Let us start with Matching the pictures of transport and handling equipment (a-f) with the words (1-6).
1. Swap-body
2. Container
ship
3. Grappler
lift
4. Road-railer
trailer
5. River
barge
6. LGV
(large goods vehicle)
Question 1:
1. Multimodal
2. Piggyback
3. Intermodal
4. Unaccompanied
5. Block
train
6. Single-wagon
a. The
driver does not stay with his road vehicle during transport by rail or ferry.
b. Goods
are transported in the same loading unit or vehicle using different modes of
transport. The handling of the freight itself is not necessary when changing
modes.
c. A
single shipper uses a whole train which is run directly from the loading point
to the destination. No assembling and disassembling is required.
d. Carriage
of goods by at least two different modes of transport, e.g. shipping by motor
lorry and aircraft.
e. Train
is formed out of individual wagons or sets of wagons which have different
origins and different destinations.
f.
Combines road and rail transport: whole motor
lorries, trailers or swap-bodies are carried by rail.
Question 2:
Two employees of a forwarding company are comparing
transport modes for a shipment from western China to Shanghai. Listen and
correct the information in the table.
Inland Waterways
|
Road
|
Rail (Express Service)
|
|
Speed in days
|
7
|
4
|
2
|
Cost
|
Low
|
Compared with barge: 60% higher
|
Compared with road 40% higher
|
Flexibility
|
High
|
Very high
|
Low
|
Question 3:
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in
brackets. Then listen again to check.
1. How
long would it take by barge? – Normally about six days, but it often takes
_____ (long) if the weather’s bad.
2. It’s
cheap – it’s actually ___ (cheap) of all the transport options.
3. It
would only take four days to ship by truck, but the cost would be about 50%
______ (high) than by barge.
4. Rail
would definitely be ______ (fast) than the truck option if we use dthe express
service that takes three days.
5. But
it would also be ______ (expensive) than shipping by road-transport costs are
about 40% higher.
6. And
then perhaps we’d have to use the standard train, which is much
________________ (slow).
Answer these questions:
1. Why
is the barge option not very flexible?
2. What
do they decide to do at the end of their discussion?
Making Comparisons:
When comparing two or more things
we use comparative adjectives. The comparative form is –er for short adjectives
with one syllable, and two-syllable adjectives ending in –y.
Transport
by sea is cheaper than transport by air.
Steel
is heavier than paper.
We use more + adjective with
longer words.
Shipping
goods by road is more expensive than shipping them by rail.
Some transport modes are more
reliable than others.
Some adjectives have irregular
forms.
Good/well – better our rates are better than
theirs.
Bad/badly –worse their service is worse than
ours.
Far/further- furthest this shipment will travel further
than the last one.
Question 4:
Work in pairs. Compare
different transport modes using some of the adjectives in the box.
Example: I think shipping goods by
rail is faster than sea transport.
Adjectives
|
Transport Modes
|
Slow/fast
|
Rail
|
Expensive/cheap
|
Air
|
Safe
|
Read
|
Suitable
|
Sea
|
Reliable
|
River
|
Environmentally friendly
|
Pipeline
|
1. Gantry
crane
2. ISO
container
3. Reach
stacker
4. Transtainer
Question 6:
Now complete the descriptions of intermodal transport and
handling equipment with the verbs from the box.
Fitted, straddle, mounted, loading, attached, reach, handle,
piling, made, move
1.
A piece of machinery used for _______ and unloading
containers from ships onto trucks or rail wagons and vice versa. It is
rail-mounted and can _______ at least four railway tracks. It is motorized and
can _______ parallel to the ship’s side.
2.
A special type of device which is able to _____ very heavy
loads. It is used for transferring swap-bodies and containers from rail wagons
to trucks and vice versa. It has four legs _________ with wheels and a spreader
beam which can span a wide area. It can be ______ on rails or rubber tyres and
is able to straddle several rows of containers.
3.
A kind of fork lift truck used in container handling. It is
equipped with a spreader beam and a lifting arm and can be used for lifting
containers and ________ them on top of each other beyond the first row of
containers to lift a container.
4.
A rigid box ____ of steel which is very common in intermodal
transport. It can be used for transport by sea, rail, air, and road. It is
available in many different versions and sizes. For example, there are open-top
and flat rack versions. Some of them have wheels or a bogie _______ to them.
The most common lengths are 20, 40, and 45 feet. It is made to the
specifications of the international Standard Organization.
Question 7:
Replace the underlined words with verbs from the
box that have the same meaning. Use the correct verbs froms.
Stack, come, run, fix, attach, lift, fit
1. This
type of crane is used for raising containers.
2. Containers
are available in a variety of
versions and sizes.
3. It’s
a heavy-duty fork lift truck equipped with a spreader beam.
4. With
this device you can pile containers on top of each other.
5. Some
containers have a bogie fixed to
them.
6. This
device is mounted on rails.
7. The
crane is motorized and able to move alongside the quay.
Question 8:
An employee of a transport company presents some
container options to a potential customer. Listen and complete the table with
the missing information.
Type of Container
|
Suitable for transport of
|
1
|
|
2
|
|
3 tanktainer
|
|
4
|
|
5 flat-rack
|
Question 9:
Listen again and complete the sentences.
Level, tarpaulin, frame, machinery, lashing, removed,
controlled, plugs
1. It
comes with a timber floor and has various ______ devices to secure the load.
2. These
lashing points are located horizontally at floor _____.
3. It
is temperature ________ and is particularly suitable for cargo that needs
regulated or cool temperatures.
4. This
is a standard container ______ with a tank fitted inside.
5. As
an extra, we also offer tank containers with electric ______ in case the cargo
needs cooling or heating during transport.
6. It
comes with a PVC _____ cover instead of a roof panel to allow loading from the
top.
7. The
doors can be _____ to make loading easier.
8. We
recommend this special type of container for the transportation of heavy ______
and pipes.
Now label the different type of containers 1-5:
Container features:
We recommend this type of container for ……
It is particularly suitable for……
It comes with ……..
As an extra, we also offer …
It has …. For loading .
Question 10:
Describe the container features to a partner
using the words in this page.
Question 11:
Sort the goods under the correct heading.
Perishable cargo
|
Non-perishable cargo
|
Heavyweight and overwidth cargo
|
Meat, steel pipes, crude oil, fresh produce, industrial
boilers, seafood, alcohol, dairy products, tractors, chilled or frozen
foodstuffs, harmful chemicals.
Can you think of other types of goods? Discuss in a small
group.
