The Corrected Departure Time
You are a third-year student at a junior high school in Yamagata. In the listening section, you hear a teacher's announcement and a short conversation. The recording is played twice. The teacher says, 'The bus for the winter trip leaves at 7:40. Please meet at the north gate ten minutes before departure.' A student says, 'I wrote 7:30 on my card.' The teacher replies, 'Sorry, the bus will actually leave at 7:45, not 7:40. The north gate is still correct. The south gate is closed for snow removal.' After the announcement, your friend says, 'I'll arrive at 7:35 at the south gate.' Your walk from home to school takes 20 minutes. You want to be at the correct gate at the correct meeting time, not just early. A classmate claims, 'The important number is 7:30 because it was written first.'
1. What time should you arrive at the gate, and what time should you leave home? Explain how you treat the three times 7:30, 7:40, and 7:45.
Read the worked answer
The final departure is 7:45. The teacher's 'actually' marks a correction, so 7:40 is replaced. The meeting time is ten minutes before departure: 7:45 - 0:10 = 7:35. The 7:30 is a student's earlier note, not an instruction. Leave home 20 minutes before 7:35: 7:15. So arrive at the north gate at 7:35 and leave home at 7:15. The key listening move is to keep the last corrected number and then apply the 'ten minutes before' rule; stopping at the first number gives 7:30 or 7:40, both wrong.
2. Why is your friend's plan ('7:35 at the south gate') only half correct, and what should you tell your friend?
Read the worked answer
The time 7:35 is right, but the place is wrong. The teacher said the south gate is closed for snow removal and the north gate is still correct. So the friend has matched the correct meeting time with a closed gate. Tell the friend: 'Come to the north gate at 7:35, not the south gate.' This item tests whether you can combine two details. A repeated number is not automatically the answer; the word next to it (north/south) decides. In the exam, underline both the time and the place in your notes.