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Complete English transcript
Welcome to Short Stories with Peter, from Your English Toolbox.
Today I have an original story for you called The Last Train Home.
Find a comfortable place, and let us begin.
The station was almost empty when Anna reached the platform.
She looked at the clock, then at the tracks.
Her train had already left.
It was the last train home that night.
Oh no, I am too late.
Anna sat down on a bench and took a deep breath.
Her phone battery was almost empty, and she did not know what to do.
Then she noticed a small cloth bag beside her.
Inside was a pair of warm gloves and a folded piece of paper.
On the paper was a name and a telephone number.
Anna carried the bag to the station office.
A woman in a station uniform looked up from her desk.
I found this bag on the platform.
Thank you for bringing it here.
The woman looked at the name on the paper.
These belong to my father.
Anna watched as the woman called him.
He is still nearby, and he is coming back for them.
While the woman waited for her father, she placed the bag carefully on the desk.
The gloves were old, but someone had repaired a small hole in one of them.
Anna looked at the neat stitches and imagined how useful warm gloves would be on a cold evening.
Outside, the wind moved a few leaves along the empty street.
Anna wondered whether she should call someone for help, but her phone screen went dark.
She put the phone away and waited quietly in the warm office.
From the desk, she could see the clock above the platform.
A minute passed, and then another.
The woman thanked Anna again and noticed her tired face.
Are you waiting for someone?
I missed the last train home.
The woman checked the timetable on her desk.
There is no train tonight, but a night bus stops outside the station.
She pointed to the bus stop across the street.
It goes to your town, and it leaves in twenty minutes.
Anna felt her shoulders relax.
Thank you, I did not know about the bus.
A few minutes later, the woman's father arrived and collected his gloves.
He thanked Anna with a smile.
When the night bus arrived, Anna climbed aboard.
She found a seat by the window and looked back at the station.
The lights in the station office were still on.
For a moment, she could see the woman and her father near the door.
The father lifted one hand to wave goodbye.
Anna waved back as the bus pulled away.
She had missed her train, but she had found another way home.
End of the story.
Now, let’s dive into the language and break down some of the key vocabulary from the story.
First, a platform is the place where you wait to get on a train.
For example, Anna found the bag on the platform.
Next, to miss a train means to arrive too late to travel on it.
You can also miss a bus, a flight, or an appointment.
Anna missed the last train, but she did not miss the night bus.
Our third expression is to belong to someone.
It tells us who owns something.
The gloves belonged to the station worker's father.
Finally, take a deep breath means to breathe in slowly and fully.
People often do this when they need a moment to calm down.
Now, can you remember where Anna found the lost bag?
She found it beside her on the platform.
And how did she finally travel home?
She took the night bus.
Visit the episode page to read the story and explore its vocabulary at your own pace.
The link is in the description.
Thank you for listening, and see you next time.
