What is the passage mainly about?

A traveler who chooses the slow train to truly see the land, not just arrive (The passage shows Elena choosing the train so she can watch the land and feel she has traveled.)

How long would the train take to cross the country?

Nine hours (The text says "The train would take nine hours to cross the country.")

Why did Elena choose the train over the plane?

She wanted to see the land, which a plane would hide behind clouds (She notes that "from a plane you see nothing but clouds," while the train shows the whole land.)

In this passage, "unrolled" most nearly means

opened up and spread out to view ("The whole land unrolled before her" means it spread open into view like a mat unrolling.)

The Long Train: Level 2 Reading Comprehension Questions

The train would take nine hours to cross the country, and Elena was glad of it. She had chosen the train over the plane on purpose. A plane would have been faster, but from a plane you see nothing but clouds. From the train window, the whole land unrolled before her.

First came the flat farms, green and wide, split into neat squares. Then low hills rose, dotted with sheep. In the afternoon the train climbed into mountains, and the air grew thin and cold.

Elena did not read her book. She simply watched, as one town after another slid past, each with its own small station and its own name. She thought about the people who lived in these places she would never visit.

By the time the lights of the far city appeared, she felt she had truly traveled, not just arrived. The slow way, she decided, had shown her more.

Comprehension questions