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Means of Transport There are different types of transport for various reasons in diverse regions such as donkeys, trains and planes in countries with developed economies. Donkeys are needed in remote areas as they are easy to look after and keep working. Private railways started in Ancient Greece in 600BC. They covered short distances and carried heavy raw materials and finished goods. In the early 19 th century, passengers first travelled in horse-drawn carriages. By the 1850s, steam engines used the railways which connected the major cities in Britain. Airplanes were developed in the 20 th century and carry passengers, cargo and provide courier services with varying levels of service and prices. There are different means of transport which are important to the economy. Some are costly but are needed in today’s world. Text 1 The Donkey In today’s modern world of articulated lorries, high-speed railways and super-efficient courier services, it is easy to forget that many rural communities and villages across the world would disappear if there were no donkeys. Much of the world is dependent on donkeys moving food from farms to small towns. Donkeys generally work very hard in rural and mountainous areas where there aren’t any modern transport facilities. They carry huge amounts of food from the villages to the towns and bring fertilizers and other supplies back to the village. If a lorry runs out of diesel or petrol, it cannot be used, but the donkey just needs grass, water and rest and is ready to work again for long hours. Text 2 The Railways Many countries have an effective network of railways to help transport different types of goods, mostly imperishable goods. The earliest recorded system was in Ancient Greece in 600BC. Since then, rail-links were built to connect short distances. In the 19 th century, this changed dramatically. Many countries developed their own network with private links between different towns with Germany and Britain leading the way. These links provided the capacity to carry heavy goods such as coal, iron ore and wood. Building a railway was tremendously hard work for labourers. Railways are extremely expensive to construct but essential for transporting raw materials and finished goods such as textiles quickly and cheaply. In the early 19 th century, the first passengers travelled on the railways with horse-drawn carriages. From 1840 -1850, Britain was completely connected by railways and used steam engines to pull carriages. Text 3 Air Travel Air-travel is the most modern form of public transport and it was developed in the 20 th century. Millions of people use airplanes for a variety of reasons. It is also extremely expensive to set up air-travel facilities. Some travel for business, others go on holiday by air and others use cargo planes to move their products from country to country very quickly. Some courier companies now have their own fleet of planes ready to carry parcels and post more efficiently. There are different types of passenger services – some are cheap and provide a ‘no-frills’ service which is good for short journeys. Other airlines provide passengers with a luxurious flying experience. Airports are getting busier and it is evident that more passengers and businesses than ever are using airplanes to get to their destinations. |
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| The whole journey was a complete nightmare. I’d only been going five minutes on the motorway when somebody cut in on me and I had to brake really quickly to avoid an accident, but that was only the start of it. A bit further on I pulled out to overtake a big lorry but as I did, my engine just died. I tried revving the engine and after a couple of seconds it started again, but I had to change down and get back into the slow lane and go very slowly indeed. Because I was so slow, I was flagged down by a police officer who checked the car and told me that one of my tires was worn. He said it wasn’t illegal and let me continue but warned me to get it hanged. The car started again without any problems, so I set off again, picked up speed, and after a couple of miles, guess what, the worn tire blew out! The police were right. So I changed the tire, which was another half hour wasted. Then I picked up a student who was hitch-hiking — I felt sorry for him. After a while we branched off the motorway and I left him where he wanted to be and went to a nearby cafe for a cup of tea. When I came out, someone had blocked me in. Then to cap it all, I realized the student had stolen my camera from the back seat! |
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