Task 8. Translate the dialogue about the London Tube and comment on any new information. What is your attitude to the underground?

 

ALICE:	Hi Yvonne.
YVONNE:	Now Alice, how do you get around London?
ALICE:	Ooh – by bus, bicycle and usually the Tube.
YVONNE:	Aha, and most people would agree that the London Underground – ‘the Tube’ – is the best way to get around this city. But many people have a love-hate relationship with the underground – we either love it or hate it.

Tube announcement: (Ladies and gentlemen)…because of earlier signal failure, the Metropolitan Line has severe delays and Hammersmith & City, Circle and Victoria Lines are all operating with minor delays. We have a good service and operation on all of our other London Underground lines (baby crying).

ALICE:	Oh dear, more delays – that's when the Tube is running late and doesn't come along when we expect it to. And that makes it unreliable.
YVONNE:	And the thing I hate most is that on a crowded carriage – or compartment – I always have to stand under someone's armpit – and they don't always smell very nice!
ALICE:	Oh, Yvonne – you poor thing. It's probably because you're not that tall, right?
YVONNE:	Anyway, there is a lot to love about the Tube as well. It’s reasonably fast, it covers a wide area and it has a long history. During the last financial year, how many kilometres did Tube trains travel? Was it about equal to: a) 72 trips to the moon and back b) 85 trips to the moon and back or c) 90 trips to the moon and back?
ALICE:	Oh, I've got no idea, so I'm going to guess and go for the big one. 90 trips to the moon and back.
YVONNE:	Mmm – a very brave guess! Now, if you live or work in London, or even if you’ve only ever used the Tube once as a visitor to Britain, you’ll probably have an opinion on it.
ALICE:	Yes, tourists and visitors to London who I’ve spoken to say they find it quite simple to use and that the map is very good. It's difficult to get lost underground.
YVONNE:	Hmm, it is. When our colleague Natalie first arrived in London from Northern Ireland, one thing about the Tube really surprised her.

Natalie: Nobody speaks to each other on the Tube; nobody looks at each other either most of the time. And at first, it was strange being that close to strangers, but you just have to get on with it or you'll not get on the Tube.

YVONNE:	So Natalie found it strange to be standing so close to people she didn't know – strangers – because the Tube was so crowded.
ALICE:	She soon realized that if she didn't “get on with it”, squeeze into a carriage and travel in cramped conditions at rush hour, she might never go anywhere.
YVONNE:	Mm, Natalie was most surprised that people don’t really speak to each other on the Tube. And do you know, it's true. We do avoid eye contact with other people, but I’m not sure why? But I'm a Londoner, and of course, I think lots of us are quite friendly.
ALICE:	I think it happens in all big cities. When there are lots of people in small, public places, people avoid eye contact or talking to each other.
YVONNE:	Now let’s hear from Wang Fei, another of our colleagues. He's from China, but has a much more romantic view of the Tube. Let’s listen to part of this rather poetic piece he created about the sounds we hear underground:

Wang Fei: I hear a rumbling noise begin quietly, then grow louder and louder, building up to a noise explosion as the train comes into the station. (This is South Kensington…). I hear the beeping sound and the doors open and close. I hear the clacking sound of the track, a constant soundtrack to people silently reading newspapers and books on the train.