Part 5
Questions 21-26
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Long Wait
I arrived at the train station at six in the evening, expecting to be home by eight. The platform was crowded, and the departure board showed that my train was running fifteen minutes 21 . I bought a cup of tea and settled down on a bench to wait.
Fifteen minutes became thirty, and then an hour. An announcement told us that a tree had fallen onto the line further up the route, and engineers were working to clear it. There was nothing anyone could do. Some passengers grew angry and crowded around the information desk, demanding answers. Others simply gave up and went to 22 a bus or a taxi.
I decided to wait. I had no urgent reason to be home, and I had a book in my bag that I had been meaning to read for months. I opened it and began to read. The noise of the station seemed to 23 quieter, and I found myself completely absorbed in the story.
After another hour, I noticed an elderly woman sitting alone at the end of my bench. She looked tired and anxious, so I asked if she was all right. She told me she was travelling to visit her daughter and was worried she would miss a connecting train. I 24 to go and check the times for her. When I came back with the information, her face relaxed. We started talking, and she told me about her daughter, who had just had a baby.
By the time the train finally arrived at half past nine, the woman and I had talked for over an hour. She thanked me for keeping her company and said the delay had not felt so bad 25 she had someone to talk to. I felt the same way.
On the way home, I thought about the evening. I had expected to feel annoyed about the delay, but I did not. A stranger, a book, and a bit of patience had turned a frustrating situation into something rather lovely. Sometimes the best moments happen when your plans go 26 .
For this task: Answers with explanations :: Vocabulary
