travel and transport british council

Club Profiles

• Bahasa Indonesia

Choose language

• Travel & Tourism

Travel & Tourism: Transport

In this week's Premier Skills English Podcast , Jack, Rich and Rowan talk about memorable trips by road, rail and air. The language focus is on words connected to catching buses, trains and planes .   In this week's task, we want you to tell us about a memorable trip by road, rail or air that you been on. Don't forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess.

Learning Vocabulary: A memorable journey Introduction

Jack : Hello my name’s Jack

Rowan : My name’s Rowan

Rich : and I’m Rich 

Rowan : And welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast.

Jack : In the Premier Skills English podcast, we talk about football and help you with your English. 

Rowan : Don’t forget you can find the transcript for all our podcasts on the Premier Skills English website.

Jack : This week we have three different roleplays for you. In each of the roleplays, we’re going to talk about a journey.

Rowan : Each roleplay focuses on travelling on a different type of transport: planes, trains and buses.

Jack : We think that this topic will be useful for two reasons. Firstly, this is essential language if you ever visit an English speaking country and want to, well, use public transport and also because this language is really common in exams. 

Rowan : When you do an English exam, you often have to talk about public transport so this is valuable vocabulary to revise.

Rich : After each roleplay, we’ll look at words and phrases that you might need when travelling by bus, by train or by plane.

Jack : In the role play, I’m going to be talking about a bus journey. I can’t stand traveling by bus and the journey I’m talking about was really annoying.

Rowan : Mine was the opposite. I was going on a long train journey. I love traveling by train and this was a really exciting journey for me.

Rich : And I was traveling by plane. It was the first time I ever flew - I’ll never forget it. In fact, all of these journeys will be hard to forget. And that’s part of the reason we’ve chosen this topic. You see, talking about a memorable journey is a really common English exam task. 

Rowan : And that’s why your task this week is to tell us about a journey or trip which you’ll never forget, a journey you remember well - a memorable journey.

Jack : If you are listening to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or any other podcast platform, you should also check out our website.

Rowan : On the Premier Skills English website you’ll find the transcript, examples and activities to help you understand the language, and the task for you to complete.

Rich : But if you listen on Apple Podcasts you can always write answers to our questions or any other comments in the review section.

Jack : Before we do the roleplays let’s look back at last week’s football phrase.

Last week’s Football Phrase 

Rowan : Before we start this week’s roleplay we need to look back at last week’s football phrase. 

Rich : OK, our football phrase. If you’ve not listened to the podcast before, every week we set our listeners a language challenge. We explain a football phrase or word and you have to guess what it is.

Rowan : When you know the answer, go to the Premier   Skills English website and write the word or phrase in the comments section for this podcast. If you’re correct we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast.

Rich : We had lots of correct answers last week but a big congratulations to Alex from Ukraine who was the first to get the correct answer.

Jack : And a big well done to the following listeners who also got the correct answer: Liubomyr from Ukraine, Hayato and Keisuke M from Japan, Navid from Iran, Emmanuel from France, Max Alex from Vietnam, Marco Zapien from Mexico, HSN and MoBeckham from Turkey, Elghoul from Algeria and Robert Tavares from Brazil.

Rowan : The new football phrase is at the end of this podcast but we’re going to give you one more chance to guess last week’s football phrase. Are you ready?

Rich : The phrase was a ******** **** which connects passing with getting injured. A ******** **** is when you give an opponent the same chance of getting the ball as a teammate. Both players will need to tackle to win possession of the ball and this increases the chance of injury

Rowan : We’ll give you the answer and a new football phrase at the end of this podcast.

Jack : If you remember, our last podcast was the last in our series of podcasts connected to different sports and fitness activities.

Rich : Don’t worry if you want to learn more English connected to sport and fitness because we will soon have some new content on the website about this. Keep your eyes open for that.

Rowan : Last week’s podcast was about football training and football and we asked you about the last time you played football.

Jack : Vic from Mexico told us about playing for his school team and hurting his knee. Ouch!

Rich : Navid from Iran told us that it’s been a while since he played but he used to play in midfield and the last time he played he had the coach on his side who was also the referee. Naturally, Navid’s team won!

Rowan : And HSN from Turkey really enjoyed last week’s podcast and had a lot to say on the website. The last time he played football with friends in his neighbourhood the losers had to buy the winners lemonade. However, HSN didn’t say whether he finished on the winning or losing team!

Jack : Thanks for all your comments and your answers to the tasks. We do enjoy reading all of them and think it’s a really good way to practise your English so keep writing those comments!

Rich : If you haven’t heard this podcast it’s called Learning Vocabulary: Football Training and you can find it on the Premier Skills English website or on Apple Podcasts.

Introduction to roleplay: 

Rowan : We have three roleplays for you this week. We’re talking about trips we remember well or memorable journeys.

Jack : You will hear me talking about a bus trip, Rowan’s talking about a train journey and Rich is talking about the first time he went on a plane.

Rich : As always, the main focus is the language. After each roleplay, we’re going to focus on words and phrases connected to these three types of transport: buses, trains and planes.

Rowan : While you listen to each roleplay we want you to answer two questions. 

Rich : Question one: Why did Jack have to get off the bus?

Rowan : Question two: What has Jack forgotten?

Jack : Sorry, I’m late. I had an absolute nightmare getting here.

Rich : I just saw you getting off the number forty-one at the bus stop. We should still make kick-off.

