Choosing an Elective: The Real Reason Behind a Suggestion
After school, Mika and Taro are looking at the elective class list for second-year students. Mika needs one more art credit this term. She says, 'I wanted the cooking class, but Mr. Sato told me it is already full. The art class has two spaces left, but it meets on Tuesdays from 4:00 to 5:30, and that is when I have tennis practice. The music class is on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:30. I have never played an instrument, though.' Taro says, 'The music teacher told us we only need to bring a notebook, and the instrument fee is 500 yen for the term.' Mika replies, 'Five hundred yen is not bad. I guess I could try.' Taro then says, 'But if you take music, you will miss the Wednesday tennis practice, right?' Mika looks at the tennis schedule and says, 'Actually, practice moved to Mondays and Thursdays this month.'
1. Which elective will Mika most likely choose? Explain using all the constraints.
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Music is the most likely choice. Cooking is closed because it is full. Art has spaces, but it meets Tuesday 4:00–5:30, exactly when Mika has tennis practice. Music meets Wednesday 4:00–5:30; Taro worries about a Wednesday tennis conflict, but Mika checks and says practice moved to Mondays and Thursdays this month, so the conflict disappears. The remaining objections are weak: she has never played an instrument, but Taro says only a notebook is needed and the fee is 500 yen; she replies 'I guess I could try,' which shows willingness rather than refusal. So music satisfies the credit, the schedule, and the cost.
2. What is Taro's question 'if you take music, you will miss the Wednesday tennis practice, right?' doing in the conversation?
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It is a check, not a new recommendation. Taro is testing whether Mika has noticed a possible schedule conflict before she decides. In exam dialogue, such a question often signals that the answer will remove or confirm an obstacle. Here Mika's reply removes it: tennis practice moved to Mondays and Thursdays. This makes music more likely, not less. The question also shows Taro is listening for practical constraints, not just agreeing.
3. In 'The art class has two spaces left, but it meets on Tuesdays from 4:00 to 5:30, and that is when I have tennis practice,' what does 'that' refer to?
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'That' refers to the time period Tuesday 4:00–5:30, not to 'the art class' as a thing. The pronoun replaces the whole time expression because the conflict is about when the class meets. If 'that' meant the class, the sentence would say she has tennis practice at the art class, which is illogical. Reading pronouns requires finding the nearest matching idea, not just the nearest noun.