Our Adult Literacy Program Class 1B students recently wrote about experiences they had on NYC public transportation. Here’s one below, and take the quiz afterwards to test your comprehension:

On the Subway

Esther Li

I go to University Settlement to study English. One day after class, I went to the Grand Street station with my classmate. We stood on the platform and waited for the D train. We talked about something. We saw one train coming from far away, and we thought the train was the D train. We got on the train and sat down and continued to talk.

When the train passed the Atlantic stop and continued on, we discovered we were on the B train. We needed to take the D train to Brooklyn-8^th Avenue. But the letters were small in the subway map and the train was rocking left and right. We weren’t patient enough to look at the map, so we went back to sit down.

Suddenly a strange man walked over to us and said, “Where do you want to go?” We needed to go to 8^th Avenue. He said he could help show us how to transfer to the right train. When the train got to 7^th Avenue, I saw the station had the Q train and I knew the Q train’s last stop is in Coney Island. It is the same as the N train’s last stop. When we got off the train, the strange man prevented us from getting off and he said, “This stop doesn’t go to Brooklyn-8^th Avenue.” The train doors closed and the train continued to go on.

The train came to Church Avenue. He prevented us from getting off again, and my brain told me he was a bad person. I prepared myself to get off at the next stop. The train got to Kings Highway, and I rushed to get off, but he still followed us when we got off. Then we saw the Q train was coming. So we rushed to get in a car that had more people so he wouldn’t follow us to get in the same train car.

This experience was a lesson. I downloaded the subway map on my phone and I don’t believe all strangers. But it didn’t make me gloomy. The world is wonderful. I love all, but I trust a few.