Jack : I should have been here half an hour ago but as you saw, I had to get the bus. 

Rowan : Why are you not in the car?

Jack : It broke down yesterday. I hate buses and I forgot my wallet so I didn’t have my card. ... 

Rich : How did you pay the fare?

Jack : I didn’t!

Rowan : You didn’t pay the fare?

Jack : I had a tenner in my pocket but the driver said they only accept the exact fare if you pay in cash. They don’t give any change. ...

Rich : So you had to go home?

Jack : I asked the other passengers if anyone had any change.

Rowan : Good idea.

Jack : No-one did, but the driver let me on anyway but only for a couple of stops so I could go and get some change at the shops.

Rich : That was a bit mean. He could have let you off.

Jack : That’s what I thought. Anyway, I went to the newsagents and bought a paper.

Rowan : The bus had gone I suppose?

Jack : Yeah, I had to wait for ages at the bus stop and then three arrived at the same time. 

Rich : Always the way.

Jack : And none of them were coming here. I had to get a bus into town and then change. And they were packed - I’m just happy the driver let me get on. I had to stand up all the way.

Rowan : Ah well! You’re here now. Have you got the tickets?

Jack : Tickets?! Tickets! They’re in my wallet!

Language Focus 1

Rowan : Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: Why did Jack have to get off the bus?

Jack : Usually I pay by card on the bus but I’d forgotten my wallet. I did have some money but only a ten-pound note and the bus driver needed the exact money.

Rich : Our second question was: What did Jack forget?

Jack : The answer was the tickets. They were in my wallet.

Rowan : In the roleplay, we used lots of language connected to travelling by bus. You might have heard get the bus, get on and off, the number 41, bus stop or stops as well as words connected to money such as bus fare and change.

Jack : Let’s look at some of that language now. Listen to this section of the roleplay again. Can you hear any words and phrases connected to buses?

Jack : I should have been here half an hour ago. I had to get the bus. 

Rowan : The word get is super useful when we speak about transport.

Rich : How do you get to work in the morning?

Rowan : I get the bus. I get the train. I get the underground.

Jack : I got the bus in the roleplay to meet Rowan and Rich.

Rich : We can also use the verbs take or catch. I take the train to work or I catch the bus.

Rowan : You might have noticed that we said get the bus and not get a bus.

Jack : We can actually use either - they mean the same thing. You can get the bus to work or get a bus to work. When you get the bus you are probably talking about a route you know well and use a lot.

Rich : But when we talk about the underground we always use the because we are talking about the transport system and not the individual trains.

Rowan : We usually use the definite article ‘the’ when talking about the route we take by bus. Jack got the number 41.

Jack : When I got on the bus I realised that I’d forgotten my wallet so I had to get off the bus. 

Rich : We get on and off buses. It’s the same with trains, coaches and planes. We get on and off them but cars are different - we get in a car and we get out of a car.

Rowan : The other word you might have noticed in the clip we played is where you wait for a bus. Where do you wait for a bus?

Jack : At the bus stop. Let’s play another section of the roleplay again. What words do you hear that are connected to money?

Jack : I had a tenner in my pocket but the driver said they only accept the exact fare if you pay in cash. They don’t give any change.

Rich : An important word here is fare - f-a-r-e, fare. This is short for bus fare - the amount of money you have to pay to travel. You have to pay a fare on all types of transport: bus fare, train fare, plane fare or taxi fare.

Rowan : Jack didn’t pay his fare. He didn’t pay his bus fare.

Jack : It’s because I had to pay the exact fare and I didn’t have any change.

Rich : This happens a lot on buses in the UK if you can pay in cash. If the bus fare is 75 pence you have to give the driver 75 pence, not a pound because the driver won’t give you any change.

Rowan : Think about the prepositions I use here: On buses, I can usually pay by card or in cash.

Jack : The other keyword is change. The driver didn’t have any change. Change here is used to describe small amounts of money - normally coins.

Rich : I’ve always got some change in my jeans pocket.

Jack : It is also used to describe the money you get back when you pay for something with more money than it costs.

Rowan : If the fare is 75 pence and I give the driver a pound I need 25 pence change.

Jack : In the roleplay, I had to get off the bus to change a ten-pound note to get some change because the driver wouldn’t give any change.

Rich : That’s complicated. Let’s play another section of the roleplay again. What words do you hear that are connected to buses?

Jack : No-one did but the driver let me on anyway but only for a couple of stops so I could go and get some change at the shops.

Rowan : We’ve already said that the place where you wait for a bus is called a bus stop. 

Jack : Stop is used to describe the place where the bus usually stops to collect more passengers.

Rich : Jack got on the bus for two stops. My bus journey to work is twelve stops. Can you stop the bus? I think I’ve missed my stop! 

Jack : There were a couple of useful phrases with the word ‘let’ in this section. The driver let me on. This means the driver permitted or allowed me to get on the bus.

Rowan : And Rich said the driver should have let Jack off. This could mean he allowed him to get off the bus but here it is a phrasal verb and has a different meaning.

Rich : Here to let off means to allow someone not to do something. I thought the driver could have let Jack not pay his bus fare.

Jack : Remember you can check your understanding of all this vocabulary on the Premier Skills English website.

Jack : Let’s move on to our second roleplay. We’re at the train station and Rowan tells us about a memorable train journey she went on in the past.

