1. David Mulcahy
David Mulcahy is a high-powered stock broker. He owns a beautiful flat in London's exclusive Notting Hill area. As well as a delightful home, David owns a brand new Mercedes, the car of his dreams "The only problem," David says, "is that I never get to drive it to work! I refuse to pay £8 to get in and out of the centre, so instead I take the tube!" "The tube', which is London's metro system, is a cheaper alternative, but David still thinks it's far too expensive. "A day pass on the tube is around £5. So, I pay over £100 each month, just to get to and back from the office!" He goes on, "I wish I could drive my car to work, but it seems that the car of my dreams is turning out to be a complete waste of money!"
2. Rachel Childress
Rachel Childress is the director of a large multinational organisation. Her commute is quite different to that of others. While most people get on the bus, Rachel takes the Channel Tunnel (or "Chunnel'). She lives in England but works in France. One of Rachel's close friends suggested that she should either move to France or give up her active role in the company. But she didn't think so... "Well, it's a brief 35 minute journey and manage to avoid all those horrible, long queues." The 'chunnel' train can accelerate to speeds of up to 160 km/h, so Rachel can even get to work faster than some of her friends who work in London. She says, "If it wasn't for this marvellous feat of engineering, I wouldn't know what to do."
3. Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin Goldstein is a naval architect and his job requires him to travel to many parts of the world to oversee projects that he is responsible for. "I was offered this job as soon as I finished getting my qualifications and I almost turned it down, because I didn't think I would be able to stand all the travelling. I ់ it would be just too tiring. Fortunately, a good friend of mine, who also does a lot of travelling, gave me tips on how to cope with it and I've never regretted accepting the job." He says, "If you keep yourself fit and make sure you get plenty of rest before and during long flights, it isn't actually that bad. And good nutrition helps, too."
4. Judith Kettering
Judith Kettering made a big move last year. After completing university, she decided that she wanted to start a new life in another country. She wanted to teach English to foreign children, so she hopped on the aeroplane to Greece and, since then, she has never looked back. "I'm so happy here in Athens, but if there's one thing that annoys me it's the traffic jams! The buses are so slow!" She claims that, sometimes, buses have been up to 45 minutes later than the time stated on the schedule. "I've been late for work several times because of traffic jams and it's caused me a lot of bother!" She has a proposal though. "If more people got on the bus instead of driving, the roads would be clearer and services could run more efficiently. Plus, if you're a bit of an 'earth child' like me, you'll know that getting on the bus or tram is a great way to fight against air pollution!"
