The Long Train
Written by Studio AM.
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The train would take nine hours to cross the country, and Elena was glad of it. She had chosen the train over the plane on purpose. A plane would have been faster, but clouds had hidden the land on her last flight. From the train window, the whole land unrolled before her.
First came the flat farms, green and wide, split into neat squares. Then low hills rose, dotted with sheep. In the afternoon the train climbed into mountains, and the air grew thin and cold.
Elena did not read her book. She simply watched, as one town after another slid past, each with its own small station and its own name. She thought about the people who lived in these places she would never visit.
By the time the lights of the far city appeared, she felt she had truly traveled, not just arrived. The slow way, she decided, had shown her more.
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Questions
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Question 1 of 4
What is the passage mainly about?
The answer is A: A traveler chooses a slow train to see the land
The passage shows Elena choosing the train so she can watch the land and feel she has traveled.
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Question 2 of 4
How long would the train take to cross the country?
The answer is B: Nine hours
The text says "The train would take nine hours to cross the country."
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Question 3 of 4
Why did Elena choose the train over the plane?
The answer is B: She wanted to see the land during the trip
She wants to see the changing land, unlike her last flight when clouds had hidden it.
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Question 4 of 4
In this passage, "unrolled" most nearly means
The answer is B: spread out into view
"The whole land unrolled before her" means it spread open into view like a mat unrolling.
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