The Changed Library Shift
You are a first-year student at a junior high school in Matsue. In the hallway before class, you hear this conversation between Mr. Sato, a teacher, and Mika, a student.
Mr. Sato: Mika, can you help in the library after school on Tuesday? Mika: I have judo practice until 5:30 on Tuesdays. Could I come on Wednesday instead? Mr. Sato: Wednesday is fine. The library closes at 5:00, so please come at 4:30. We need to put new books on the shelves before the PTA meeting on Thursday. Mika: OK. Should I ask Ken, too? Mr. Sato: Yes, but tell him to come at 4:45. He has a class meeting until 4:30. Mika: I will tell him. And I will bring the list of new books. Mr. Sato: Thank you. If I am not in the library, please leave the list on my desk.
1. Why can Mika NOT help on Tuesday, and what time should she arrive on Wednesday? Answer in one or two sentences.
Read the worked answer
Mika has judo practice until 5:30 on Tuesdays, so she cannot go to the library after school then. On Wednesday she should arrive at 4:30 because the library closes at 5:00 and the books must be ready before Thursday's PTA meeting.
2. Ken has a class meeting until 4:30. What time does Mr. Sato want him to come, and why is that time different from Mika's?
Read the worked answer
Mr. Sato wants Ken at 4:45, not 4:30. The extra 15 minutes lets Ken finish his class meeting at 4:30 and still come after that. Mika has no such meeting, so she can start at 4:30.
3. What should Mika do with the list of new books if Mr. Sato is not in the library? Explain using the teacher's words.
Read the worked answer
He says, 'If I am not in the library, please leave the list on my desk.' So Mika should not wait or take the list home; she should put it on Mr. Sato's desk.