Nouns and noun phrases
cell -
container ship -
derrick -
dockworker -
dry bulk carrier - ,
elevator -
engine room control -
facilities - ,
framework -
guide rails -
hatch - ,
hold -
iron ore -
LASH ship - ( )
lifting equipment -
liner - ,
oil tanker - ,
opening -
package - ,
petroleum -
ramp - ,
roll-on/roll-off ship - ; ;
schedule -
trade route -
truck trailer -
upriver port - ,
warehouse -
wheel -
Verbs and verbal phrases
to stack -
to tow - ,
to roll - ,
to divide into - ,
to haul - ;
to load -
to measure -
to eliminate - ,
Adjectives
giant -
multipurpose -
Adverbs
aboard -
in bulk - , ,
READING
25. Read the text and speak on the classification, types and usage of general cargo ships.
TEXT C
General Cargo Ships
Cargo ships, or freighters, can be divided into four groups, according to the kind of cargo they carry: general cargo ships, tankers, dry bulk carriers, and multipurpose ships. General cargo ships carry goods that are put in packages or that form a package in them. Packaged items include such products as chemicals, foods, furniture, machinery, motor vehicles, steel, textiles, etc. Tankers carry petroleum or other liquid cargo. Dry bulk carriers haul coal, grain, iron ore, and similar products that can be loaded in bulk (loose) on the vessels. Multipurpose ships carry different classes of cargo for example, liquid and general cargo at the same time.
Cargo ships can also be divided into two types according to the service they offer shippers liner service or tramp service. Cargo liners run on fixed schedules along certain trade routes and charge published rates. They usually transport only general cargo. Some cargo liners also carry passengers. Large shipping companies operate cargo liners. Tramp ships do not sail on regular trade routes or have regular schedules. They wander the sea-lanes like taxicabs and can be hired to haul almost anything, anywhere, anytime. Small shipping companies and private individuals operate these ships.
Today cargo ship has powerful, electrically driven cranes and derricks. It can be loaded at the side and stern as well as at the hatches. It has automatic engine room controls and automatic navigation equipment.
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Revolutionary versions of the general cargo freighter have also been developed: container ships, roll-on/roll-off ships, and LASH ships.
The largest container ships measure about 210 m long. They can carry over a thousand 6-meter containers that hold a total of about 12,000 tons of cargo. Container ships eliminate the individual hatches, holds, and derricks of the traditional general cargo vessel. The hull of a container ship is simply an enormous warehouse divided into cells by vertical guide rails. The cells are designed to hold cargo in prepackaged units called containers. Most containers consist of a standard sized aluminum box that measures either 20 or 40 ft long. A 40-foot container is about the size of a railroad car.
Roll-on/roll-off ships take containers mounted on a framework of wheels like a truck trailer. These ships have a stern opening and side openings. Dockworkers drive the containers up ramps onto the ships and then, by way of inboard ramps or elevators, take them to their assigned places. Roll-on/roll-off ships also haul cars, buses, house trailers, trucks, and any other cargo that can be rolled aboard. The world's largest roll- on/roll-off ships are 292 m long, can do 18 knots and can carry about 1,100 12-meter containers and about 1,000 cars and trucks.
LASH ships (Lighter Aboard Ship) are huge freighters that carry preloaded seagoing lighters (barges) stacked one upon the other. The lighters are loaded at upriver ports with any kind of cargo and then towed by tugs to the seaport. There, cranes on the carrier ship lift the barges on board. The freighter then carries the barges to a seaport across the ocean. There, the barges are lowered into the harbor and then towed upstream to their final ports. LASH ships measure up to 267 meters long and 33 meters wide and can travel at 20 knots. They can hold from 70 to 90 barges, each of which can carry 370 tons of cargo.
All these modern ships need special port facilities. Throughout the world, ports are being built or modernized to handle these vessels. The new facilities have giant cranes and other lifting equipment because container ships have few or no derricks. In port, the ships chiefly need large open areas where their thousands of containers can be left while waiting loading or pickup.
VOCABULARY
26. Practice saying the following words.
| design [dɪ'zaɪn] | dangerous ['deɪnʤ(ə)rəs] |
| ocean ['əuʃ(ə)n] | maneuverable [mə'nuvərəbəl] |
| salvage ['sælvɪʤ] | strengthen ['streŋθ(ə)n] |
| rescue ['reskjuː] | reefer ['riːfə] |
