After a long voyage（航行）/'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（过道）/ail/ she had seen an aerial（空中的）/'єәriәl/ view of the coast. She had also seen the inland（内陆的）/'inlәnd/ highway and an aluminum（铝制的）/ә'lu:minәm/-roofed terminal. Takeoff（起飞）/'teikɒ:f/ had been late because a loose particle（颗粒）/'pɑ:tikl/ was found near the runway（跑道）/'rʌnwei/. Now her baggage（行李）/'bægidʒ/ was missing, and the luggage（行李）/'lʌgidʒ/ belt stopped. The aviation（航空）/.eivi'eiʃәn/ screen told passengers to proceed onward（继续向前）/pərˈsid ˈɔnwərd/, but it did not say where.

At the service cabin（服务间）/'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）/'feri/ dock（码头）/dɒk/. A fluid（液体）/'flu:id/ stain had blurred its tag, so it was loaded with equipment for a cruise（游轮的）/kru:z/ vessel（船）/'vesl/. The bag had travelled across the deck（甲板）/dek/ while Maya descended（下行）/di'send/ toward the metro（地铁）/'metrәu/. Her original route required a tram（有轨电车）/træm/, then a trolley（无轨电车）/'trɒli/ along a pedestrian（步行的）/pә'destriәn/ avenue（大道）/'ævәnju:/. Because the delay had broken that chain, the only alternatives were a cab（出租车）/kæb/, an auto（汽车）/'ɒ:tәu/ on the expressway（高速公路）/ik'spreswei/, or an overnight inn（旅馆）/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）/di'pɑ:t/?” Jon answered, “We can send it ashore（上岸）/ә'ʃɒ:/ tomorrow, but tonight I can offer a motel（汽车旅馆）/mәu'tel/ and a sightseeing（观光）/'saitsi:iŋ/ voucher.” Eric, another passenger, interrupted and called Jon an ass（蠢货）/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（罗盘）/'kʌmpәs/ map to compare routes. A helicopter（直升机）/'helikɒptә/ was unavailable, the freeway（高速公路）/'fri:wei/ was blocked, and a bypass（绕行道路）/'baipɑ:s/ added thirty kilometers. A shared carriage（客车）/'kæridʒ/ could leave the resort（度假地）/ri'zɒ:t/, overtake the airport shuttle, and enter a special lane（车道）/lein/ before the evening commute（通勤高峰）/kә'mju:t/. The driver would check the tyre, bumper（保险杠）/'bʌmpә/, and gasoline level before departure. The carriage would stop at a hospitable（好客的）/'hɒspitәbl/ lodge（旅舍）/lɒdʒ/ if weather forced it downward（向下的）/'daunwәd/ from the hillside road. Maya chose that option instead of（而不是）/ˌɪnˈstɛd əv/ an outing（外出游玩）/'autiŋ/ or excursion（短途观光）/ik'skә:ʒәn/ voucher.

Before Maya departed, Jon printed a well-known（著名的）/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）/'autwәd/ from the dock at dawn. Maya checked every transit（换乘）/'trænsit/ number and kept 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 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/.