My Most Embarrassing Travel Mistake
My most embarrassing travel mistake happened during my first trip to Japan. I was trying to get from Tokyo to the smaller city of Odawara. I arrived at the huge Tokyo station and actually felt quite confident. I found the correct platform, saw a train with ‘Nagoya’ on the destination board, which I knew was in the right direction, and quickly got on. I found a comfortable seat by the window and started to relax.
For the first hour, I was enjoying the view as the countryside flew past. But I slowly began to realise that the train was not stopping at any small stations. In fact, it wasn’t stopping at all. I started to feel a bit worried. I looked at my cheap ticket again and then at the other passengers. They all looked like business travellers, and the train was very quiet and modern.
About ninety minutes later, the train finally slowed down. An announcement said we had arrived in Nagoya! I was completely lost, very embarrassed, and a long way past my destination. I got off the train and tried to speak to a station guard. My Japanese was terrible, and his English was not much better, so it was a complete misunderstanding at first.
Eventually, with a lot of pointing at maps and a translation app on my phone, he understood my problem. He laughed and explained I had taken the ‘Shinkansen’, the super-fast bullet train, not the local service which stops at Odawara. I had to pay a very expensive new fare to get a train back to my destination. I was just relieved that I knew where I was. It was an embarrassing mistake, but now it’s a funny story to tell my friends.
QUESTION
1. What was the writer’s attitude at the start of the journey?
A. Worried because the other passengers looked like business travellers.
B. Surprised by how modern the train was.
C. Pleased with how they had navigated the busy station.
D. Anxious about finding the right train.
2. What observation first suggested to the writer that they might be on the wrong train?
A. The train’s failure to make any local stops.
B. The price of their ticket seemed too low.
C. The professional appearance of the other passengers.
D. The destination board showed the wrong city name.
3. What kind of service was the ‘Shinkansen’?
A. A special tourist train with large windows.
B. A train that only runs at night.
C. A local service for commuters.
D. An express service for long-distance travel.
4. Which statement best describes the writer’s travel error?
A. They misread the destination board at the station.
B. They boarded an express service that did not stop at their intended destination.
C. They got on a train going in the completely opposite direction.
D. They bought a ticket for the wrong day of travel.
5. Why was communication with the station guard difficult at first?
A. The station was too noisy to hear each other properly.
B. Neither person could speak the other’s language well.
C. The writer was too embarrassed to explain the problem clearly.
D. The station guard refused to speak English.
6. What did the writer have to do at the end?
A. Pay for a new, expensive ticket.
B. Wait for many hours for the next train.
C. Apologise to the other passengers for the delay.
D. Get a free journey back to their destination.
ĐÁP ÁN
Question 1: Pleased with how they had navigated the busy station.
Question 2: The train’s failure to make any local stops.
Question 3: An express service for long-distance travel.
Question 4: They boarded an express service that did not stop at their intended destination.
Question 5: Neither person could speak the other’s language well.
Question 6: Pay for a new, expensive ticket.
