The Last Train
Written by Studio AM.
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The last train leaves at 12:40, and the platform is never crowded. There is a cleaner with a wide broom, two students asleep on a bench, and a man with a violin case.
The man does not play. He carries the case in both arms, the way people carry a sleeping child. Some nights he sits under the sign and reads the timetable as though it were news.
Tonight a girl asks him if he is a musician. He says he was, many years ago, and that the case no longer holds a violin. He uses it for bread, papers, and a folded jacket.
The girl does not know what to say, so she says nothing. They ride four stops together without speaking. When he stands to leave, he lifts the case with both arms again, exactly as before.
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Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
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Question 1 of 4
What is the passage mainly about?
The answer is D: A quiet meeting with a man who keeps a link to his musical past
The conversation reveals that the man used to be a musician. His repeated care with the case suggests that this past still matters to him.
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Question 2 of 4
What does the man keep in the violin case?
The answer is B: Bread, papers, and a folded jacket
The case holds bread, papers and a folded jacket, though it no longer holds a violin.
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Question 3 of 4
What does his repeated care with the case most strongly suggest?
The answer is C: The case still has personal meaning for him.
The repeated comparison with carrying a child suggests affection or attachment. The story does not explain exactly why he stopped playing.
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Question 4 of 4
What does 'timetable' mean in this passage?
The answer is A: a list of train departure and arrival times
He reads it on the platform as though it were news, and it belongs to the station, so it lists train times.
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