Rowan :  Here are the two questions we want you to answer as you listen.

Rich : Question one: Where did Rowan stop on her journey?

Jack : Question two: How did she get back from her destination?

Rowan : Have I ever told you about the time I saw Fulham play in Hamburg?

Jack : Loads of times, Rowan! Fulham’s best-ever season. It was the Europa League Final - the first-ever - about ten years ago now. You played Atletico Madrid.

Rich : Oh, you lost, didn’t you? I didn’t know you went to the final though. How cool!

Rowan : I know we lost, but it was a brilliant trip. Do you know how I got there?

Jack : By plane I imagine.

Rowan : No actually, so you don’t know everything. I went by train. I always remember my trip to Hamburg when I’m getting a train somewhere.

Rich : The UK to Germany by train. That must’ve been really exciting.

Rowan : It was. I remember the journey like it was yesterday - I remember waiting on the platform at St. Pancras Station in London.

Jack : I’ve never caught the Eurostar. 

Rowan : The whole trip took a week.

Jack : It must’ve been a really slow train.

Rowan : The trip was a week not the train journey. I remember the train rolling into Gare du Nord in Paris. We stayed for three days. We did all the touristy things; the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, we even went to see cabaret at the Moulin Rouge.

Rich : And then you got back on the train to Hamburg?

Rowan : Not quite. We could have got a direct train but we took the train to Brussels and then to Amsterdam instead.

Jack : I bet you got really good at reading train timetables.

Rich : And they were always on time?

Rowan : Yes, I can’t remember one train being delayed or cancelled. We tried to avoid peak times when trains are really busy though.

Rich : And more expensive!

Jack : So, Hamburg after Amsterdam? 

Rowan : Yes, for the match. I know we lost but it was still a great experience.

Rich : I’ve never done anything like that. I’d love to watch Liverpool abroad. 

Jack : And did you get singles or returns?

Rowan : Always singles. We took a plane home. I had to be back at work on Monday.

Language Focus 2 

Rich : Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: Where did Rowan stop on her journey?

Rowan : I stopped in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam on the way to Hamburg in Germany. 

Jack : And our second question was: How did Rowan get back from her destination?

Rowan : The answer was by plane. I would have liked to have done the return journey but I needed to get home for work.

Rich : In the roleplay, we used lots of language connected to travelling by train. Let’s play another section of the roleplay again. What words do you hear that are connected to trains?

Rowan : I went to Germany by train. Did you notice the preposition here? The preposition we use when talking about  travel in general is ‘by’. We say by plus the type of transport.

Rich : By train, by bus, by plane, by car, by underground.

Jack : But when you walk from one place to another we say  on foot.

Rowan : Just one foot?

Jack : It’s strange, isn’t it?

Rich : We mentioned a couple of places in the clip you just heard. The train station and the platforms.

Rowan : The station or train station is simple enough but platform might be a new word for some of you.

Jack : A train station has a number of platforms. These are the places where you wait for your train and get on when it arrives.

Rich : Let’s play another section of the roleplay again. What words do you hear that are connected to time?

Rich : Sometimes trains are late but Rowan didn’t have any problems. She said all the trains she took were on time.

Jack : To be on time means to be punctual - to arrive at the expected time. The time it says on the train timetable.

Rowan : The train timetables are what you often see in train stations or on platforms that tell you all the arrival and departure times of trains at that station on each day.

Rich : Rowan said that she tried to avoid peak times. These are the times that trains are busiest. In the UK, peak times are between seven and nine in the morning and five and seven in the afternoon.

Jack : Sometimes trains are delayed which can be annoying. It means that the train arrives later than planned.

Rowan : And sometimes trains can be cancelled which is even more annoying. This means that they don’t arrive at all.

Rich : Luckily that didn’t happen to Rowan on her trip to Germany.

Jack : Let’s move on to our final roleplay. We’re at the airport and Rich tells us about the first time he went on a plane.

Rich :  Here are the two questions we want you to answer as you listen.

Rowan : Question one: Why are we at the airport?

Jack : Question two: What do Rich and Rowan agree on when it comes to flying?

Rich : It was good to get through check-in and security, quickly. We’ve got some time for shopping. Boarding time is over an hour away.

Rowan : I’ve never been on a business trip abroad before.

Jack : Neither have I but why are we flying economy?

Rich : You wanted business class? It’s only a two-hour flight!

Jack : A shame we didn’t get upgraded at check-in. 

Rowan : I’m just happy I didn’t have to pay any excess baggage my carry-on bag weighs a ton.

Jack : It’s been ages since I’ve been on a plane. 

Rowan : Me, too, but I’ve never been a frequent flyer. I get a bit nervous before take-off.

Rich : I love flying. I still remember my first ever time on a plane.

Jack : Where did you go?

Rich : Manchester to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. I was about twelve I think. I was so excited that I was going on a plane. I remember the plane taking off and seeing the clouds and then going through them. It was amazing.

Rowan : And weren’t you scared? I was petrified my first time. I still am and when there’s turbulence. Oh my god - I go to pieces.

Rich : I love it when it gets a bit bumpy - like a roller coaster.

Jack : I’m not sure about that. I’m not a fan of turbulence either but jet lag’s the worst thing about flying for me.

Rowan : Well, you’ve been lucky enough to go to quite a few long-haul destinations.

