[00:01:00] Lesson 37 the westhaven express
[00:07:00] Listen to the tape then answer the question below
[00:12:00] What was the mistake the author made
[00:17:00] We have learnt to expect that trains will be punctual
[00:22:00] After years of conditioning
[00:24:00] Most of us have developed an unshakable faith in railway timetables
[00:30:00] Ships may be delayed by storms
[00:33:00] Flights may be cancelled because of bad weather
[00:36:00] But trains must be on time
[00:39:00] Only an exceptionally heavy snowfall might temporarily dislocate railway services
[00:45:00] It is all too easy to blame the railway authorities when something does go wrong
[00:50:00] The truth is that when mistakes occur
[00:53:00] They are more likely to be ours than theirs
[00:57:00] After consulting my railway timetable
[01:00:00] I noted with satisfaction that there was an express train to westhaven
[01:06:00] It went direct from my local station and the journey lasted a mere hour and seventeen minutes
[01:13:00] When i boarded the train
[01:15:00] I could not help noticing that a great many local people got on as well
[01:20:00] At the time
[01:21:00] This did not strike me as odd
[01:23:00] I reflected that there must be a great many people besides myself who wished to take advantage of this excellent service
[01:32:00] Neither was i surprised when the train stopped at widley
[01:35:00] A tiny station a few miles along the line
[01:39:00] Even a mighty express train can be held up by signals
[01:44:00] But when the train dawdled at station after station
[01:47:00] I began to wonder
[01:49:00] It suddenly dawned on me that this express was not roaring down the line at ninety miles an hour
[01:56:00] But barely chugging along at thirty
[02:00:00] One hour and seventeen minutes passed and we had not even covered half the distance
[02:06:00] I asked a passenger if this was the westhaven express
[02:10:00] But he had not even heard of it
[02:13:00] I determined to lodge a complaint as soon as we arrived
[02:17:00] Two hours later
[02:18:00] I was talking angrily to the station master at westhaven
[02:23:00] When he denied the train\'s existence
[02:25:00] I borrowed his copy of the timetable
[02:28:00] There was a note of triumph in my voice when i told him that it was there in black and white
[02:34:00] Glancing at it briefly
[02:36:00] He told me to look again
[02:39:00] A tiny asterisk conducted me to a footnote at the bottom of the page
[02:44:00] It said
[02:45:00] \'This service has been suspended\'