Life is a strange business. Perhaps you have noticed that yourself. You do the same things again and again, and nothing happens. Then, one day, you do the same thing once more and something certainly happens.
Though I have travelled in hundreds of trains, few unusual things have ever happened to me. But one day in a train something did happen. I do not mean that I was hurt: no one was hurt. return
I do my work in a hot country far away from England. Every September I go there to do my business, and every July I come back to England to have a rest. So every September I go to Paris and take a train from the great French city to Mendova, and at Mendova I catch my ship.
There is one very fast train from Paris to Mendova, and it suits me well. It is one of the best trains in the world. It goes as far as Endoran, but it stops at Mendova for a few minutes to let travellers get out or in. It is called (English) The flying bluebird. It goes every day, it reaches Mendova at seven minutes past nine in the morning, and it is never late.
A ship leaves Mendova at half past eleven every Tuesday morning, and so you will understand that The flying Bluedbird suits me very well, I always travel by it, and I have nearly two and a half hours at Mendova to go from the station to the ship. That is more than enough time.
Well, one September night, I took my place in The flying Bluebird as usual. I had a place by the window, and I hoped for a restful journey. The train leaves Paris at nine o‘ clock every night, and I was in my place soon after half past eight. There were three or four people there with me, but very soon a lot of others got into the train. When no more people could sit down, they began to stand up near us and also in the corridor. In a short time the corridor was full too, and it was impossible for any more travelers to get into the train.
I could see a lot of other people outside the corridor windows, but they could not get in, and the train left Paris without them. We left at nine o’clock and were soon traveling very fast.
The man sitting next to me started to ask all kinds of questions: “Where do you work?” he said ,“How long does it take you to get there? Are you married? How many children have you? How much money do they pay you every year?
How much have you in the bank? How much do you spend every month?”
He asked questions for about twenty minutes but I did not give him any clear answers, and at last he stopped and began to read the paper.
I usually sleep quite well in the train, but this time I slept only a little. There were too many people, and there were too many things: small bags, large bags, coats hats, boxes, newspapers and food. As usual, we got angry about the window. Most people wanted it shut, and two of us wanted it open. But that always happens. It was shut all night, as usual.
The train went on noisily through the night and sometimes I was able to get a little sleep. I was sorry for all the people who were standing up in the corridor. There was no sleep for them: it was hard enough for them to stand up, because the floor was covered with all kinds of things. One or two of them sat on their boxes, but most of them had to stand up all the way.
When I awoke in the early morning I felt hot and dirty, and glad that the journey was reaching its end. We were now not far from Mendova; and as soon as we reached Mendova, I always got out and had a wash and something to eat and drink.
At seven minutes past nine The Flying Bluebird stopped. We were at Mendova, and I stood up thankfully. I got down my two suitcases, held one in each hand, and tried to move towards the door into the corridor. In order to get out of the train, I had to pass down the corridor to the door at the far end. There was no other way out .
I could not even get into the corridor. There was a suitcase on the floor by my feet, and three men were standing in my way. I felt a touch of fear. I had to get out, you see; I had to catch my ship, which left at half past eleven. And the train did not stop again until it reached Endoran, two hundred miles away.
“I must get out!” I cried, Everyone there understood me, but no one could move.
At last I was able to put one foot over the suitcase on the floor, and I nearly reached the door into the corridor. But then, very slowly, the train began to move. It was taking me away!
“Stop!” I cried. “I want to get out!” But no one outside the train could hear me, and the people inside did not care much. The train moved a little faster. What could I do? I was not even in the corridor.
Fear made me think quickly. In front of my eyes, just above the door, was a notice that told everyone how to stop the train. I had to pull an iron thing near the notice. I did not waste time. I pulled it ..
Of course, no one likes to stop a train if there is no need. But it seemed to be the right thing for me to do at the time. I had to catch my ship. That was the only thought in my mind: to get out and catch my ship.
Business
意思：生意，事务，事情。文中指的是人生的事务或生活。
Unusual
意思：不寻常的，异乎寻常的。指不同寻常的事情。
Hurt
意思：受伤。文中指的是没有人受伤。
Work
意思：工作。指的是作者在远离英格兰的热带国家从事的工作。
Rest
意思：休息。指的是每年回英格兰休息的时间。
Suit
意思：适合。文中指“飞蓝鸟”列车非常适合作者的出行需求。
Train
意思：火车。指作者乘坐的列车。
Ship
意思：船。指作者乘坐的航行船只。
Endoran
意思：目的地，地名。文中指的是“飞蓝鸟”列车的最终目的地之一。
Flying Bluebird
意思：飞蓝鸟，列车名称。文中提到的是一班非常快速且准时的列车。
Traveller
意思：旅行者。指乘坐列车的人员。
Restful
意思：令人放松的，舒适的。指作者希望拥有一个安静的旅程。
Corridor
意思：走廊。文中指的是列车内部的通道。
Get in
意思：进入。指乘客上车的动作。
Questions
意思：问题。文中指作者旁边的人提出的各种问题。
Clear answers
意思：明确的回答。作者没有给出清晰明确的答复。
Paper
意思：报纸。指作者旁边的人开始阅读的报纸。
Sleep
意思：睡觉。文中指的是作者在火车上的睡眠情况。
Corridor
意思：走廊。指火车车厢中的通道。
Angry
意思：生气，愤怒。指因为窗户的开关问题，乘客产生了不满。
Shut
意思：关闭。指窗户被关闭。
Standing up
意思：站立。指一些乘客在走廊里站着。
Boxes
意思：箱子。指放在走廊上的物品。
Floor
意思：地板。文中提到地板上放满了东西。
Wake up
意思：醒来。指作者早上醒来时的状态。
Hot and dirty
意思：热且脏。指作者醒来时的感受。
Suitcases
意思：手提箱。指作者带的行李。
Wash
意思：洗漱。指作者计划到达目的地后清洁自己。
Flying Bluebird
意思：飞蓝鸟(列车名)。指作者乘坐的列车。
Move towards
意思：朝着……走去。指作者试图向列车的门走去。
Catch
意思：赶上(交通工具)。文中指的是作者赶上船的目标。
Fear
意思：恐惧。指作者感受到的焦虑和紧张。
Notice
意思：通知，告示。指列车上的指示牌，告诉乘客如何停车。
Iron thing
意思：铁制的物体。指列车上用于停车的装置。
Waste time
意思：浪费时间。指作者迅速做出反应并采取行动。
Stop
意思：停止。指作者试图停下火车。
Ship
意思：船。文中指作者需要赶上的船，表明目的地是港口。
Right thing
意思：正确的事。指作者认为在当时情况下停止火车是正确的决定。