A TRAIN TRIP THROUGH NORWAY THE OSLO TO BERGEN LINE
Vocabulary from Context
Guess the meaning of the underlined words.
scenic

Tim:/ˈsiːnɪk/What are the most scenic places in Japan?
(interesting / expensive / beautiful)Aki:

It’s said that Amano Hashidate in Kyoto, Miyajima in Hiroshima,and Matsushima in Miyagi are the three most scenic places inJapan. I’ve been to Matsushima, and the views are amazing.

Tom:

Do you prefer to live in a big city or in a small town?

Shinya: I love big cities. There are many things to do.
pace /peɪs/Tom:I find the pace of life more relaxing a small town.
(speed / cost / challenge)

Pre-reading
Discuss the following questions in groups and as a class.
1. In which European countries were the pictures on page 32 taken?
Why do you think so?
A = ________

B = ________

D = ________

C = ________

E = ________

2. Have you ever taken a trip with your friends or family?
Where did you go?
3. What is the most fun way to travel: by car, bus, plane, or train?
Why do you think so?

31Lesson 4 - A Train Trip through Norway - The Oslo to Bergen LineABCEDPart 1
I’m Naomi, and this is my husband,
Jason. We love traveling.

We have visitedmany wonderful places such as Hawaii, India,and the Far East.

But our favorite travel

New words
5 - [a] destination/ˌdestɪˈneɪʃən/

5 - [a] continent /ˈkɑːntənənt/

destination is Europe. We love the continent’s

5great cities such as Paris, Vienna, and Berlin. Each city is special,having its own charm. But for our most recent trip, Jason and Idecided to enjoy a slower pace. We had always wanted to take atrain trip in Europe, and we opted for the scenic country of
10

Norway.

Comprehension Questions
Answer the following questions with “Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe.”
1. Have Jason and Naomi ever visited Japan?
2. Have they visited many places in Europe?
3. Were the European cities which Jason and Naomi visited similar?
4. On their last trip, did they want to have a quieter and slower experience?
5. Had they ever taken a train trip in Europe before?
4- the Far East - Korea and Japan are in the Far East.
9 - opt for ~ - I opted for pizza at the restaurant.

32

Vocabulary from Context
Guess the meaning of the underlined words.
Akiko: Let’s go to Hokkaido on the train.
Steve: OK. How long is the tunnel from Honshu to Hokkaido?
approximately

Akiko: I think it’s approximately 54 kilometers or so. But I’m not sure.

/əˈprɑːksəmətli/(about / more than / less than)Let’s check the Internet.

[a] capital/ˈkæpətəl/

Rudy: Hey, what’s the capital of South Korea?
(most important city / smallest city / most interesting city)Bill:

I think it’s Seoul. They had the Olympics there once.

Rudy: I see. And how about North Korea?
Bill:

I don’t know any cities in North Korea.

Pre-reading
Discuss in groups and as a class.
1. Do you know anything about Norway (cities, size, etc.)?
2. Do you have any image of Norway?

33

Lesson 4 - A Train Trip through Norway - The Oslo to Bergen Line

Part 2
Norway has one of the most spectacular railways in

New words

Europe, the Oslo to Bergen line. The line began to operate in

1 - spectacular

1909, requiring more than 30 years to complete and 15,000workers. It is approximately 500 kilometers long and takes about
5six and a half hours to cross the country. The line climbs 1,200/spekˈtækjələr/

1 - [a] railway /ˈreɪlˌweɪ/
2 - operate (~) /ˈɑːpəˌreɪt/
9 - provide ~ /prəˈvaɪd/meters high, going through 113 mountain tunnels.

