Flat-viewing SMS: Thursday or Friday?
Lucie receives this SMS on her phone: 'Ahoj Lucie, byt 2+kk, 45 m², nájem 8 500 Kč plus energie. Prohlídka ve čtvrtek 17:30, Krátká 8, zvonek 12. Prosím potvrď do pátku. Novák.' She is in an A1 reading test and must answer: what day, what time, what price, and whether she can attend. Lucie has a Czech class until 17:00 on Thursdays; the tram from school to Krátká 8 takes 25 minutes, plus 5 minutes walking. She reads 'čtvrtek' as 'pátek' because both contain -tek, and she thinks 8 500 Kč includes energy. The SMS also says 'potvrď do pátku', which she confuses with the viewing day. She has 20 minutes to answer three items and may underline the text but not use a dictionary.
1. When exactly is the viewing, and which word in the SMS could make Lucie wrongly choose Friday?
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The viewing is on Thursday at 17:30 (ve čtvrtek 17:30). The word that misleads her is do pátku - 'by Friday'. That is the deadline for confirming, not the day of the viewing.
The sentence structure helps: Prohlídka ve čtvrtek 17:30 directly attaches the day to prohlídka, while potvrď do pátku attaches Friday to the verb potvrď ('confirm'). A candidate who scans only for a day name may pick Friday. The correct reading separates event time from reply deadline.
2. Does 8 500 Kč cover all costs? Explain using the SMS wording.
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No. The SMS says nájem 8 500 Kč plus energie - rent 8,500 CZK plus energy. Plus is the key word. The 8,500 Kč is the rent only; electricity, gas, and other charges are additional.
Lucie's assumption that the price includes energy is a vocabulary trap. At A1, plus may be recognised as an international word, but the candidate must still read it as an addition, not as an approximate total. A safe answer says: rent is 8,500 Kč, and the final monthly cost will be higher because energy is separate.
3. Can Lucie arrive on time? Show the calculation and one communication action.
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She can arrive exactly at 17:30, with no buffer. Calculation:
- Class ends at 17:00.
- Tram takes 25 minutes.
- Walking takes 5 minutes.
- 25 + 5 = 30 minutes, so arrival is 17:30.
Because there is zero margin, she should not simply assume it will work. A sensible action is to send a short confirmation and mention possible slight delay, for example: Dobrý den, potvrzuji čtvrtek 17:30. Mohu se zpozdit o 5 minut. Lucie. She must also confirm by Friday, as the SMS requests. The judgement is that the schedule is mathematically possible but practically tight.