Ken's Field Trip Note Sheet
Ken is a first-year student. He is listening to a morning broadcast about the field trip to the Lake Biwa Museum. His note sheet has four blanks: Departure time, Meeting place, Lunch, Return time. The broadcast says: 'The bus leaves at 7:40, not 7:15 as printed on the handout. Please come to the north gate by 7:25. We will arrive at the museum at 9:30. The museum shop opens at 10:00, so bring a lunch; you can buy drinks at the vending machine near the entrance. We will leave the museum at 2:10 and be back at school around 3:00.' During the broadcast, Ken's friend whispers, 'The handout says 7:15, so that's right.' Ken writes 7:15 in the first blank.
1. What should Ken write in the Departure time and Meeting place blanks? Explain how the broadcast resolves the conflict with the handout.
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Departure time: 7:40. Meeting place: the north gate. The broadcast explicitly corrects the handout - 'not 7:15 as printed on the handout' - so the spoken correction is newer and more specific than the printed sheet. The same broadcast also says to come to the north gate by 7:25, so the meeting place is the north gate rather than whatever the handout may say. Ken should trust the explicit correction, not the friend's whisper.
2. Ken's friend says the handout is official. What reasoning should Ken use to decide which source to trust?
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Ken should ask which source is a correction of the other. The broadcast does not merely repeat the handout; it names the handout's time and rejects it. A later, explicit correction normally overrides an earlier printed schedule. The friend's argument that the handout is 'official' does not answer the correction, because the broadcast is also an official school announcement. Ken should write 7:40 and, if unsure, confirm with a teacher.
3. Why does the broadcast mention that the museum shop opens at 10:00?
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It explains why students must bring a lunch. The group arrives at 9:30, before the shop opens at 10:00, so students cannot rely on the shop for food at arrival. The broadcast then adds that drinks can be bought at the vending machine near the entrance, separating 'lunch' from 'drinks'. The mention is a practical warning, not a sightseeing detail.