Episode 0246

Hello everyone and welcome to English Pod.

My name is Marco.

My name is Catherine, and we're on the road today. We're traveling a little bit.

That's right. Today we have a lesson that was requested by one of our users and I think it's a very handy lesson if we're traveling. We are buying tickets at a train station.

So let's first listen to our dialogue.

Hi, I would like to purchase a one-way ticket to Brussels, please.

Certainly, sir. This is our train schedule.

We have an express train departing every morning and an overnight train that departs at 9:00 p.m.

How long does it take to get there?

About 12 hours.

We currently have tickets available only for first class on the express train.

If you'd like, you can choose a sleeper on the overnight train, which is a bit less expensive.

Yeah, I think that's the best option. Do you serve food on the train? 12 hours is such a long time.

Yes, of course. There is a dining car towards the end of the train where they serve meals at all times.

We do provide complimentary water and coffee for all of our passengers.

Great, I'll take it.

Here you are, sir.

Your train leaves from platform number 9 at 9:00 on the dot.

Remember to be here at least 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time, or else you might miss your train.

I understand. Thank you very much.

All right, we're back. So now we're going to take a look at a couple of words that we've picked out for you on language takeaway.

So there are many different kinds of tickets you can purchase, you can buy for your train journey.

Uh, the first kind we're going to talk about is maybe the fastest. This is called an express train.

That's right. So, uh, as the name says, it's an express train. That means it's a very fast train.

And it depends because in different places, sometimes they call it the fast train, sometimes they call it the express train, but basically the idea is that it's a very fast train.

And it's fast usually because it stops very few times.

For example, if we want to go on the Paris to Berlin train, it won't stop in every single town, it will probably only stop a couple of times.

Exactly.

So, uh, apart from the express trains that usually they, they'll go in the daytime, we have an overnight train.

Overnight trains are very fun, uh, or at least they can be fun if you have a comfortable place to sleep.

Basically, the idea is you get on the train at night and you sleep on the train and you get off in the morning.

That's right. It's actually a very popular way of traveling, especially if you're on a budget because, well, you're basically saving yourself one night of spending the night at a hotel.

That's right. So, you're going to have to find a place to sleep if you're taking the overnight train.

There are usually different options. The most uncomfortable is usually a seat, like a hard seat. Uh, but there are often times special cars on a train where you can sleep for these overnight trips. What are those called?

That's right, and those are called a sleeper, sleeper cars or you choose a sleeper seat.

Right. So that's pretty easy to remember: sleep, sleeper. Uh, the sleeper seats are the seats that fold back like you're lying down.

Um, but of course, most places like China and India and, uh, Vietnam, for example, have actual cars that have beds in them.

Right, right. Yeah. So you can, as the name says, you can actually sleep on this train.

Now, if you're going to buy tickets, you're not going to find a sleeper train on an express train or a train that travels during the day. These are only available at night usually.

That's right. So, sleeper car is what you want to look for if you're traveling overnight.

Um, and in those cases, you often times get hungry, you need to eat. So where do you go to eat?

That's right. We're going to look for the dining car on the train.

Okay, so think about the word dining room. Dining room, dining car, this means the place where you eat.

That's right. So we're going to look for a dining car and, uh, it's usually in the front of the train, I think, and you can just go and get a quick meal over there.

That's right. Dining car.

And finally, we have another very important word here. It's all about getting on and off the train. So where do you do that?

Well, you go to the platform, the specific platform where your train is leaving.

So, in this case, this guy has to go to platform number nine.

Okay. So, usually that means that there is a cement or a stone block where you stand, the train comes to the station, people get off, you get on. So the place where that all happens is the platform.

That's right. So, it's, uh, remember that in airplanes or in airports, usually you look for a terminal.

Uh, for train stations, you're looking for a platform.

All right. And that number is going to be very important. So look at your ticket and find out which platform your train will be arriving or departing from.

That's right. Okay. So now, why don't we review these words? Let's listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back in a bit.

Hi, I would like to purchase a one-way ticket to Brussels, please.

Certainly, sir. This is our train schedule.

We have an express train departing every morning and an overnight train that departs at 9:00 p.m.

How long does it take to get there?

About 12 hours.

We currently have tickets available only for first class on the express train.

If you'd like, you can choose a sleeper on the overnight train, which is a bit less expensive.

Yeah, I think that's the best option. Do you serve food on the train? 12 hours is such a long time.

Yes, of course. There is a dining car towards the end of the train where they serve meals at all times.

We do provide complimentary water and coffee for all of our passengers.

Great, I'll take it.

Here you are, sir.

Your train leaves from platform number 9 at 9:00 on the dot.

Remember to be here at least 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time, or else you might miss your train.

I understand. Thank you very much.

Okay, so we've got some really great phrases today on Fluency Builder. Not that many of them, but they're very useful.

The first one is a kind of ticket you can buy.

That's right. We're looking for a one-way ticket to Brussels.

Okay. So, a one-way ticket means you go to Brussels but you don't come home.

Maybe you have a flight later, or you have a a car waiting for you. You don't need a return ticket on that train.

Uh, one-way ticket is the opposite of a round-trip ticket.

That's right. So, usually, for example, if you live in uh New York and you're going on vacation, you're going to buy a round trip ticket because you need to go back to your to your city.

But in this case, we're getting a one-way ticket. So we're just buying a ticket that'll only take us there. It's not going to bring us back.

Okay, one-way ticket.

And after that, we have a a good question. This is something we can ask in many, many different situations. Here, the person buying the ticket wants to know, how long does it take to get there?

He's talking about Brussels.

That's right. So, let's take a look at this uh structure.

