After a long voyage（航行、航海）/'vɒiidʒ/, Maya landed at Bayport with jetlag（时差反应）/jetlag/ and one urgent goal: make the last connection（赶上最后一班接驳）/meɪk ðə læst kəˈnɛkʃən/ home. From the aisle（走廊、侧廊）/ail/ she had seen（语境补充词）/sin/ an aerial（空中的、航空的）/'єәriәl/ view of the coast. She had also seen the inland（内陆的、国内的）/'inlәnd/ highway and an aluminum-roofed（语境补充词）/aluminum-roofed/ terminal. Takeoff（起飞）/'teikɒ:f/ had been late because a loose particle（颗粒、粒子）/'pɑ:tikl/ was found near the runway（跑道、河床）/'rʌnwei/. Now her baggage（行李）/'bægidʒ/ was missing, and the luggage（行李、皮箱）/'lʌgidʒ/ belt stopped. The aviation（航空、航空学）/.eivi'eiʃәn/ screen told（语境补充词）/toʊld/ passengers to proceed onward（继续向前）/pərˈsid ˈɔnwərd/, but it did not say where.

At the service cabin（小屋、客舱）/'kæbin/, agent Jon traced Maya's suitcase to（追查玛雅的行李至）/treɪst maya's ˈsutˌkeɪs tɪ/ a ferry（渡船、渡口）/'feri/ dock（码头、船坞）/dɒk/. A fluid（液体、分泌液）/'flu:id/ stain had blurred its tag, so it was loaded with equipment for a cruise（巡航、巡弋）/kru:z/ vessel（船、容器）/'vesl/. The bag had travelled across the deck（甲板、(汽车后部的)行李仓）/dek/ while Maya descended（下降、世代相传）/di'send/ toward the metro（地铁）/'metrәu/. Her original route required a tram（用煤车运载）/træm/, then a trolley（电车、手推车）/'trɒli/ along a pedestrian（行人、步行者）/pә'destriәn/ avenue（大街、途径）/'ævәnju:/. Because the delay had broken（坏掉的、打破的）/'brәukәn/ that chain, the only alternatives were a cab（出租车、出租汽车）/kæb/, an auto（pref. 表示"自己"、"本身"）/'ɒ:tәu/ on the expressway（高速公路）/ik'spreswei/, or an overnight inn（旅馆、客栈）/in/ near the motorway（高速公路）/'mәutәwei/.

Maya asked, “If my baggage goes by ferry, how can I reach the mainland（到达大陆）/riʧ ðə ˈmeɪnˌlænd/ before the last metro departs（离开、出发）/di'pɑ:t/?” Jon answered, “We can send it ashore（向岸、在岸上）/ә'ʃɒ:/ tomorrow, but tonight I can offer a motel（汽车旅馆）/mәu'tel/ and a sightseeing（观光、游览）/'saitsi:iŋ/ voucher（证人、保证人）/'vautʃә/.” Eric, another passenger, interrupted and called Jon an ass（驴、傻瓜）/æs/. Maya turned to him and said, “Insults will not get us home; let us ask for a workable transit plan（要求可行的转乘方案）/æsk fər ə ˈwərkəbəl ˈtrænzɪt plæn/.”

Jon used a compass（指南针、范围）/'kʌmpәs/ map to compare routes. A helicopter（直升机）/'helikɒptә/ was unavailable（得不到的、不能利用的）/.ʌnә'veilәbl/, the freeway（高速公路）/'fri:wei/ was blocked, and a bypass（旁路）/'baipɑ:s/ added thirty kilometers（语境补充词）/ˈkɪləˌmitərz/. A shared carriage（马车、客车）/'kæridʒ/ could leave the resort（度假胜地、手段）/ri'zɒ:t/, overtake the airport shuttle, and enter a special lane（小路、巷）/lein/ before the evening commute（交换、折偿）/kә'mju:t/. The driver would check the tyre（轮胎）/'taiә/, bumper（缓冲器、满杯）/'bʌmpә/, and gasoline（汽油）/'gæsәli:n/ level before departure. The carriage would stop at a hospitable（好客的、招待周到的）/'hɒspitәbl/ lodge（小屋、门房）/lɒdʒ/ if weather forced it downward（向下的）/'daunwәd/ from the hillside（山坡、山腹）/'hilsaid/ road. Maya chose that option instead of（而不是）/ˌɪnˈstɛd əv/ an outing（郊游、远足）/'autiŋ/ or excursion（远足、游览圆）/ik'skә:ʒәn/ voucher.

Before Maya departed, Jon printed a well-known（著名的；广为人知的）/ˈwɛlˈnoʊn/ carrier's guarantee and attached a souvenir（纪念品）/.su:vә'niә/ tag to the claim. The suitcase would be delivered upward（向上的）/'ʌpwәd/ to her hill town. Before that, it would travel outward（向外的、表面的）/'autwәd/ from the dock at dawn. Maya checked every transit（运送、使通过）/'trænsit/ number and kept（语境补充词）/kɛpt/ the paper inside her coat. The shared vehicle reached the metro with six minutes to spare（还剩六分钟）/wɪθ sɪks ˈmɪnəts tɪ spɛr/. She could not erase the delay, but a written（书面的、写成文字的）/'ritn/ route, a named driver, and a firm luggage plan had turned an empty offer into useful service（把空洞提议变成有效服务）/tərnd ən ˈɛmti ˈɔfər ˈɪntu ˈjusfəl ˈsərvɪs/.