Voicemail With a Correction: Which Plan Is Current?
You are at home in Christchurch and your Japanese friend Yuki leaves a 40-second voicemail. Your phone reception is poor and Yuki's voice is fast. You hear: もしもし、ユキです。あしたの映画は、三時から五時に変わりました。ごめんなさい、四時じゃないです。映画館の前で、四時四十五分に会いましょう。それから、雨がふるそうですから、かさを持ってきてください。私はあおいかさを持っています。じゃ、またあした。 You write down 3:00, 4:00 and 5:00 and cannot remember which is the film start. You also have a dentist appointment that ends at 2:30 across town, a 15-minute walk to the cinema, and no umbrella. You need to reply with one short text message.
1. What time does the film start, and what time should you meet Yuki? Explain how the correction and the meeting instruction interact.
Read the worked answer
The film starts at 5:00, and you should meet Yuki at 4:45 in front of the cinema.
- 三時から五時に変わりました means 'changed from 3:00 to 5:00'. The new time is the second one, 五時.
- 四時じゃないです rules out 4:00; it is a correction, not a third option.
- 四時四十五分に会いましょう is the meeting time: 4:45, fifteen minutes before the film.
- The trap is to hear 三時 and stop, or to confuse 四時四十五分 (4:45) with 四十五分 (45 minutes). Write the hour and minute separately.
2. Can you get to the cinema by 4:45? Use the dentist and walking information.
Read the worked answer
Yes, you can make it comfortably.
- Dentist ends at 2:30. The walk takes 15 minutes, so you reach the cinema area at about 2:45.
- Meeting time is 4:45, so you have about two hours to spare.
- If you had misheard the meeting time as 2:45, the schedule would be impossible: you would arrive at the cinema at the same time you are supposed to meet, with no margin. That impossibility is a clue that 2:45 is the wrong reading.
- Still, text Yuki if the dentist runs late; do not rely on the voicemail alone.
3. What should you bring, and why does Yuki mention her own umbrella colour?
Read the worked answer
Bring an umbrella (かさ).
- 雨がふるそうです means 'I hear it will rain' / 'it looks like it will rain'. そうです here is hearsay/appearance, so it is a forecast, not a certainty, but you should prepare.
- Yuki says 私はあおいかさを持っています to help you recognise her blue umbrella, not to tell you that she will lend you one.
- Do not infer 'Yuki has an umbrella, so I don't need one'. The instruction かさを持ってきてください is directed at you.
- A good reply text: わかりました。かさを持っていきます。四時四十五分に映画館の前で会いましょう。