We can say, how long does it take to, and then we can, uh, add another verb there.

So, for example, we want to know the amount of time it is going to require. For example, here we are asking, how long does it take to get there? In this case, to Brussels. We are asking how much time is needed to go to Brussels.

But what if we change the last uh part?

Well, there's anything, we could say anything here.

We could say, how long does it take to bake a pizza?

Or, for example, uh, Marco, how long does it take for you to do your hair in the morning?

Okay, not very long.

Not very long.

You could even change the name of the place you're going to. So, how long does it take to get to Beijing?

Mhm.

Exactly. So, this, just remember this structure when you want to ask the amount of time needed.

Of course, there are other ways and sometimes it's very common to make a little bit of mistakes saying, uh, how much time to Beijing or something like this.

Or how many hours?

We don't really say that in English. We say, how much time, so how much time does it take?

Mhm.

All right. And, uh, what about when the uh, when, when the person that's selling the ticket said, okay, the train leaves from platform number nine at 9:00 on the dot.

Okay. So, I'm not really sure where this idea of a dot comes from, but I think it has to do with clocks.

So basically, when you look at a clock and, uh, and all of a sudden the hand comes to 12, so it's 9:00. The hand is on the 12, that is on the dot. That means exactly.

Okay. So, the train is leaving at 9:00. Not 9:30, not 9:15, it's leaving exactly at 9:00.

So, we can also say this in normal, uh, speech when we're talking to our friends. I could say, Marco, we're going to leave at 6:00 on the dot. Any later and we'll miss the movie.

Mhm.

Exactly.

So, uh, but when you say on the dot, you're usually emphasizing that it leaves promptly. It's not going to be late and you're kind of emphasizing a person to be on time.

Yes, please don't be late because so 9:01 or in my case, 6:04, these are not okay because they're too late.

Exactly. So, if I say I'm going to pick you up at 4:00 on the dot, usually means I don't really want to wait, so please be ready at 4:00.

All right. So, on the dot.

All right. So, now let's listen to our dialogue for the last time and we'll be back to talk with you a little bit more.

Hi, I would like to purchase a one-way ticket to Brussels, please.

Certainly, sir. This is our train schedule.

We have an express train departing every morning and an overnight train that departs at 9:00 p.m.

How long does it take to get there?

About 12 hours.

We currently have tickets available only for first class on the express train.

If you'd like, you can choose a sleeper on the overnight train, which is a bit less expensive.

Yeah, I think that's the best option. Do you serve food on the train? 12 hours is such a long time.

Yes, of course. There is a dining car towards the end of the train where they serve meals at all times.

We do provide complimentary water and coffee for all of our passengers.

Great, I'll take it.

Here you are, sir.

Your train leaves from platform number 9 at 9:00 on the dot.

Remember to be here at least 30 minutes before your scheduled departure time, or else you might miss your train.

I understand. Thank you very much.

All right, so you mentioned you really like to travel on trains.

Uh, why is that?

Well, I like that trains are kind of slow. So, when you're, well, many trains are slow, some trains, as we said, like express trains are faster.

I actually also really enjoy taking the overnight trains because I sometimes get a little bit uncomfortable if I travel for too long, for example, on an airplane or a car.

Have you had any like very memorable train experiences?

Um, traveling around, I have met some interesting people and actually they, you know, local people, so they start talking to you and really curious because obviously you're a foreigner in their country and and try to get to know you and maybe even give you a little bit of, uh, advice.

And if you don't speak the language, it, it's even a little bit more interesting because you're trying to communicate and you pick up a lot of words.

That's true. I've actually heard some really interesting stories from people who took the Trans-Siberian Railway from Beijing to Moscow.

So, I don't know if any of our users have done that. Uh, you guys should let us know if you have any fun train travel experiences.

I know Marco certainly has some, I've got some of my own. So, we'll all have to share on our website Englishpod.com.

Right, and if you have any other questions, we'll see you guys there.

Bye.

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

A ticket that allows you only to go to a certain place.

One way ticket.

To leave, start a voyage.

Depart.

A flat elevated portion of ground.

Platform.

On time, precisely at a certain time.

On the dot.

Planned at a specific time to leave.

Scheduled departure time.

Let's try that faster.

To leave, start a voyage.

Depart.

Planned at a specific time to leave.

Scheduled departure time.

A flat elevated portion of ground.

Platform.

A ticket that allows you only to go to a certain place.

One way ticket.

On time, precisely at a certain time.

On the dot.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

One way ticket.

I have a one way ticket to Paris and have no plans on ever coming back to North America.

One way ticket.

My friend bought a one way ticket to the middle of China and then managed to travel around for a month on the generosity of the people he met.

One way ticket.

I only need to buy a one way plane ticket because I plan on taking the train back.

Depart.

The train will depart at half past six.

Depart.

We will depart as soon as we have de-iced the plane.

Depart.

The bus will be departing again in 10 minutes, so use the washroom quickly.

Platform.

We waited in the waiting room at the train station for half an hour before they finally let us onto the platform.

Platform.

I only had three minutes until the train would leave, so I ran down the platform as fast as I could.

Platform.

The Hogwarts Express leaves from Platform 9 and 3/4.

On the dot.

They left at 10 pm on the dot.

On the dot.

She arrived at 5 past 7 on the dot.

On the dot.

I think that the artist representation of Shanghai in this painting is right on the dot.

Scheduled departure time.

The scheduled departure time for your plane is 1:45.

Scheduled departure time.

The plane has been delayed one hour from the scheduled departure time.

Scheduled departure time.

I received an email saying that our scheduled departure time has been moved ahead by half an hour.