UNIT 2

HELEN CATCHES THE TRAIN

Helen packed a small suitcase, said goodbye to her mother and hurried out of
the house to catch the bus to the station. There was no one else waiting at the bus stop,
so it looked as if a bus had just left. Helen looked at her watch anxiously: it was
already two oclock. Her train left at two-thirty, and since it would take at least twenty
minutes to reach the station, she did not have much time to spare, even if a bus came
along at once.
Just then a taxi came slowly down the road. Helen knew that the fare to the
station was at least five shillings, which was more than she could afford; but she
quickly made up her mind that it would be well worth the extra expense in order to be
sure of catching her train. So she stopped the taxi and got in. She told the driver that
she had to catch a train which left at half past two. The man nodded and said that he
would take a short cut to get her to the station in good time.
All went well until, just as they were coming out of a side-street into the main
road that led to the station, the taxi ran into a car. There was a loud crash and Helen
was thrown forward so violently that she hit her head on the front seat. Both drivers
got out and began shouting at each other. Helen got out as well, to ask them to stop
quarrelling, but neither of them took any notice of her at all.
Helen was now quite sure that she was going to miss her train, although she
was not very far from the station. She was wondering what to do when a bus came
into sight, going in the direction of the station. The bus stop was not far off, so Helen
got her suitcase out of the taxi and ran towards the bus, which had stopped to let some
passengers get off. The bus conductor saw her running and did not ring the bell for the
bus to start until she had got on. Helen reached the station just in time and managed to
catch her train after all. But if she had waited for the taxi driver to stop arguing, she
would probably have missed it.

(Donn Byrne: Intermediate Comprehension Passages, p. 20)

VOCABULARY:
to afford
anxiously
to argue
at least
to be worth
to ring the bell
bus
bus stop
to catch, caught, caught; catching
- a bus - a train
to come, came, come; coming
- along
- down the road
- into sight

- priutiti
- zabrinuto
- prepirati se
- barem
- vrijediti
- dati znak za polazak, pozvoniti
- autobus
- autobusna stanica, (stajalite)
- stii na ...
naii putem
pribliavati se (ulicom)
pojaviti se

UNIT 2

- out of
conductor
crash
shortcut
driver
taxi driver
extra
expense
fare
front seat
to get, got, got (ten); getting
- in
- off
- on
- out
- sbd. to a place
- sth. out of
to go, went, gone; going
- well
in good time
to hit, hit, hit; hitting
- ones head on sth.
to let, let, let; letting
main road
to make, made, made; making
- up ones mind
to miss
to nod (-dd-)
to take notice
to pack
passenger
to quarrel
to reach the station
to run, ran, run; running
- into
- towards sth.
side-street
to start
to spare time
to take
to throw, threw, thrown; throwing
to be thrown forward
to wonder

izai
- kondukter (autobusa)
- sudar, tresak
- preac
- voza
- voza taksija
- poseban
- poseban izdatak (troak)
- vozarina
- prednje sjedalo
-

ui
stii
ui
izai
dovesti
izvaditi

- dobro se odvijati
- pravovremeno, na vrijeme
- udariti glavom o (to)
- dozvolit, pustiti
- glavna cesta (ulica)
- odluiti se
- propustiti, ne stii
- kimnuti
- primijetiti, obazirati se (na)
- spakirati
- putnik
- svaati se
- stii na stanicu
- zaletiti se u
- trati prema
- pokrajnja ulica
- krenuti
- dangubiti, nemati vremena
- trajati
- biti (od)baen prema naprijed
- pitati se

4.zadaa engleski I
QUESTIONS:
1. What did Helen do that day?
2. Why did she hurry out of the house?

UNIT 2

3. When did her train leave?

4. How long would it take her to reach the station?
5. Could she afford taking a taxi?
6. What did she tell a driver?
7. What happened while they were driving?
8. What did the two drivers do?
9. Was the bus stop far off?
10. When did Helen reach the station?
INCREASE YOUR VOCABULARY.
GIVE THE SYNONYMS WORDS OF EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN THE
SAME AS:
(to) afford ... crash ...
shortcut ... extra ...
(to) make up ones mind ...
(to) take ...
(in terms of time)
GIVE THE ANTONYMS WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN THE
OPPOSITE OF:
(to) go well ... (to) pack ...
(to) reach ... (to) catch ...
already ... slowly ...
in good time ... loud ...
(to) shout ...
RECONSTRUCT THE PASSAGE
TRANSLATE:
Taksi je skup, pa ga rijetko koristim. Obino se vozim autobusom ili tramvajem. Kada
idem na eljezniku stanicu, da stignem na vlak, obino kasnim pa se uvijek urim.
Tada si, ponekad, priutim vonju taksijem. Ako pak naie autobus (ili tramvaj), a
kondukter me vidi kako trim s tolikom prtljagom prema stajalitu, nikad ne daje znak
za polazak dok ja ne uem.
MAKE SENTENCES OF YOUR OWN:
main road - side street - shortcut - fare - (to) afford - (to) be worth - extra
expense - (to) get in - (to) get off - (to) miss - (to) make up ones mind - (to) run
into.
EXERCISES:
I.

