A Ride to the Station

Level: B1

Helen packed a small suitcase, said goodbye to her mother and hurried out of the house to catch the bus to the station. There was no one else waiting at the bus stop, so it looked as if a bus had just left. Helen looked at her watch anxiously: it was already two o’clock. Her train left at two-thirty, and since it would take at least twenty minutes to reach the station, she did not have much time to spare, even if a bus came along at once.

Just then a taxi came slowly down the road. Helen knew that the fare to the station was at least forty pounds, which was more than she could afford, but she quickly made up her mind that it would be well worth the extra expense in order to be sure of catching her train. So she stopped the taxi and got in. She told the driver that she had to catch a train which left at half past two. The man nodded and said that he would take a short cut to get her to the station in good time.

All went well until, just as they were coming out of a side street into the main road that led to the station, the taxi ran into a car. There was a loud crash and Helen was thrown forward so violently that she hit her head on the front seat. Both drivers got out and began shouting at each other. Helen got out as well, to ask them to stop quarrelling, but neither of them took any notice of her at all.

Helen was now quite sure that she was going to miss her train, although she was not very far from the station. She was wondering what to do when a bus came into sight, going in the direction of the station. The bus stop was not far off, so Helen got her suitcase out of the taxi and ran towards the bus, which had stopped to let some passengers get off. The bus conductor saw her running and did not ring the bell for the bus to start until she had got on. Helen reached the station just in time and managed to catch her train after all. But if she had waited for the taxi driver to stop arguing, she would probably have missed it.

Glossary

anxiously- with worry; nervously

argue- to disagree with someone in words, often in an angry way

at once- immediately; without delay

bus conductor- someone whose job is to collect payments from passengers on a bus

can/could afford- to have enough money to buy or pay for something

catch- to get on a bus, train, etc. in order to travel on it, or be in time to get on a bus, train, etc. before it leaves

come along- to arrive

come into sight- to appear

crash- a sudden loud noise

expense- the amount of money that you spend on something

far off- far away

fare- the price you pay to travel somewhere by bus, train, plane, etc.

go well- to happen in a positive way

hurry- to go somewhere more quickly than usual

in good time- if you do something in good time, you do it early enough to be ready for a particular time or event

in the direction of- towards

just in time- before the time by which it is necessary for something to be done

lead to- used to say where a path, wire, etc. goes or what place is on the other side of a door

make up your mind- to make a decision about something

manage- to succeed in doing something, especially after trying hard

miss- to be too late for something

nod- to move your head up and down, especially in order to show agreement or understanding

pack- to put things into cases, bags, etc. ready for a trip somewhere

quarrel- to have an argument

quite- fairly, or to a small extent, but not very

reach- to arrive at

run into- to hit someone or something with a vehicle

short cut- a quicker and more direct way of getting somewhere than the usual one

side street- a street that is smaller than a main street, but is often connected to it

spare- if you have money or time to spare, you have some left in addition to what you have used or need

take notice- to pay attention

violently- with a lot of force in a way that is very difficult to control

wonder- to doubt or question

Collocations

pack a suitcase

say goodbye to someone

hurry out of a place

catch a bus/train

look as if

the fare to a place

be well worth

take a short cut

be thrown forward

shout at someone

not take any notice of someone

be quite sure

miss a bus/train

wonder what to do

go in the direction of a place

ring a bell

manage to do something