Getting around - Lesson 2 - Conversation:

Alla biglietteria della stazione ferroviaria

(At the ticket window on the railway station)


(photo by  JohnPickenPhoto used under terms of Creative Commons license.)
train station milan


 






Don Smith:

Un biglietto di andata e ritorno, seconda classe, per Parigi sul Palatino, per favore.

Bigliettaio:

Non c'è la seconda classe in questi treni.

Don Smith:

Quanto costa un biglietto di prima?

Bigliettaio:

175.000 lire.

Don Smith:

Va bene, mi dia una prima. A che ora parte il treno?

Bigliettaio:

Alle 19, binario 4. Arriva domani alle 8 e 30.

Don Smith:

Che ore sono adesso?

Bigliettaio:

Sono le 18 e 40. Il Suo treno parte fra 20 minuti.

Don Smith:

Scusi, dove sono i gabinetti?

Bigliettaio:

In fondo al corridoio, a destra.

Don Smith:

Tante grazie.

Bigliettaio:

Prego. S'immagini.


 

Translation:

Don Smith:

A round-trip ticket, second class, to Paris on the Palatino, please.

Ticket Agent:

There isn't a second class on these trains.

Don Smith:

How much is a first-class ticket?

Ticket Agent:

175,000 lire.

Don Smith:

OK, give me one of the first (class). At what time does the train leave?

Ticket Agent:

At 19:00, track 4. It arrives tomorrow at 8:30

Don Smith:

What time is it now?

Ticket Agent:

It's 18:40. Your train leaves in 20 minutes.

Don Smith:

Excuse me, where are the restrooms?

Ticket Agent:

At the end of the hallway, to the right.

Don Smith:

Many thanks.

Ticket Agent:

You're welcome. Don't mention it.



 



Notes on conversation

1. di andata e ritorno Literally, "of going and return."

2. Sul. su + il = sul, "on the."

3. Che ore sono? "What time is it?" Literally, "What hours are they?"

4. Remember, the plural form of the article il is i (il gabinetto => i gabinetti)

5. Prego is "Please" and "You're welcome."

6. S'immagini is equivalent to "Don't mention it."

7. The geography of Italy and heavy tourist travel have made an efficient road and rail transportation system imperative. Thanks to a 10-year plan approved in 1962 and put into action since then, the Italian State Railways now compete favorably with the most efficient systems existing in Europe. Rail tracks cover a distance of 17,000 kilometers, 8,000 of which are electrified.

 
 
New passenger coaches are comfortable and well designed. Ultramodern railway stations have been built. Apart from normal services, the Italian railway authorities have put special trains on the tracks: the Settebello, Rome to Milan, and the Peloritano, which runs between Rome and Sicily via Naples. These trains have been built with the very best modern technology. Express pullman trains have been added, as well as couchettes and sleeping and restaurant cars. Facilities to make advance bookings on trains such as the Palatino  are available, as are hotel, currency exchange,  postal, and telegraph services

 
Speed is another characteristic of the new trains. It is possible, for example, to travel from Milan to Rome (a distance of 673 km) in about seven hours, or from Rome to Naples (214 km) in about an hour and 40 minutes.