At the Customs

Text 1

Landing formalities and Customs regulations are about the same in all countries.

While still on board the plane the passenger is given an arrival card to fill in. He fills in his name, country of residence, purpose and length of visit, and country of destination.

After the passenger has disembarked, Immigration Control officials check his passport and visa (to see if they are in order). In some countries they check the passenger’s certificate of vaccination.

When these formalities have been completed the passenger goes to the Customs for an examination of his luggage.

The passenger is required to fill in a Customs declaration form. He must list all dutiable articles. He is to name an item stating its value and number. Personal effects may be brought in or taken out duty-free.

It is obligatory that a passenger’s luggage is carefully gone through in order to prevent smuggling. The Customs inspector may ask you to open your bags for inspection. After you pass through all Customs formalities he puts a stamp on each piece of your luggage.

Exercise 4. Match the words and their definitions.

1) vaccination	a) an endorsement made upon a passport denoting that entry permission has been granted
2) effects (pl.)	b) the worth of something in money or as compared with other goods
3) smuggling	c) the act of vaccinating; inoculation of vaccine
4) value	d) responsible, subject or exposed to something
5) stamp	e) limitations; rules that strictly control what you are allowed to do and in what quantity
6) border	f) a number of things to be presented for checking
7) restrictions	g) an official mark set upon things chargeable with some duty or tax (showing that the duty is paid)
8) visa	h) belongings, personal property
9) dutiable	i) illegal import or export without payment of duties
10) list (of articles)	j) the dividing line between two countries; frontier

Exercise 5. The following sentences describe what you do when you go to an airport to catch a plane, but they are in the wrong order.

Read them carefully and put them in the right order.

____ You go to the departure lounge.

____ You get a trolley.

____ You arrive at the airport.

____ You go to your gate.

____ You go to the check-in desk.

____ You go to the duty- free shop.

____ You get a boarding card.

____ You board the plane.

____ You check in your luggage.

____ You look at the departure board to see if your flight is boarding yet.

____ The board tells you which gate to go.

____ You go through passport control.

Exercise 6. Say how you are to behave when:

1. you have lost the keys to your bags and the Customs inspector asks you to open them;

2. you have misplaced your boarding card;

3. you have too many cigarettes with you (or too many presents);

4. you have only personal belongings with you.

Exercise 7. Read the text below to give the English equivalents for:

посадочный талон; объявление о посадке; плата за излишки (превышение нормы провоза) багажа; зал отправления; досматривать (багаж); заниматься контрабандой; багажный отсек самолета; ручная кладь; весы; магазин беспошлинной торговли; стойка регистрации; проходить проверку безопасности; успеть на самолет; выход на посадку.

Дата добавления: 2015-03-29