ESL Podcast 253 – Traveling by Train

Katerina: Hey, Joel. Have you ever traveled by train?

Joel: Only once, and that was a long time ago when I lived in Orlando. I’m not even sure where the train station is in this city. Why do you ask?

Katerina: I need to go to San Francisco at the end of May for a friend’s wedding, and I’m thinking about taking a train instead of flying.

Joel: That’s a long trip from Chicago, with a lot of stops. How many days does it take to get there?

Katerina: I just printed out the timetable. Let me see...It looks like it’ll take about four-and- a-half days. I would depart¹, say, on Tuesday morning and arrive on Saturday afternoon.

Joel: Can I see that? It looks like there are good on-board services, with a dining car and a lounge² car on each train.

Katerina: Yeah, I like that. I don’t know if I should go coach or business class. I suppose that’ll depend on the fare. I’ve heard that the sleeping cars are pretty comfortable, too, so I’m glad about that.

Joel: What day of the week do you have to leave?

Katerina: Let me look at the days of operation. This service runs daily, so that’s convenient. I’m going to look online to see how much it’ll cost. It’ll be nice to take a train for a change.

Joel: Let me know what you find out and what you decide. Maybe I’ll look into it for my trip to Washington in September.


Script³ by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 depart   

v.离开，启程

参考例句：

• The train will depart at 7:30 a.m.早七点半发车。
• Before you depart,let me give you a word of advice.在你走之前，我给你一句忠告。

2 lounge   

n.休闲室，休息室，长沙发；v.闲荡，闲散地度过，混日子

参考例句：

• We had coffee in the lounge.我们在客厅里喝咖啡。
• Don't lounge away your working hours.不要消磨工作时间。

3 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。