The Announcement That Corrects the Handout
Yui is a third-year student at a Nagasaki public junior high school. Her class will take a bus to a science museum on Friday, November 8. During homeroom, the teacher plays a twice-repeated announcement. Yui writes: “Friday 11/8 - bus 8:50 - meet at gym - 600 yen - lunch.” Her friend Haruto writes: “11/8 - bus 8:15 - science room 8:00 - 600 yen - lunch, no drink.” The announcement says: “The bus leaves at eight fifteen, not eight fifty as printed on the handout. Do not gather at the gym; come to the science room at eight o’clock for attendance. Bring six hundred yen and a lunch. Drinks are not sold at the museum.” Yui’s handout, printed last month, still says 8:50 and gym. She has 1,200 yen and must decide what to put in her bag and when to arrive. The teacher will not repeat the announcement after class.
1. Which departure time and meeting place should Yui trust: her own note, Haruto’s note, or the printed handout? Explain the listening clue that decides it.
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Trust the announcement, which Haruto’s note matches: the bus leaves at 8:15, and students meet in the science room at 8:00.
The decisive clue is the correction pattern. The speaker says “not eight fifty as printed on the handout,” which explicitly marks the handout as outdated. The speaker then says “Do not gather at the gym; come to the science room,” replacing the old place with a new one. Yui’s note keeps both old details, so it is the least reliable. In a twice-played announcement, the second hearing should be used to confirm corrections and numbers, not to blend the old and new versions. When spoken information directly corrects printed information, the spoken correction controls.
2. What should Yui put in her bag, and how much money should she take from her 1,200 yen? Give a reason for each item.
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She should take 600 yen, a lunch, and a drink.
The fee is exactly 600 yen, so she does not need to carry all 1,200 yen. Taking the extra 600 yen is unnecessary and increases the risk of losing money. The announcement says drinks are not sold at the museum, so a drink is needed even though it was not listed on the old handout. The lunch is required. A simple checklist is: fee 600 yen, lunch, drink. She should not bring gym clothes for a gym meeting, because the meeting place has changed to the science room.
3. Why are there two different times, 8:00 and 8:15, in the correct plan? What is each time for?
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The two times are not alternatives; they answer different questions. 8:00 is the attendance and meeting time in the science room. 8:15 is the bus departure time.
If Yui arrives at 8:15, she may still catch the bus if it has not left, but she will have missed attendance and may be marked late or left behind. A good listener records both times and labels them: “be in the science room at 8:00” and “bus leaves at 8:15.” Mixing them up is the likely trap, because both are times connected to the same trip.