August 12th
Mum stood on the platform月台 /ˈplæt.fɔːrm/ waving until the train火车 /treɪn/ moved. I was finally doing this — travelling solo独自 /ˈsoʊ.loʊ/ for the first第一 /fɜːrst/ time. My destination目的地 /ˌdes.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ was Millhaven, where my cousin表哥 /ˈkʌz.ɪn/ Dan is at university大学 /ˌjuː.nɪˈvɜːr.sɪ.ti/. Simple route路线 /ruːt/, two hours, direct直达 /dɪˈrekt/ — or so the schedule时刻表 /ˈsked.juːl/ said.
An hour in, the conductor列车员 /kənˈdʌk.tɚ/ walked through穿过；途经 /θruː/ the carriage车厢 /ˈkær.ɪdʒ/ and announced宣布 /əˈnaʊnst/ a delay延误 /dɪˈleɪ/: a vehicle车辆 /ˈviː.ɪ.kəl/ was blocking the track铁轨 /træk/ up ahead前方. We would stop停止 /stɑːp/ at Grenville — a small village小镇 /ˈvɪl.ɪdʒ/ — and wait等待 /weɪt/. No estimate估计时间 /ˈes.tɪ.mɪt/ given. I looked at my phone手机 /foʊn/. Dan's address地址 /ˈæd.res/ sat useless in my messages. All the other passengers乘客 /ˈpæs.ɪn.dʒɚz/ sighed and opened their books.
Grenville was tiny — one platform站台 /ˈplæt.fɔːrm/, a bench长椅 /bentʃ/, a tea茶 /tiː/ stand摊位 /stænd/. I bought a cup and sat down. A few minutes later之后 /ˈleɪ.t̬ɚ/ an old man settled坐下来 /ˈset.əld/ next to在……旁边 me with a large很大的 /lɑːrdʒ/ backpack背包 /ˈbæk.pæk/. He introduced himself as "Ray — retired driver司机 /ˈdraɪ.vɚ/, full-time traveller旅行者 /ˈtræv.ə.lɚ/."
I asked if he had been abroad出国 /əˈbrɔːd/. He laughed.
"Forty countries. I've crossed the border边境 /ˈbɔːr.dɚ/ into countries where nobody spoke my language. I've taken a boat船 /boʊt/ off a coast海岸 /koʊst/ I couldn't name命名 /neɪm/ on a map地图 /mæp/. I once曾经 /wʌns/ spotted发现了 /ˈspɑː.t̬ɪd/ a whale from a flight航班 /flaɪt/ window窗户 /ˈwɪn.doʊ/ over the ocean海洋 /ˈoʊ.ʃən/."
"Weren't you scared? Going that far远 /fɑːr/, alone独自 /əˈloʊn/?"
"Every time I attempted尝试 /əˈtemp.t̬ɪd/ something new — a long漫长的 /lɔːŋ/ tour旅途 /tʊr/ through穿过；途经 /θruː/ the mountains, or a night on an island岛屿 /ˈaɪ.lənd/ with no electricity — the fear was part一部分 /pɑːrt/ of the adventure冒险 /ədˈven.tʃɚ/. You get used to习惯于 not knowing what's ahead在前面 /əˈhed/. The distance距离 /ˈdɪs.təns/ between home and anywhere任何地方 /ˈen.i.wer/ is just a number数字 /ˈnʌm.bɚ/."
"How do you handle应对 /ˈhæn.dəl/ problems when they come up — like a missed connecting train转乘列车 or a wrong错误的 /rɔːŋ/ route路线 /ruːt/?"
"You figure it out想办法解决. A stranger陌生人 /ˈstreɪn.dʒɚ/ has always helped me eventually. Sometimes the arrival抵达 /əˈraɪ.vəl/ you were aiming for turns out to be less interesting有趣的 /ˈɪn.trə.stɪŋ/ than the spot地点 /spɑːt/ where you got stuck." He nodded at the bench长椅 /bentʃ/. "Like today."
The old traveler checked the station车站 /ˈsteɪ.ʃən/ timetable时刻表 /ˈtaɪmˌteɪ.bəl/ and tied a label标签 /ˈleɪ.bəl/ to Jack's luggage行李 /ˈlʌɡ.ɪdʒ/. Their next departure出发 /dɪˈpɑːr.tʃɚ/ required需要 /rɪˈkwaɪɚd/ an unexpected意外的 /ˌʌn.ɪkˈspek.tɪd/ detour绕行 /ˈdiː.tʊr/ through穿过；途经 /θruː/ a rural乡村的 /ˈrʊr.əl/ valley and a long tunnel隧道 /ˈtʌn.əl/. Instead of complaining抱怨 /kəmˈpleɪ.nɪŋ/, the man treated every delay延误 /dɪˈleɪ/ as an encounter邂逅 /ɪnˈkaʊn.tɚ/ with a new place地方 /pleɪs/. He pointed toward the distant horizon地平线 /həˈraɪ.zən/, described a remote偏远的 /rɪˈmoʊt/ island岛屿 /ˈaɪ.lənd/, and unfolded展开 /ʌnˈfoʊl.dɪd/ a worn用旧的 /wɔːrn/ compass指南针 /ˈkʌm.pəs/. His stories gave Jack a different perspective视角 /pɚˈspek.tɪv/: the destination目的地 /ˌdes.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ mattered, but curiosity好奇心 /ˌkjʊr.iˈɑː.sə.t̬i/ made the journey旅程 /ˈdʒɝː.ni/ memorable难忘的 /ˈmem.ɚ.ə.bəl/.
The train火车 /treɪn/ resumed继续开行 /rɪˈzjuːmd/ ninety minutes later. I said goodbye to Ray and found my seat. Looking out the window窗户 /ˈwɪn.doʊ/ at the fields rolling past, I thought about what it would feel like to travel旅行 /ˈtræv.əl/ somewhere truly unknown — with just a backpack背包 /ˈbæk.pæk/ and no fixed schedule时刻表 /ˈsked.juːl/. Dan would probably say I was being dramatic夸张 /drəˈmæt.ɪk/. But the idea had taken hold产生了牢固影响.