Sofia stepped aboard（登上）/ә'bɒ:d/ the last train on Friday（星期五）/ˈfraɪdeɪ/, eager（热心的）/'i:gә/ to reach an overseas（在海外）/'әuvә'si:z/ flight. At midnight（午夜）/'midnait/, the engine（引擎）/'endʒin/ stopped inside a distant（远的）/'distәnt/ tunnel. A speaker（广播员）/ˈspikər/ announced harmful（有害的）/'hɑ:mful/ smoke in an electrical circuit（电路）/'sә:kit/, and passengers were told to remain apart（保持距离）/ә'pɑ:t/ from the front carriage. Sofia's ankle（踝）/'æŋkl/ hurt inside a heavy boot（长靴）/bu:t/, yet she did not immediately（立即的）/i'mi:diәt/ quit（结束）/kwit/ the train or wander（游荡）/'wɒndә/ along the track.

The incident forced Sofia to postpone（延迟）/pәust'pәun/ check-in, but she hesitated（犹豫）/'heziteit/ before calling the airline. Her mobile signal was vague（含糊的）/veig/ and the thread（线）/θred/ of conversation ended repeatedly. She eventually（最后的）/i'ventʃuәl/ sent a written message with her granddaughter（孙女）/ˈgrænˌdɔtər/'s help. The airline promised further（进一步的）/ˈfərðər/ assistance if she could provide an official ending（终止）/'endiŋ/ notice. Sofia saved every screen and kept her visa（签证）/'vi:zә/, ticket, and passport in a limited（有限制的）/'limitid/ travel pouch.

A railway worker arrived with an emergency light and first-aid kit. “Please pursue（追赶）/pә'sju:/ the marked route calmly. An aircraft（航空器）/'єәkræft/ shuttle（穿梭）/'ʃʌtl/ will meet us at the terminal（终端机）/'tә:minәl/.” He explained that a bicycle（自行车）/ˈbaɪsɪkl/ had fallen against a cable, creating a short circuit. Staff had inserted（插入物）/in'sә:t/ a safety block, but the line required inspection before service could accelerate（加速）/әk'selәreit/ again.

Sofia then noticed that her trunk（树干）/trʌŋk/'s collar（领圈）/'kɒlә/-shaped tag was gone. Another suitcase（手提箱）/'sju:tkeis/ had the same dignity（尊严）/'digniti/-blue colour and a similar string（线）/striŋ/. A grandparent（祖父母）/ˈgrændˌpɛrənt/ travelling from Germany（德国）/ˈʤərməni/ found Sofia's tag caught beneath a goose（鹅）/gus/ toy. Nobody had tried to delete（删除）/di'li:t/ the signature; the cases had rubbed together as the carriage moved. They photographed both items and tied a brighter thread around each handle.

Shortly（不久）/'ʃɒ:tli/ after midnight, a shuttle carried the group to West Terminal. Staff placed every skateboard（溜冰板）/'skeitbɔ:d/ and bicycle in a separate rack. Sofia had to hesitate for an instant（紧急的）/'instәnt/, but the extent（程度）/ɪkˈstɛnt/ of the delay was clear. A youth league（联盟）/lig/ offered water from a tank（槽）/tæŋk/, and an educator tried to educate（教育）/'edjukeit/ a dull（使迟钝）/dʌl/, unhappy child. That kindness restored some happiness（快乐）/'hæpinis/. Sofia told a grandson（孙子）/ˈgrændˌsən/ about drought（干旱）/draut/ near a holy（神圣的）/'hәuli/ site, a travel cycle（循环）/'saikl/, and a current trend（趋势）/trend/. She reached the desk at a steady pace（速度）/peis/, chose to insert the suspension（悬挂）/sә'spenʃәn/ notice, and began to urge（冲动）/ә:dʒ/ others to stay humble（使...卑下）/'hʌmbl/. She could not sail（航行）/seɪl/ through a perfect journey, but she could follow trained staff. The extra two minutes spent checking the tag saved a much longer argument later.