12 - [a] Scandinavian/ˌskændəˈneɪviən/Names of Places
2 - Oslo /ˈɑːzloʊ/2 - Bergen /ˈbɝːgən/
8 - Finse /ˈfɪnse/“Bergensbanen”- the Oslo to Bergen Railway
Jason and I started our journey in Oslo, the capital, andheaded north to the ski resort of Finse. The train was great. They
provided Wi-Fi, a coffee shop,10

the coffee shop

Oslo Stationand even a children’s playroom.
Here, we met some friendly
Scandinavians.
the kids’ room

Comprehension Questions
Write a √ for the ideas discussed in part 2, an X for those that aren’t.
1. A country full of beautiful nature is the usual image most people have of Norway. __2. The Oslo to Bergen line is more than 100 years old and took a long time to build. __3. This train is very advanced and kid-friendly. __4. Many business people take this train every day. __8 - [a] ski resort - There are some great ski resorts in Hokkaido.

34Vocabulary from Context
Guess the meaning of the underlined words.
sceneryTom:

Norway has amazing scenery.

/ˈsiːnəri/(views / paintings / people)
Shinya: I agree. There are so many beautiful mountains and lakes.

Jane:

Have you seen the movie The Walk?

Kenta: Yes. Walking on a wire between two towers 411 meters above theground was an amazing feat.

[a] feat/fiːt/(show / idea / achievement)
Jane:

Yes, no-one had ever done anything like that before.

Pre-reading
Discuss in groups and as a class.
1. Do you like to travel by train?
2. Have you seen any beautiful views from a train?

35

Lesson 4 - A Train Trip through Norway - The Oslo to Bergen Line

Part 3

5

After an hour, the scenery began changing. The urban

New words

landscape of Oslo turned into beautiful countryside and villages.

1 - urban /ˈɝːbən/

We crossed rivers and passed through forests. Gaining altitude,

2 - [a] landscape /ˈlændˌskeɪp/

we began to see mountains. There was snow on the ground, and2 - [the] countryside/ˈkʌntriˌsaɪd/the lakes were frozen, even though it was mid-summer.

3 - [an] altitude /ˈæltəˌtuːd/Four hours after leaving Oslo, we reached Finse, the7 - sea level /ˈsiː ˌlevəl/highest station in Northern Europe, at 1,222 meters above sea
9 - stunning /ˈstʌnɪŋ/level. The village of Finse was covered in snow, and the views
9 - dedicate ~ /ˈdedəˌkeɪt/were stunning. Near the station was a small museum dedicated to10

the workers who built the railways. Thousands of men worked
hard in freezing weather, and the living conditions were terrible.
About sixty-five men died working on this railway. Jason and I
understood the unbelievable feat they achieved.

Finse

The men who built
the railways

Comprehension Questions
Find the mistakes. Compare the sentences below with those in part 3. Correct any
untrue parts. There may be some sentences with no mistakes.
1. An hour into the journey from Oslo to Bergen, the city views disappeared.
2. In Finse, there is a museum dedicated to skiing.
3. The living and working conditions for the workers were awful.
4. Building the mountain railways was a safe job.

36

Part 4
From Finse, we headed to5Myrdal Station

New words

the next stop, Myrdal, which was

6 - descend /dəˈsend/

fifteen minutes away.

6 - [a] waterfall /ˈwɔːtərˌfɔːl/Here, wechanged to the Flam line to visit the8 - [a] photo /ˈfoʊtoʊ/

village of Flam.

9 - [a] harbor /ˈhɑːrbər/

The Flam line

descended 864 meters down a steep valley, passing waterfalls and

10 - [a] cruise ship /ˈkruːz ˌʃɪp/villages. The snow was gone, and it was summer again. The

13 - instantly /ˈɪnstəntli/

train stopped so that people could take photos.
Names of Places
2 - Myrdal /ˈmɪrdɑl/
4 - Flam /flɑːm/

The Flam Railway

Fifty minutes later, we arrived in Flam. In the harbor, we10saw a huge cruise ship. These cruise ships come to Flam almost
daily during the tourist season, meaning that the population ofthis village goes from 400 people toover 6,000 people instantly. Then, inthe15evening, Flam goes back to beinga sleepy village.

The village of Flam and a cruise ship37

11 - [the] tourist season - The beaches are full during the tourist season.
15 - [a] sleepy village - I grew up in a sleepy village in Akita.

