Module1 Sports and entertainment.0:07
Unit 1.1 exercise 3 page 6.0:21
A journey under the sea.0:34
Recently, my wife and I came upon an advertisement in a travel magazine for an international exchange program promising the chance of a lifetime.0:40
Not one to let such an intriguing opportunity pass me by, but a bit hesitant about taking such a leap into the unknown, I did some research and discovered that the program involved something called house swapping.0:49
After much discussion, my family and I decided to, as they say, go for it.1:01
Consequently, we were soon settling off for a holiday in the Peak District of England, while our exchange partners were settling down for their vacation in our flat back home in Mount Vernon, Washington.1:06
The exchange was for a month and the time passed quickly.1:17
To end our time away on a high note, we decided to travel to Paris via the engineering marvel known as the Channel Tunnel.1:20
Being on a fairly tight budget, we opted for a package deal which included round trip tickets on the Eurostar passenger train, five nights in a three star hotel in Paris, Metro passes, and unlimited use of the Paris bus1:27
When the package still hadn't arrived after a week, I began to think that perhaps our trip hadn't been such a good idea after all.1:40
Maybe it was a sign that we shouldn't go.1:47
The tickets and vouchers eventually arrived, and I scolded myself for having had such silly thoughts on the day of departure.1:50
With plenty of time to spare, my two teenage children, my wife and I stood waiting eagerly on the platform at St. Pancras station.1:56
At exactly 7:57am we boarded our train and began our journey through the picturesque county of Kent.2:04
About half an hour into our journey, an announcement in both English and French informed us that we were about to enter the Channel Tunnel.2:12
The Eurostar adverts had boasted proudly about the Channel engineering feat and the convenience it offered to those traveling between England and the continent.2:20
They had spoken highly of the lack of rough seas and to me, a person who gets seasick very easily, this was a major selling point.2:28
When all is said and done, however, I must admit that there were moments when I felt quite nervous about traveling 50 meters below the bottom of the English Channel.2:36
Inside the tunnel itself, there really wasn't much to grab my attention.2:45
No posters or other artwork.2:49
So I busied myself studying the occupants of our carriage.2:51
Some calmly read novels or newspapers, others quietly looked through business reports and notes.2:54
I quickly realized, however, that most of my fellow passengers were like my family in that they looked excited and very happy to be enjoying such a novel travel experience.3:00
Our underwater journey ended as quickly as it had begun.3:09
All of a sudden, we left the darkness of the tunnel behind and nosed out into the light of the pleasant French morning.3:13
The tracks being well built, we quickly accelerated to 300 kilometers per hour, the speed of a Boeing 747 at takeoff.3:18
We arrived in Paris's busy city centre a mere two hours after leaving London.3:27
That journey, and indeed the whole time that we spent on the exchange program, have given us all a yearning for new experiences and many wonderful memories that we will cherish.3:32
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