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Stranded in Italy

The train from Paris to Rome was hot and crowded. Patrick wanted nothing more than to sleep, but his train compartment was too congested and offered almost no leg room.

Patrick didn't know Italian, so he cleared his throat to let the other passengers know that he wanted to exit. Outside of his compartment, a narrow corridor led from one car to the next. Patrick walked to the end of the corridor, only to find that the next car was identical to the one he'd left: teeming with passengers. Undeterred by the thought that all the cars might be the same, Patrick continued to the next car, and then the next, until at last he'd found exactly what he was looking for: an entire row of empty seats.

It was then that Patrick noticed a posted sign in Italian, punctuated by exclamation marks. The sign worried him, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to lie down and stretch his legs. Minutes later, he was sound asleep.

The next thing he knew, a uniformed guard was standing over him, shining a flashlight in Patrick's eyes. The man's words were unintelligible, but Patrick guessed from the man's tone that Patrick was supposed to leave. But when Patrick tried to return to his old car, he saw to his surprise that the cars were no longer connected!

There was nothing to do but disembark and take shelter in a nearby train station. Patrick had no clue where he was, but he was pretty sure he wasn't in Rome.

Inside the station, a large board flashed and flickered with the names of foreign cities and departure times. Patrick couldn't make sense of it. He tried to buy a ticket from the woman at the counter, but she didn't speak English.

Exasperated, Patrick was about to give up when an elderly Italian woman tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," she said. "The train conductor told me what happened. You were on the wrong train car." Then she pointed to the large board that had previously mystified Patrick. "You will want to catch the next train to Milan," she said. "From there it is easy to get to Rome."

Patrick was relieved. "You are a life saver," he told the woman. "This day has been quite a fiasco."

"It helps to be bilingual," she said, winking at him.

Grade 9 Context Clues CCSS: CCRA.R.4, RL.9-10.4

"Excuse me," she said. "The train conductor told me what happened. You were on the wrong train car." Then she pointed to the large board that had previously mystified Patrick. "You will want to catch the next train to Milan," she said. "From there it is easy to get to Rome."

In the excerpt above, the word mystified most likely means
  1. mysterious.
  2. confused.
  3. frustrated.
  4. shocked.

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Posted by caudill On 04 January, 2017 at 7:39 AM  

 
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