Lesson 4 - A Train Trip through Norway - The Oslo to Bergen LineIn Flam, Jason and I took a

New words

power boat ride down a fjord. The boat

2 - [a] power boat/ˈpaʊər ˌboʊt/

sped between hills, passing waterfalls

2 - [a] fjord /fjɔːrd/and villages. It seemed that the only way
5to reach these old villages was by boat,

a power boat ride

as there were no roads.
the Aurlandsfjord

1015

Finally, we took the Flam railway back to Myrdal andthen a local train bound for Bergen on the west coast. When thetrain arrived in Bergen, it was raining, and we went to our hotel.
Having traveled for twelve hours from one side of Norway to theother, we were exhausted. But the Oslo to Bergen line was a20

journey we would never forget.

rainy Bergen

Comprehension Questions
True / False / Question mark - Circle the correct answer. If the answer is not written
in the text, circle ‘?’.
1. Going from Finse to Flam is like going from winter to summer.

T/F/?

2. The locals in Flam don’t like so many visitors coming to their village.

T/F/?

3. Jason and Naomi took a slow boat from Flam down the fjord.

T/F/?

4. The villages along the fjord had no roads and were very old.

T/F/?

5. The city of Bergen is at a high altitude.

T/F/?

16 - bound for - The train bound for Tokyo is leaving at 12:21.

38

Summary (Rephrasing)
Use words from parts 1 - 4 to finish the crossword puzzle.
1. Naomi and Jason have visited most of the

63~, but their favourite is Europe.
2. Norway is a ~ country with many beautiful views.
3. Oslo is the ~ of Norway.

7

4. The ~ in Norway have beautiful views.

4

5

2

5. Finse is at a high ~ of 1,222 meters.
6. Finse ~ a museum to the builders of the
8railway.
7. You can see cruise ships in the ~ at Flam.
8. Naomi and Jason rode on a power boat inthe ~.

1General Comprehension
1. What does Part 1 suggest?
a. Jason and Naomi know Europe very well.
b. Norway is the most scenic country in Europe.
2. According to Part 2,...
a. you can travel to the west coast of Norway by train from Oslo in under seven hours.
b. Finse is the most popular ski resort in Norway.
3. What is the main idea of part 3?
a. Thanks to the high altitude, the town of Finse has great views.
b. It’s amazing what the railway workers were able to do, despite their old age.
4. What does Part 4, page 37 imply?
a. The village of Flam is a popular tourist spot.
b. The village of Flam has a large population.
5. According to Part 4, page 38,...
a. Naomi and Jason would recommend that you must experience the same trip.
b. Bergen is less beautiful, having few scenic views.

39

Lesson 4 - A Train Trip through Norway - The Oslo to Bergen Line

Optional Reading

The Writer’s Corner
I was excited to read online that Japan has a new type of bullet train
called the Maglev (magnetic levitation). The first stage of this project,which will connect Tokyo and Nagoya, is to be completed by 2027. At 500
kilometers per hour, this journey will take only 40 minutes. Part of this line
may be operating during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The second stage,

5

expanding the line to Osaka, is to be completed by 2045. The Maglev willtake passengers from Tokyo to Osaka in just 67 minutes. I’m looking
forward to riding this amazing new train.

Listening
Listen to a conversation between Ayumi and Steven and answer thequestions.
1. Does Steven prefer to travel by train or by airplane? Why?
He prefers ___________________ because ___________________
2. Where did Steven go in Japan and what did he like about this trip?
He went ___________________ and he liked ___________________
3. What does he remember?
He remembers the ______________________________________

Writing and Class Discussion
Write about one topic below. Share in groups and as a class.
1. What did you learn in this lesson?
2. What are some differences between the Oslo to Bergen line and Japanesetrains?
3. Have you ever taken a long train trip? Where did you go and how was it?
4. Are there any scenic railways in Japan you would recommend to visitors?
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