Rich : I like taking off but landing is the best bit of a plane journey. I remember landing in the Canary Islands and seeing the blue sea and the tiny runway ahead of us. It was breathtaking although I do remember a bit of turbulence and holding my mum’s hand as we touched down.

Rowan : I think we can agree that landing is the best bit of a plane journey.

Jack : Did that say last call for passengers on flight 2756. Come on guys! I think that’s us.

Language Focus 3

Rowan : Before the roleplay, we asked you two questions. The first question was: Why were we at the airport?

Rich : We were at the airport because we were going on a business trip together. 

Jack : And our second question was: What did Rich and Rowan agree on about flying?

Rich : We agreed that the plane landing was the best bit of the journey.

Rowan : Although the reasons were different. Rich thinks the plane landing is exciting but I think it’s terrifying.

Jack : In the roleplay, we used lots of language connected to travelling by plane. Let’s look at some of that language now. Listen to this clip from the roleplay again.

Jack : When you arrive at the airport the first place you usually go is check-in. This is the place where you leave your bags, or more formally baggage, and show your ticket.

Rowan : There are different types of tickets you can buy. The cheapest is usually called economy class or just economy.

Rich : Most people fly economy.

Jack : But other people may fly business class or even first class. These tickets are really expensive.

Rowan : There’s something similar on trains. In the UK you can travel first-class or standard class.

Rich : I think on buses it’s the same for everyone although lots of buses in the UK have two decks - they are called double-deckers. I love going upstairs on a bus.

Jack : Back to planes. I was disappointed that we didn’t get upgraded. To get upgraded on a plane means to be given a better seat or class when you check-in.

Rowan : It can be a verb or a noun. I’ve never got an upgrade on a plane.

Rich : More generally, upgrade means to make something better or to improve the condition of something.

Jack : We’ve already said that we leave our baggage at check-in. Rowan was worried about excess baggage. This is when your bags weigh more than is permitted and you have to pay extra.

Rich : At check-in, people usually have baggage to check-in - to go in the hold of the plane and small bags they want to take on or carry onto the plane. This is called carry-on or hand baggage.

Rowan : Let’s play one final section from the roleplay. What words do you hear that are connected to planes?

Jack : Let’s start with two very important words: take off and land. 

Rich : Planes go up into the sky - they take off and they come down from the sky - they land. 

Rowan : Planes take off and land on runways. The runway is the straight strip of road that planes travel along to build up and reduce speed.

Jack : A phrasal verb for land is touch down. The plane touched down at 3:47.

Rowan : And finally something that happens on planes that nobody likes: turbulence.

Rich : Turbulence happens when there are changes in the wind speed that cause the plane to rock and move about a lot.

Jack : Remember that we’ve got vocabulary activities for you to check your understanding of everything we’ve looked at today on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich : In this week’s task, we want you to tell us about a memorable journey or trip.

Rowan : This journey could have been recent like Jack’s bus trip or a long time ago like my trip to Germany or Rich’s flight to the Canary Islands.

Jack : It could have been a fantastic experience or a not so nice experience, but the important thing is that it was a memorable trip.

Rich : The trip should either have been on a bus, train or aeroplane.

Rowan : And of course as you tell us about the trip we want you to use some of the language we introduced in this podcast connected to buses, trains or planes.

Jack : Write all your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website or Apple Podcasts if that’s where you listen to us.

Football Phrase

Jack : It’s time for this week’s football phrase. Have you got one Rich?

Rich : I have. This week’s football phrase is **** **** ****. In this podcast, we’ve been talking about travelling and being **** **** **** a lot. We also use this phrase when football teams are not playing in their own stadiums. Manchester City are **** **** **** this weekend - they’re playing at Anfield.

Jack : Let’s see if anyone gets it right and who is first this week. If you are still wondering what the answer was to last week’s football phrase it was a hospital pass.

Rowan : Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below. If you get it right, we’ll announce your name on next week’s podcast. 

Rich : If you have a question for us about football or English you can email us at [email protected]

Jack : or you can leave your questions and comments on the website in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

Rowan : or you could give us a rating and a fantastic review on Apple Podcasts.

Rich : Bye for now and enjoy your football!

How much did you understand?

Here is the vocabulary you saw at the top of this page and how Rowan, Rich and Jack used it in the roleplay. Do you know the words  in bold ?

I asked the other passengers if anyone had any change . The bus packed - I’m just happy the driver let me get on.  I’ve never done anything like that. I’d love to watch Liverpool abroad . We could have got a direct train but we took the train to Brussels and then to Amsterdam instead. I’m not a fan of turbulence either but jet lag ’s the worst thing about flying for me. Did that say last call for passengers on flight 2756?

Listen to the roleplays again to hear how Rich, Rowan and Jack used these words and phrases.

In the first roleplay, Jack had a few problems catching the bus. Do you know the phrases  in bold that are often used when we take the bus?

Rich : I just saw you getting off the number forty-one at the bus stop . We should still make kick-off. Jack : I should have been here half an hour ago. I had to get the bus .  ... Rowan : You didn’t pay the fare ? Jack : I had a tenner in my pocket but the driver said they only accept the exact fare if you pay in cash . They don’t give any change . ... Jack : The driver let me on anyway but only for a couple of stops so I could go and get some change at the shops. Rich : That was a bit mean. He could have let you off .

In the second roleplay, Rowan told Rich and Jack about her trip to Germany by train to watch Fulham play in the Europa League Final. Do you know the words and phrases  in bold  that are often used when we catch the train?

