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Module 3 My First Ride on a Train 【美文阅读】 Our first train trip Wondering what to expect on your first train trip? We did too! My daughter and I recently travelled by Amtrak Train. This was indeed my daughter's first train trip and my first travel by train in 25 years. We would be traveling from St. Augustine, Florida to Columbia, SC for a wedding. We left from Jacksonville because there is no train station in St. Augustine. When we discussed the trip, my mom said, “Why don't you take the train？” What a great question! Why wouldn't we? We decided right then to look into it. We would weigh the cost of gas and the convenience of riding instead of driving for the 6－7 hour trip. Travelling by car is 340 miles. The cost of gas alone would be about $190 round trip. The cost of roundtrip train tickets for us two was $156. It's important to note here that had I booked the tickets a few days earlier, the fare would have been only $135. The train arrived on time. We handed in our tickets and got in line to board the train. There is no assigned (指定的) seating on your ticket, but as you board the train, the conductor will tell you where to sit. Conductors keep groups together as much as possible. When it was our turn to board, I informed the conductor “Two to Columbia”. He gave us two seats on either side of a middle aisle (过道 ). Not only did we not have a window, but we were also in the front of the car(车厢) and a bright light above us lighted the doorway. Trying to sleep with this bright light was a challenge and I ended up putting on my sunglasses, hoping it would help. | 
