROLE OF THE AUTHOR.
I am on the train to the seaside town where I am going to spend my holidays ... etc.
IV. HOME STUDY

UNIT 3

Study the model. Consult your grammar books and repeat and practice the Preterit
Tense and the Preterit Continuous Tense.
Make similar sentences of your own and then make them interrogative and negative.
PRETERIT TENSE
(study) Yesterday I studied English grammar. Did you study irregular verbs?
(learn) I learned most irregular verbs last year.
(write) Last week I wrote a short letter to my English friend. Did you send him my
regards?
Yes, I did.
(hope) I hoped you would.
(will)
(meet) Where did we actually meet him for the first time? We met him in a Split caf
three years ago, didnt we?
(be) That was his first trip to Croatia, wasnt it.
PRETERIT CONTINUOUS TENSE
What were you doing last night when Sandra tried to contact you by telephone?
Last night I was listening to the late news when suddenly the lights went out. I was
trying to find my way in the dark when I unexpectedly tripped and, naturally, could
not answer the phone.
What were your sister and brother doing? They were looking for a candle while I was
laughing stretched out on the floor.
* CHANGE THESE SENTENCES TO THE PRETERIT TENSE. MAKE ALL
OTHER REQUIRED CHANGES. (TIME EXPRESSIONS!)
In the evening the shops shut at 8.
He speaks English well.
I am very bad at maths.
I dont know any solution to our problem.
He walks to school with his friends every morning.
A slippery road is unsafe.
Cars and buses provide transportation.
I travel to work by tram.