И. А. Курбасова Е. И. Силантьева

23. Прочтите текст В без словаря (5 мин.) и озаг­лавьте его.

24. Ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1. What were the functions of London's Underground-during World War II? 2. What was done to make the" people's life in London's Underground as comfortable as possible? 3. Was London's Underground a less efficient means of city transport during World War II? 4. How was safety ensured on London's Underground during the five years of the war?

TEXT B. LONDON'S UNDERGROUND IN WORLD WAR
II
(1) For many years of its existence London's Under­ground was the most popular and efficient means of public transport in the city. However, during the five years of World War II it played a far more important part in the life of England's capital than in the pre-war period.

(2) In those hard days thousands of Londoners had to spend nights in .London's Underground.' Besides, many ancient books and e, collections from the British Museum spent the war in the "underground tunnels.-Some of the un­used tunnels 5 miles in length were occupied by a factory producing airplanes.

(3) Life for the people at the 79 stations was₍made as comfortable as possible: There were sleeping accommodations and a clinic at these stations. Special trains carried food supplies to 124 canteens (столовая).

(4) The operation of London's Underground was so per­fectly organized that even in the 'worst days of the war it was handling its normal volume of traffic during the day and was used as home by 177,000 people every .night.

(5) Great efforts were made in order to ensure a safe operation of the whole system. The underground railways themselves were prepared for any emergency (аварийный) situation. They had duplicate control and power supply systems. In order to reduce the danger of flooding (навод­нение) the tunnels near the Thames were equipped with isolating doors. All London trains had special reduced lighting for use on the track sections running on the surface.

25. Прочтите текст С без словаря (4 мин.) и ответьте по-русски на вопрос, почему в Москве в 20-х и 30-х годах были трудности с городским транспортом и каким обра­зом удалось ускорить темп строительства метро.