From which platform does the train leave? What were the sales like in the past three years?

F: Excuse me, could you tell me which platform the 7 o’clock train leaves from?
M: Yes, it’s platform 10.
F: Thank you. Which end of the station is that?
M: The left-hand side, but you’d better get there 10 minutes earlier because there are a lot of people going.
F: OK. Thank you very much.

F: Could you tell us something about the sales of your company?
M: Ha, that’s very interesting.  As you can see here, sales had been rising slowly but steadily throughout the two-year period, and the increase was getting more dramatic in 2006.