Rich : The UK to Germany by train . That must’ve been really exciting. Rowan : It was. I remember the journey like it was yesterday - I remember waiting on the platform at St. Pancras Station in London. ... Rowan : Not quite. We could have got a direct train but we took the train to Brussels and then to Amsterdam instead. Jack : I bet you got really good at reading train timetables . Rich : And they were always on time ? Rowan : Yes, I can’t remember one train being delayed or cancelled . We tried to avoid peak times when trains are really busy though.

Have you ever watched football in a different country? Would you like to?

In the second roleplay, Rich, Rowan and Jack were at the airport and Rich spoke about the first time he flew on a plane. Do you know the words and phrases  in bold  that are often used when we talk about plane trips?

Jack : Neither have I but why are we flying economy ? Rich : You wanted business class ? It’s only a two-hour flight! Jack : A shame we didn’t get upgraded at check-in .  Rowan : I’m just happy I didn’t have to pay any excess baggage my carry-on bag weighs a ton. ... Rich : I like taking off but landing is the best bit of a plane journey. I remember landing in the Canary Islands and seeing the blue sea and the tiny runway ahead of us. It was breathtaking although I do remember a bit of turbulence and holding my mum’s hand as we touched down .

A memorable journey by land, rail or air

In this week’s task, we want you to tell us about a memorable journey or trip by road, rail or air.

• Where did you go and how did you go and how did you travel?
• Was this journey recent like Jack’s bus trip or a long time ago Rowan's trip to Germany or Rich’s flight to the Canary Islands?
• Was it a fantastic experience or did you have lots of problems on the way? Why was it memorable?

Try to use some of the language we introduced in the podcast connected to buses, trains and planes.

Write all your answers below, try to use some of the words and phrases we introduced in this podcast and don't forget to  have a guess at this week's football phrase .

Leave a comment

Log in to leave a comment

Hello. The Phrase is **** **** ****.

• Log in or register to post comments

The phrase of this week would be: "**** **** ****". Thank you very much and happy lunar new year!

And a very Happy Lunar New Year to you, Max Alex!

One question please ,

What’s the difference between ( get on / off ) and ( step on / off ) ?

Thanks in advance :)

Hi MoBeckham,

When we're talking about transport I'd say that the main differences are frequency of use and level of formality but there's little, if any, difference in meaning. 'Get off/on the bus' is used much more and like many 'get' phrases is quite informal. Step on/off is not uncommon but is more likely to be used in slightly more formal situations. An announcement on a train is much more likely to say 'Please take care when stepping off the train' than 'Please take care when getting off the train'.

Hope that helps.

Rich - The Premier Skills English Team

That definitely helps :)

Much appreciated Rich

The podcast is brilliant as always with useful phrases and expressions. Thanks a lot for all of you :)

One of my best memorable journeys I will never forget was in November 2016 from my current home city Izmir to Istanbul and the reason was watching my Manchester United taking on the home side Fenerbahçe live from the stands.

The game was on Thursday as typical Europa League matches so I had to take a day off from work and luckily the principal of the school agreed :)

I woke up at 6 am and put on my United home kit on and then the Aon jacket and then I took the izban ( the Izmir long metro ) heading to the airport. I stepped off the izban and went to the check-in desk which finished swiftly because I had already checked in online and just had my backpack.

My plane took off at 9 am and land at 10 as the trip is only an hour between the two big cities. Since the game was 10 pm in the evening so I had a long time to move around the city and watch some of the landmarks of Istanbul.

I bought Istanbulkart which is compulsory to use public transport in Istanbul and I almost stepped on all the modes of transport there (buses , underground and taxis)

I went in front of the stadium 4 hours before the game to enjoy the atmosphere and buy some souvenirs from the merchandise shop and then I entered the stadium and watched the dream game. I even threw the ball to Rashford once when the ball went out to the stands. It was a dream come true. Unfortunately we lost the game but we won that competition at last with Jose Mourinho.

I took a taxi to the coaches station after the game and then I booked a coach back to Izmir at 1 am. I slept in the coach and we arrived home at almost 7 am so I had to change my clothes and dress like a teacher then I went directly to school. It was such an exhausting 48 hours because I was completely knackered but I will never forget those precious moments.

Thanks for reading in advance :)

Hi Pawalele,

That is one of the words in the phrase but there are three words in this phrase.

Do you want to have another guess?

So, maybe the phrases is: **** **** ****

I think that this week’s football phrase is "an **** match/game".

Hi Yoshichika,

You have one of the words right but not all the phrase. Do you want to have another guess? Having a look at the transcript to see how we use the phrase might help you.

Hi there! The football phase must be **** **** ****.

I always believe that everybody deserves a second chance-:) I think phrase is--- **** **** ****.

About a year and half ago, been to London for a month. It was the first time Howe Remember like yesterday. Sightseeing around London and too much drink beer at pub and sometimes play the piano near Edgware Road station and in Kings cross station. All of Londoner are very kind and polite to me. So I’ve been lovely London.

It was an unforgettable journey by bus included a little bit joys , sadness and tiredness a long time ago. I was returning to İstanbul from a business trip. I like and generally prefer bus journey which gives much time to read a book or magazine. It should have been five hours normally. Three hours after departure time we arrived another city which the road is going on the top of the mountain.There were a heavy snow and road was blocked. We had to wait approximately eight hours for it to be opened. During the waiting period, Turkish Red Crescent team had distributed food and drink to the passengers. TV channels reporters came and held interview with passengers. Finally I arrived to my home.

