Gina was surprised to find that it was not raining in London. She stepped down from the train that had brought her from Dover to Victoria Station and put her heavy suitcase on the platform(站台). People were hurrying everywhere: through the entrances and exits, up and down the steps, along the other platforms and over to the ticket counters(柜台) where there were already queues forming. The porters(行李员) seemed to be busy helping other passengers. In Milan everyone told her that it was always raining in England. Today, however, they were wrong. It was warm and dusty just like at home. She could even hear someone speaking her native language somewhere near the station bookstore. She walked slowly towards the gate at the end of the platform where a railway official was collecting the tickets. She handed him her tickets and walked through. She looked up the station clock. Its hands were pointing to 3:15 p.m.

A young woman was sitting on a bench reading an English magazine. She looked friendly so Gina went up to her.

“Excuse me.” she said. The young woman glanced(瞥一眼) up with a smile. “Can you tell me the way to circus?”

“The circus?” The young woman looked puzzled. “What circus do you mean?”

Gina shook her head. “I’m sorry. I have just arrived from Italy to attend a school for foreign students in London. It is near the circus. “

“Do you have a letter with the school’s address on it?”

“Oh, yes. Now I remember.” Gina opened her handbag and found a postcard with a British stamp on it. “Ah,” said the young woman. “It’s Oxford Circus that you want. It’s the name of an area in the middle of London. You must go down these steps and take the Tube(地铁). Follow the colors. That’s the easiest way. ” She showed Gina on the colored map of the underground railway the route from Victoria to Oxford Circus. “Good luck,” she said. “And by the way, I come from Italy, too.”

Gina was surprised to find that it was not raining in London. She stepped down from the train that had brought her from Dover to Victoria Station and put her heavy suitcase on the platform（站台）. People were hurrying everywhere: through the entrances and exits, up and down the steps, along the other platforms and over to the ticket counters（柜台）where there were already queues forming. The porters（行李员）seemed to be busy helping other passengers. In Milan everyone told her that it was always raining in England. Today, however, they were wrong. It was warm and dusty just like at home. She could even hear someone speaking her native language somewhere near the station bookstore. She walked slowly towards the gate at the end of the platform where a railway official was collecting the tickets. She handed him her tickets and walked through. She looked up the station clock. Its hands were pointing to 3:15 p.m.

A young woman was sitting on a bench reading an English magazine. She looked friendly so Gina went up to her.

“Excuse me.” she said. The young woman looked up with a smile. “Can you tell me the way to circus?”

“The circus?” The young woman looked puzzled. “What circus do you mean?”

Gina shook her head. “I’m sorry. I have just arrived from Italy to attend a school for foreign students in London. It is near the circus.”

“Do you have a letter with the school’s address on it?”

“Oh, yes. Now I remember.” Gina opened her handbag and found a postcard with a British stamp on it. “Ah,” said the young woman. “It’s Oxford Circus that you want. It’s the name of an area in the middle of London. You must go down these steps and take the underground. Follow the colors. That’s the easiest way. “She showed Gina on the colored map of the underground railway the route from Victoria to Oxford Circus. “Good luck,” she said. “And by the way, I come from Italy, too.”

Many people often meet such a difficult situation. It’s that they don’t know the way in new places, and they are too shy to ask people for the way. 【小题1】 Firstly, you must know some important and useful expressions, such as “Could you please…?” “Excuse me” and “Thanks a lot”. For example, when we want to ask strangers for the way, we should say “Excuse me’’ first. This is a very useful expression. 【小题2】 Next, “Could you please …?’’ is often used while asking for the direction. 【小题3】 It’s also polite to shake hands with the strangers. Secondly we often need to take some useful thing with us. They usually include pens, special maps, photos and so on. 【小题4】 We can write down the crucial (关键性的) words about the place, and then we can show them to the stranger who we want to ask for help. Of course, the map can help us find the correct way. 【小题5】 Then we can use the map to know the directions and find the right place.