Business Spotlight – Nr.6 2019

60 Business Spotlight 6/2019 LANGUAGE

Fotos: i _ultraforma_/iStock.com; Gert Krautbauer

Oyster cards

Sabine: Hi, Jack. I’m calling for some advice about

my trip to London. I’ll be in town for a week

and will be visiting lots of different places.

Should I use cabs or public transport?

Jack: I use public transport in the centre. Why

not buy an Oyster card when you get here?

Sabine: What’s that?

Ja c k : It’s a plastic card that costs a fiver, which you

can top up with credit.

Sabine: Is that cheaper than buying tickets for each

journey?

Jack: Absolutely. And you can use them on every

form of public transport in London. On the

Tube, you just touch the card on the yellow

card reader at the gates when you start and

end your journey. On the buses, you just

touch it when you get on.

Sabine: That sounds easy. Where can I get one?

Jack: Lots of places. You can buy them at station

ticket offices and ticket machines. Or you

can get them in local shops and newsagents

that have the Oyster sign in their window.

Going by bus

Sabine: Mary, what’s the best way to get to London

Bridge from here?

Mary: I’d take the bus. The numbers 48 and 49 go

there from the stop across the road.

Sabine: How long will that take?

Mary: It depends on the traffic, but about a half an

hour.

Sabine: I do like travelling on London buses. We

don’t have double-deckers where I live.

Mary: If you go upstairs and get a front seat, you’ll

have a great view!

Sabine: How do you know when it’s your stop?

Mary: There are announcements and screens on

most buses, except the old Routemasters.

On those, you just press the bell on the

handrail when you want to get off.

Sabine: What are Routemasters?

Mary: Old double-deckers that you get on through

an opening at the back. They have a conduc-

tor. But there are only a few of them run-

ning now.

The Underground

Sabine: I’ve got to get to White City. Is the Under-

ground the best way to get there?

John: Definitely. Take the Tube from Holborn.

Sabine: Why do you call the Underground “the

Tube”?

John: It’s a nickname from Victorian times.

Sabine: I suppose the tunnels are a kind of tube.

When was the first Underground built?

John: I think it was in the 1860s. I know from

a pub quiz that the first line was what we

now know as the Metropolitan Line.

Riverboats

Sabine: Is it easy to get to Greenwich from here?

Colin: You could get a train from Charing Cross,

but if you want an experience, I’d go by

Thames Clipper. You get a great trip down the

river and it takes only about 40 minutes.

Sabine: That sounds great. Where do I get on?

Colin: Westminster Pier is the closest from here.

You can use your Oyster card, too. There

are six or seven stops, at places like Canary

Wharf and Surrey Quays.

Sabine: That sounds perfect.

Colin: Look up “river bus” online and you’ll see all

the routes and timetables.

Sabine: Do people also use the riverboats for com-

muting?

Colin: They certainly do. I’d love to, but I live out-

side town, so it’s the train and Tube for me.

cab [kæb]

, Taxi

clipper [ˈklɪpə]

, Klipper (Segelschiff)

commute

[kəˈmjuːt] , pendeln;

hier auch: unterwegs sein

conductor

[kənˈdʌktə] UK

, Schaffner(in)

fiver [ˈfaɪvə] UK ifml.

, 5-Pfund-Note

get on [)get (ɒn]

, einsteigen

Greenwich [(ɡrenɪtʃ]

, [wg. Aussprache]

handrail [ˈhændreɪl]

, Geländer;

hier: Haltestange

newsagent

[ˈnjuːzˌeɪdʒənt] UK

, Zeitschriftenladen, Kiosk

nickname [ˈnɪkneɪm]

, Spitzname

oyster [(OIstE]

, Auster

pier [pɪə]

, Kai, Landungssteg

quay [kiː]

, (Hafen-)Kai

reader [ˈriːdə]

, Lesegerät

route [ruːt]

, hier: Linie, Fährstrecke

Thames [temz]

, Themse

timetable

[ˈtaɪmˌteɪb&l]

, Fahrplan

top sth. up (with credit)

[)tɒp (ʌp] UK

, etw. (mit einem

Guthaben) aufladen

Tube: the ~

[tjuːb] UK

, U-Bahn (in London)

(tube , Röhre)

wharf [wɔːf]

, Anlegeplatz, Kai

On the Tube:

typical London

commute

KEN TAYLOR

is a communication

consultant and

author of 50 Ways

to Improve Your

Business English

(Summertown).

Contact:

KTaylor868@aol.

com

LANGUAGE

ENGLISH ON THE MOVE

Commuting in London

Sind Sie in London unterwegs, haben Sie mehrere Transportmittel

zur Auswahl. Lesen Sie hier, welche die Londoner bevorzugen.

MEDIUM AUDIO PLUS