• My friend was so generous he didn't let me off to pay the dinner bill.

• Last week, I went mom’s house on foot. It cost me nothing-:)

• I recommend timetables should have involved not only expected arrival time but also delayed arrival times-:)

• Prioritized target of the people must be to upgrade living conditions.

• Getting in the train in the peak times needs stamina and more workouts-:)

• Everybody complain but do you know the benefit of high rate of inflation. You don’t have to have or carry any coins-:)

FOOTBALL PHRASE-- I think it's "**** TEAM ON THE ROAD"

• I wonder if there is internationally accepted uniform football terms. For instance we don.t use the phrase “Hospital Pass”

• In my city Ankara, at the public transport to pay bus fare in cash is disallowed. If someone has no card and request help , many of passengers would compete to give own card . No need get off the bus. On the other hand, the bus drivers have no authority to let somebody on for a couple of stops without card.

• When we were child. We used to call novice players as a “Lemonade Tree” . They were generally defeated and had to order lemonade. For a while, I was always in the loosing team until become experienced and skillful player.

The phrase might be '**** play trip'.

I think this week’s football phrase is **** **** ****

I have a remarkable travel, was in the begins of 2018 I visited UK, it was my first time out from my country. I make the choise to travel after resing of my ugly job, and I wil have a lot of free time, so I decided to take a plane and go to London. I remember like it was yesterday, I was petrified when tha plane touched dow, at the plane fill the request of inmigration, and I felt too nervous for the meet at inmigration station in Heathrow, when arrive in front of the officer I cant talk any word in english, gosh, but I tried to do my best effort, finally my passport was sealed and let me stay legally in UK. After that, the driver of the travel company wait for me and bring to the hotel, the jet lag it was kill me, so that night slept like a rock. The next day, I starved, took a english breakfast and the adventure started, know the London City, was incredible, I bought my oyster card, and travel by undreground, the line blue, Picadelly Circus Line, I get off the underground in Knightbridge station, ans started to walk on the street, I felt ike a citizen of the world, I felt the typical britis rain,. After that walk on Hyde Park Corner, I was in the location of the film Kingsman in front of Lake, I felt like a James Bond. Of course I visited the British museum, was beautiful place, I was amazing of the collection of Egypt culture, and my dream come true stay in fron Rosetta Stone, after that I went to London Eye. In my last day, take the bus, in front of London Eye to went Picadelly Station, walk on the street of the big shops.

Was a very nice trip, I want to go back to London.

Phrase: team touched down

Last time I was on a trip a year ago when I visited London on business. I enjoyed London during my time there; however, I faced some logistical difficulties. I arrived by plane to Gatwick Airport near London and got a direct train to London but soon found that on that day all trains to London are diverted to ‘unusual route’ due to the maintenance work on the mainline. Instead of half an hour commute, the way to London by train took me almost two hours. On my way back – another problem. A storm approached Britain, so I found information that trains could be delayed due to the limitation of their speed in order to avoid collisions with fallen trees. So, I checked train timetables and decided to board earlier train to have time on my hands and not miss my plane. But on this occasion, my train was right on time and I arrived at the airport as scheduled.

I think that the phrase is ‘**** **** ****’.

Probably: **** **** ****

**** **** **** is the Phrase.

Leaderboard

Skills : Listening

Vocabulary : Buses

Vocabulary : Trains

Vocabulary : Planes

Task:  Tell us about a memorable trip by road, rail or air

Learning Vocabulary: Football Training

Rowan invites Jack and Rich to football training.

This Week: Unbeaten Runs

Jack, Laura and Rich talk about the Premier League action from the last seven days.

Learning Vocabulary: Phrasal verbs connected to travel

In this week's Premier Skills English podcast, Rich and Jack look at 10 phrasal verbs that are connected to travel.

English & Tourism: Checking In

In this week's podcast, we look at the language you need when checking in to a hotel.

English & Tourism: Making a complaint

In this week's podcast, Rich complains about some problems at a hotel.

English & Tourism: Eating out

In this week's podcast, we talk about eating out and fish and chip shops.

English & Tourism: Restaurants

In this week's podcast, Jack and Rich look at phrases that will help you in a restaurant.

This Week: Match winner

Travel & Tourism: Hotels

Rowan, Rich and Jack are at a hotel and Rich is complaining.

Travel & Tourism: Hiring a car

Rowan and Rich hire a car from Jack's Rentals.

• A1-A2 vocabulary

Transport 2

Do these exercises to learn more words for different kinds of transport.

Which of these kinds of transport do you use? Which do you prefer? 

Language level

I dont use nothing of this transports.I prefer to use sometimes underground and tram.

• Log in or register to post comments

I use rollerblades and electrical scooters. I prefer e-scooter, it's comfortable and fast way to move in big city. When I travel I use tram, because it moves slowly and I can see different attractions and underground, because I can move fast and underground, because I can move fast not get lost. Would be nice to have underground in my own town but it's not presented here. I dream about mule with wagon, think it's really musthave

Among these means of transport, I use sports cars, pickup trucks, rollerblades, and wagons. I have never used mules, horses, double decker buses, ferries, convertibles, subways, trams, scooters. I prefer using a pickup truck.

