The 7:40 Bus Announcement
At a junior high school in Mito, the teacher plays a 45-second morning announcement recorded at the school gate. You hear: 'Good morning. This is Mr. Sato from the office. Because of heavy rain, the 7:40 bus from the station will not run today. Students who usually take that bus should come to the gym by 8:10. First class still starts at 8:30. Do not wait at the bus stop. If you are already at the station, use the east exit and walk along the river road; it takes about 15 minutes. Repeat: no 7:40 bus. Gym by 8:10.' The teacher then asks you to write a short note for Yuki, a classmate who was absent. Yuki arrives at the station at 7:35 and usually takes the 7:40 bus. Yuki has a heavy instrument case and cannot walk fast. You have one small sticky note, about 40 English words.
1. The announcement contains three times: 7:40, 8:10, and 8:30. Which one should Yuki act on at 7:35, and why can the other two be misleading if listed without labels?
Read the worked answer
Yuki must act on 7:40. At 7:35 she is only five minutes from her usual bus, and the first actionable sentence is 'the 7:40 bus ... will not run.' The time 8:10 is the latest arrival time at the gym, not a departure time. The time 8:30 is the unchanged first class, not a delay. A note that lists '7:40, 8:10, 8:30' without verbs could make Yuki think she has until 8:10 to catch a bus, or that class starts later. Label each item by its function: 'No 7:40 bus'; 'Be at gym by 8:10'; 'Class 8:30 as usual.' The order should follow Yuki's decision sequence, not the order in the announcement.
2. Yuki has a heavy instrument case and cannot walk fast. The announcement offers only one alternative route. What should your sticky note tell her to do, and what should it not invent?
Read the worked answer
Tell her: leave the station by the east exit and walk the river road; it takes about 15 minutes. Because the announcement says 'Do not wait at the bus stop,' the note must begin with that warning. With a heavy case, 15 minutes may be tight, so the note should also give the 8:10 gym deadline so she can judge whether to start immediately. Do not invent a taxi, a later bus, or a friend with a car: the announcement gives no such information. If the note has space, add 'start now' rather than a new transport plan. The exam tests whether you separate stated facts from helpful but unstated guesses.
3. You have about 40 words. Which detail from the announcement should you omit, and why?
Read the worked answer
Omit 'First class still starts at 8:30' and the speaker's name. The note's job is to change Yuki's next action at 7:35. The 8:30 time does not affect her choice; the 8:10 deadline does. 'Still' is reassurance for students already at school, not for Yuki, who is at the station. Keeping 'No 7:40 bus / gym by 8:10 / east exit, river road, 15 min' uses the words for action. A 40-word note cannot include every fact; a good listener filters by the receiver's decision, not by the order of the announcement.