I thought I would save time by purchasing my airline ticket online and checking in at the airport with my e-ticket. I went onto the McQ Air website and selected my flights. The screen then prompted me to pay with a credit card. After I typed in my payment information, I got a confirmation receipt with my ticket number and my itinerary. I printed out a copy of my e-ticket and I was ready to go – easy!

我想在网上买机票，机场登记时用电子机票，这样能够节省时间。我进入McQ航空网站，选择航班。屏幕提示我用信用卡付款。我输入付款信息后，收到所订机票的航班号和航行路线的确认回执。我打印一份电子机票，准备出行——轻松方便。

But when I got to the airport, it was a different story. I went up to a self-serve kiosk and swiped my credit card to bring up my account. The computer said that it couldn’t find my account. I flagged down an employee and she didn’t have any better luck, suggesting I stand in line at the check-in counter.

但当我到达机场时，确是另外一回事。我走到自助服务机，刷卡读取我的信息。但是电脑无法显示我的账户信息。我叫来一个客服人员，她也没有什么办法，建议我到登记窗口排队。

I got in the long line and 45 minutes later, the employee helped me check in and gave me my boarding pass. When I asked her what the problem was, she said she didn’t know and it was probably just a glitch in their computer system.

我排了很长时间的队，45分钟后，客服人员帮我登机检票，给我登机牌。我问她出什么问题了，她说她也不知道，也许是他们电脑出现了一点故障。

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, especially if technology is involved!

唉，不管是人是鼠，即使最如意的安排，结果也会出现意外，特别是涉及到技术方面问题。

I thought I would save time by purchasing my airline ticket online and checking in at the airport with my e-ticket. I went onto the McQ Air website and selected my flights. The screen then prompted me to pay with a credit card. After I typed in my payment information, I got a confirmation receipt with my ticket number and my itinerary. I printed out a copy of my e-ticket and I was ready to go – easy!

But when I got to the airport, it was a different story. I went up to a self-serve kiosk and swiped my credit card to bring up my account. The computer said that it couldn’t find my account. I flagged down an employee and she didn’t have any better luck, suggesting I stand in line at the check-in counter.

I got in the long line and 45 minutes later, the employee helped me check in and gave me my boarding pass. When I asked her what the problem was, she said she didn’t know and it was probably just a glitch in their computer system.

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, especially if technology is involved!