I already have a car so I don't use any of them but if I had to, I would prefer the underground.

I have never used most of these transports except for the ferry. I see that the convertible is most comfortable.

I prefer a convertible when I'm on holiday. My son loves scooters and sports cars. I my home town you can't see pickup trucks, convertibles, double-decker buses and no ferries either.

Online courses

Group and one-to-one classes with expert teachers.

Learn English in your own time, at your own pace.

One-to-one sessions focused on a personal plan.

Get the score you need with private and group classes.  

Search form

Trains and travel.

Look at the two messages and do the exercises to improve your message writing skills.

Instructions

Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the emails and do the other exercises.

Preparation

Subject: Where are you?

Where are you? I’m at the station waiting for you. Are you on the train? What time does it arrive? I’ll wait for you here at the station.

See you soon

From: Akiko

Subject: Re: Where are you?

I’m on the train, but it’s late! It arrives at 17:30. Don’t wait for me at the station. I’ll get a bus to your house. What’s the bus number?

See you later

Check your understanding: grouping

Check your writing: ordering - email structure, check your writing: replying to an email, worksheets and downloads.

Do you use trains in your town or city?

Sign up to our newsletter for LearnEnglish Teens

We will process your data to send you our newsletter and updates based on your consent. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. Read our privacy policy for more information.

• Teaching secondary
• Lesson plans
• Secondary lesson plans - Intermediate B1

Round-the-world travellers

This lesson offers a variety of activities based on British round-the-world travellers; a cyclist, a running granny and a teenage sailor.

Students will firstly review country names, and then there is an activity to pre-teach vocabulary for a jigsaw reading task, where students will explain their texts to each other. There follows a role play in which students play the part of a traveller or a journalist, and this is followed by a task where students compare ideas on advice to world travellers. Finally there is a more open discussion task about young people, travel and world records.

Aims: • To learn vocabulary related to travel and adventure • To develop reading skills • To practise speaking skills Age group: 12- adult

Level: B1 / B2

Time: 60 minutes

Materials: Around-the-world travellers student worksheet, jigsaw reading texts, and lesson plan

Copyright – Please read

All the materials on these pages are free and available for you to download and copy for educational use only. You may not redistribute, sell or place these materials on any other web site without written permission from the BBC and British Council. If you have any questions about the use of these materials, please e-mail [email protected]  

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight

Moscow Bus Network

Moscow's crazy traffic and its excellent metro network mean that the city's buses and trolleybuses aren't the number one option for tourists .

Moscow has hundreds of bus and trolleybus routes , many of which connect the city centre with its otherwise-isolated suburban neighbourhoods. Regular traffic jams mean that the bus network has not always been the most recommendable option , especially as the metro is so efficient. 

Having said that, new bus lanes have opened up recently making it a comfortable alternative for certain routes. The bus can be a good, economical option at night , when 13 routes replace the metro after it shuts down (all starting from Kitay-Gorod metro and taking the main roads out to the edge off the city).

More modern buses have screens indicating the stops along the route, but in older ones you may well struggle knowing where to get off if relying on the Russian-language loudspeaker announcements .

If you do decide to catch the bus, tickets can be purchased from kiosks and metro stops, and the majority of lines operate between 6 am and 1 am.

You may also be interested in

While Moscow has an efficient public transport system, you may sometimes find it more convenient to travel by taxi and prices are usually affordable. Find fares and top tips here!

Tickets & travelcards

Fares for Moscow's public transport network are the same for every mode of transport making it really easy to travel. See all the different tickets here!

• What You Should Know Before...

What You Should Know Before Travelling to Moscow

Moscow is the city of golden domes, impressive architecture and some of the best museums in Europe. It’s a place which should make its way to every European travel bucket list. Due to years of closed-door policies, many may think it’s not the most visitor-friendly of places. Luckily, that’s not the case. While there are still things to improve on, it is a fun (and safe!) place to see. Here is all the information you need to be well-equipped for your adventurous journey to Moscow.

Brace yourself for a fair bit of commuting.

It might sound like a cliche, but Moscow is very big – and we mean it. An hour-long daily commute is nothing unusual for the locals. As a tourist, you will most likely be much closer to the city centre than an average Muscovite, but since many of the tourist attractions are dispersed across the city, commuting will nonetheless take up a large portion of your day. Luckily, Moscow’s public transport is excellent: Just about any point in the city centre is accessible by metro , and if you prefer on-land transport, there definitely is a tram or bus route to suit your needs. Public transport is the most effective and reliable way to travel around the city, but planning is the key.

Forget Google and download these useful apps

Yandex Transport is yet another of Moscow’s logistics essentials. It not only contains a detailed plan of the city, it also has information on all of the bus routes and gives you the real-life location of all the buses currently en route.

Remember to have your passport with you

Russians love paperwork. An official document can go a long way in Russia. This also means that you need your passport to do anything even remotely official: Exchange money, buy a train ticket, sometimes even get into a museum. The police officers in the metro stations also have a habit of asking random passengers to show their IDs, so it’s better to always have it on you. If you’re uncomfortable carrying your passport around, you can make a photocopy of the photo page ahead of time, it should be enough in most cases.

If you want to see Lenin’s corpse, plan ahead

One of Moscow’s curiosities is Lenin’s Mausoleum. It is currently run mostly by volunteers and a visit there is free, but the mausoleum is only open on some days of the week at very specific times. Make sure to double-check the opening times here before going, and make sure to be there early – on some days, the queue is very long.