STUDY THE FORMS OF THE WORDS GIVEN BELOW COMPLETE

THE TABLE.
NOUN

ADJECTIVE

VERB

ADVERB

UNIT 2

anxiety

anxious

(to) be anxious
about sth.

anxiously

sure
violently
(to) approach
(to) hurry
(to) catch
direction
loud
Choose a noun, an adjective, a verb or an adverb from the text and see if you can
provide the other three forms; consult your dictionary for any difference in meaning.
II.

COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES FROM THE TEXT:

Helen looked at her watch ... (anxious, anxiously)

Just then a taxi came ... down the road. (slow, slowly)
She ... made up her mind. (quick, quickly)
There was a ... crash. (loud, loudly)
Helen was thrown forward ... (violent, violently)
Helen was now quite ... (sure, surely) that she was going to miss her train.
CONSULT YOUR GRAMMAR BOOKS AND REPEAT ADJECTIVES AND
ADVERBS IN DETAIL.
WORD STUDY: ADJECTIVES vs. ADVERBS
a small suitcase
much time
the extra expense
a side street
the main road
a loud crash
the front seat

(to) enjoy to a degree

(a little)
(to) know much
(to) discuss sth. extra
(to) put sth. sideways
(to) understand mainly
(in general)
(to) shout loundly
(to) collide frontally

Practice ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS

Select the appropriate word (an adjective and/or an adverb) and complete the
following pairs of sentences.
friendly - cautious . cautiously . hard . hardly . terrible . terribly
1. That cheese has a ... smell. That cheese smells ...
2. Take a ... smell at it and see if you agree.
Smell it ... and see if you agree.
3. Those men are pretty ... workers on the whole.
Those men work pretty ... on the whole.
4. One of them gave us a ... wave.

UNIT 2

One of them waved at us in a ... way/manner.

PRACTICE:
III.
INSERT THE APPROPRIATE PREPOSITIONS:
Helen said goodbye ... her mother and hurried ... the house to catch the bus ... the
station. There was no one waiting ... the bus stop. Helen looked ... her watch
anxiously. Her train left ... two-thirty. Just then a taxi came slowly ... the road. It
would be well worth the extra expense in order to be sure ... catching her train. All
went well until, just as they were coming ... a side-street ... the main road that led ...
the station, the taxi run ... a car. Helen was thrown ... so violently that she hit her head
... the front seat. Later a bus came ... sight, going ... the direction ... the station. Helen
got ... the taxi and ran ... the bus. Helen reached the station just ... time and managed
to catch her train ... all.
IV.

(1) COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES USING THE CORRECT FROM

OF THE VERB IN BRACKETS. THEN MAKE THEM
INTERROGATIVE AND NEGATIVE.
WRITE SIMILAR SENTENCES OF YOUR OWN.

She never ... (pack) her suitcase the last moment. She usually ... (pack) her suitcase
one day before her trip. Right now she ... (pack) her suitcase. Last Friday she ... (pack)
her suitcase the last moment. I went out to buy some cigarettes and when I came back
she ... still ... (pack) her suitcase. She seldom ... (take) a short cut to get to the station.
Right now she ... (take) a short cut to the station because she is late. Yesterday she ...
(take) a short cut to the station because she did not have much time to spare. Last
evening while she ... (take) a short cut to the station she saw a terrible traffic accident.
(2) CHANGE THE SENTENCES TO THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS, MAKE ALL
OTHER NECESSARY CHANGES.
Helen packed a small suitcase that afternoon. She said goodbye to her mother and
hurried out of the house. There was no one else waiting at the bus stop. Helen looked
at her watch anxiously. Her train left at two-thirty. A taxi came slowly down the road.
Helen knew that the fare to the station was at least five shillings.
(3) PROVIDE THE CORRECT TENSE OF THE VERBS IN BRACKET. EXPLAIN
YOUR CHOICE:
Policemen (to direct) the traffic. The bus only (to stop) here to pick up passengers.
She usually (to fall) asleep on long journeys. She (not to go) out much. He (not to
agree) with the belief that there is life on other planets. He (to play) guitar. (Visit)
your frequently Dubrovnik in the summer? No, I never do. (Own) a lot of people
video recorders? She (not to find) it easy to express herself in English. The car (to
need) a complete overhaul (check-up). At weekends she (to go) out with her friends. I
(to do) physical training in order to keep fit. Robert (to have) a lot of confidence in
himself.
V. HOME STUDY: VERBS (CLASSIFICATION, PROPERTIES: NUMBERS,

UNIT 2

PERSONS, VOICES, MOODS, TENSES, ASPECTS)

FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERB IN
BRACKETS:
1. Every week-end Helen (pack) ... a small suitcase, (say) ... goodbye to her mother
and (hurry) ... out of the house to catch the bus to the station.
2. On Fridays her train (leave) ... at two-thirty.
3. Usually it (take) ... her at least twenty minutes to reach the station. She (have not)
... much time to spare.
4. She seldom (take) ... a taxi to the station.
5. Sometimes it (be) ... well worth the extra expense.
* CONSTRUCT A DIALOGUE ON THE ACCIDENT (USE INTERROGATIVE
AND NEGATIVE STATEMENTS).
Taxi driver:
Car driver:
* RECONSTRUCT THE LAST PART OF THE STORY TAKING THE ROLE OF
(1) HELEN (2) THE BUS CONDUCTOR
Bus conductor: I can see a girl. She is getting her suitcase out of the taxi. She is
running towards the bus. etc.
Helen: The two drivers are shouting at each other. I am asking them to stop
quarrelling. etc. etc.