Vocabularies - Bank Account

1. Opening an account

It's very simple to open a bank account in Britain. There are very few formalities. Just go to your local branch, fill in a few forms, and that's it. You will probably only have to pay bank charges if there is no money in your account or if you borrow money from the bank, in other words if you have an overdraft.

2. Current and deposit accounts

For regular everyday use most people prefer a current account. This normally earns no interest but you are given a cheque book, which makes shopping and paying bills very easy. A deposit account earns interest but it's not easy to withdraw your money. You sometimes have to give a week's notice.

3. Using your account

At regular intervals, perhaps monthly, you will receive a statement from the bank, giving details of each deposit (money you put in) and withdrawal (money you take out). If you're not sure how much money you have in your account, you can just go to your bank and ask what your balance is. If you have to make a regular payment, like rent, you can ask the bank to pay this amount for you automatically. This arrangement is called an order.

4. Spending

Some people spend more money than they receive. In other words, their expenditure is greter than their income. If you take more money out of the bank than you have in your account, you are overdrawn. To keep a record of your spending, it's a good idea when you write a cheque to fill in the counterfoil, which stays in the book. Most cheques are crossed cheques, which means that no one else can cash them. They must be paid into someone's account.

5. More practices

- He borrowed 10$ from his father

- She filled in the cheque.

- I asked for my balance

- I prefer a current account to a deposit account

- You'll get a statement at regular intervals.

- He took 100$ out of his bank.

- He withdrew 100$ at his bank.

Vocabularies - Air Travel

1. At the air port

When travelling by air you have to get to the airport early in order to check in about an hour before your flight. If you have a lot of luggage, you can put it on a trolley and push it to the check-in desk, where someone will check your ticket and weigh your luggage. If you have excess baggage, it can be expensive. Your heavy luggage is put on a conveyor belf and carried away. A light bag is classed as hand luggage and you can take it with you on the plane. An immigration officer looks at your passport and a security guard checks your hand luggage before you go into the departure lounge to wait till your flight is called. If you want to, you can buy some cheap duty free goods here. Then you see on the departure board or you hear an announcement that you must board your plane. You go through the departure gate, then there is sometimes a security check before you actually enter the plane. When all the passengers are on board, and when the captain and his crew are ready in the cockpit, the plane begins to taxi to the end of the runway. Finally, permission is received from the control tower and the plane moves faster and faster to take off.

2. In the air

Flying is fun. I like being in a big airliner with the cabin crew (stewards and stewardesses) looking after me. They walk up and down the aisle bringing meals and drinks; and if the flight is going through some turbulance, they warn everybody that it might be a bit bumpy and ask us to fasten our seat belts. On a long flight I like listening to music through the headphones available to all passengers, and sometimes I have a sleep. I enjoy it all so much that I never want the plane to land.

3. More practices

- We decided to go by plane

- When do we take off.

- First you must go through customs and immigration

- You'd better ask at the information desk

- His friend went to the airport with him to see him off

- You must check in at 10:00

- Put you luggage on a trolley

- He looked at my passport