Make Kremlin a day-trip

The Kremlin is Moscow’s ultimate must-see, and rightly so: It is an incredible historical monument full of treasures you can only find there. When it comes to visiting the Kremlin, there are a few different options available. Make sure to read about all the different ticket combinations ahead of time and to show up early – the queues can get rather long and certain places in the Kremlin only let visitors in at specific hours. Do visit the Kremlin though; it is most certainly worth seeing.

There’s Wi-Fi everywhere

Free Wi-Fi is omnipresent in Moscow. Any bar, cafe or restaurant will almost certainly have it. Free Wi-Fi is also available in the metro. You don’t need to worry about the cell data (which can get really pricey in Russia if you’re using a foreign phone number). As long as your battery is charged, you can find your way or contact your family from almost anywhere.

Moscow is just the beginning!

Moscow is big and beautiful and very much worth seeing; it is also far from everything to see in this part of Russia. Moscow is surrounded by beautiful, very old towns which have witnessed the entire history of the country. They are collectively called ‘the golden circle’. There are tours available to some of the towns individually or to all of them at once. Depending on the route, the tours can take any time between a day and a week. If you have any time to spare, such a trip is a great step toward a fuller understanding of Russia.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.

Food & Drink

The best halal restaurants in kazan.

The Mystery Behind Russia's Buddhist "Miracle"

A Soviet Pilot Went Missing in Afghanistan and Was Found 30 Years Later

Guides & Tips

A 48 hour guide to astrakhan, russia.

See & Do

Russia's most remote holiday destinations.

Zhenotdel: The Soviet Union's Feminist Movement

Unusual Facts About the Soviet Union

A Guide to Cautionary Russian Proverbs and What They Mean

The Soviet Union’s Best Heart-Throbs and Pinups

Restaurants

The best halal restaurants in kaliningrad.

Russian Last Names and Their Meanings

Incredible Photos From the Longest Bike Race in the World

Culture trip spring sale, save up to $1,100 on our unique small-group trips limited spots..

• Post ID: 2130366
• Sponsored? No
• View Payload

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

E-gates back online after chaos at Heathrow and other UK airports

Home Office rules out cyber-attack as a cause of technical outage that delayed thousands of passengers at passport control

The e-gates failure that left thousands of passengers queueing at UK airports has been resolved, the Home Office has said while ruling out a cyber-attack as a cause.

Airports said passengers could expect to travel smoothly again on Wednesday after widespread delays on Tuesday evening owing to a nationwide technical outage affecting UK Border Force e-gates.

Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol airports all confirmed problems with passengers being processed through the border on Tuesday.

Border officials were left to manually process all travellers instead. Pictures shared on social media showed long queues forming at passport control at several airports.

A Home Office spokesperson said on Wednesday: “E-gates at UK airports came back online shortly after midnight.

“As soon as engineers detected a wider system network issue at 7.44pm last night, a large-scale contingency response was activated within six minutes.

“At no point was border security compromised, and there is no indication of malicious cyber-activity.” Heathrow airport’s X account also confirmed soon after midnight that systems were running as usual.

Manchester airport said a dedicated team and customer services staff were supporting passengers while UK Border Force fixed the problem.

Among delayed passengers were Sam Morter, 32, who arrived at Heathrow from Sri Lanka, said it was “pandemonium” when he got to passport control in Terminal 3, where all of the E-gates had blank screens.

He told the PA news agency: “There was a lot of Border Force officials running and scrambling around. Four or five went to man the posts and start processing the UK passports manually.

“But at the same time, hundreds of passengers started to flood into passport control, so it all of a sudden became chaotic and they couldn’t cope with the number of the people coming in.

“We weren’t given any information. There was no information on the Tannoys or from staff.”

Another affected traveller wrote on X: “Long queues at Heathrow airport where passengers are being held at arrivals for a system failure. Been here already 1 hour and the queue is only getting bigger. No communication given to anyone on what is the timeframe to sort this out.”

Another person posted video footage of the chaos and wrote: “No e-gates working. This is the current queue in Gatwick airport with lots of children and no water.”

One X user at Heathrow wrote: “Been stood here over an hour! My taxi has cancelled and at this rate I’ll be too late for a train.” Another wrote: “My daughter has been waiting in a queue for over 2 hours now after a 12-hour flight.”

There are 270 automated gates in total at 15 air and rail ports in the UK, using facial recognition to allow people to enter the country.

Passengers were already facing disrupted journeys to and from airports owing to industrial action affecting train services across the UK throughout this week until Saturday.

Border Force workers also staged a four-day strike at Heathrow in a dispute over working conditions last week.

• Air transport
• Heathrow airport
• Gatwick airport
• Business travel
• Stansted airport

More on this story

UK airports’ scanner delays mean 100ml liquid limit will remain

Ignoring call to halt new airports would be ‘electoral carnage’, Sunak warned

Delays and jams expected as UK’s great summer getaway reaches its peak

Luton Dart: ‘the most expensive train in Britain’ opens for business

Airport security rules on liquids and laptops could be lifted in uk in 2024 – reports.

Doncaster Sheffield airport to close after no ‘tangible proposals’ put forward

Two in five airport workers thinking of quitting, says UK jobs site

Flights diverted at East Midlands airport after drone sightings

Most viewed.