ESL 253:Travling by train

Dialogue:
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 depart, 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 lounge 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.

Name of Places:
Orlando: is the state of Florida, which is in the south-east part of the United States. Orlando is famous for being the home of "Disney world", the park where children go, with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Here in Los angles we have "Disney Land", and in Orlando they have "Disney World".
San Francisco: is on the west coast, here in California
Chicago: is in the middle of the United States.

Sentences:

Hey, Joel. Have you ever traveled by train?

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?

• the train station: is the place where the train stop in the city. and the people who are riding on the train, we would call them "Passengers". They "get on" and "get off" a train at the train station.

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.

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

• a stop: the place where the train stops to let passengers off and new passengers on.
• How many days does it take ......? / How long does it take......?

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

• a timetable: is a list that tells you when trains leave and when they arrive at different citys. They give you the time for the train's departures and arrivals. You can have a timetable for a train or a bus.
• to depart: to leave a place. We use that word for planes or trains, cars. Mostly, for trains and planes.
  -"I'm going to depart at 4 in the afternoon that what time the train leaves."
• to arrive: to get somewhere.
  -"What time do you arrive in New York? What time does your plane get there?"

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

• on-board services: things that are on the train which you can use while you are traveling on the train.
• a dining car: is the place where you eat. It's a section in the train where you can get food.
  -to dine: is a little more formal word meaning "to eat".
• a lounge car: a section with comfortable chairs, things to read, maybe some drinks for the passengers. It's the place for relax on the train.

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.

• (go) coach: is the least expensive seat on a train or plane. It's also usually the least comfortable.So if you travel a coach you can save money, but it's not the most comfortable way to travel.
• business class: one of the most expensive ways to travel on a train or plane,but it's more comfortable. In some planes, you have coach class or the coach seats, you have business class, and then you have even more expensive area,called first class. Sometimes,planes just have two classes, the coach and the business class.
• a fare: is the price of the tickets, a amount of money you pay for tickets, either for a bus, a train or a plane. If it's a plane, we'll call it airfare.
• a sleeping car: a section in the train where you have beds for sleeping.

What day of the week do you have to leave?

• day of the week: Monday.....Sunday

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.

• days of operation: the days while the businesses open. you can use the services of the businesses.
• for a change: as sth. different, as sth. unusal, Something that you don't normally do.

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

• to look into sth.: to investgate, or to research sth., or to learn more about sth.

Background:
-Very few Americans traveled regularly by train anymore unless they have been on a subway train or a short train that you'll use for commuting, going from your house to where you work. This is popular especially in the eastern cities of the Unite states. Train travel is still more popular there. People who lived in the mid-west, or the south, or the western part of the United States have probablly less possiblity to travel on a train. Train travel is not as common as it is in other countries.