High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 7 · Why Our Survey Failed
Audio track 07
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
For a class project, we wanted to improve lunch choices at school. We asked twenty students, “Would you like more healthy food?” Nineteen said yes. We were excited and wrote a proposal for a salad counter.
Our teacher read it and asked two questions. “Who answered your survey? And what does healthy mean to them?” We had asked only friends near our classroom. Some wanted vegetables; others wanted meals that would keep them full during afternoon practice. Our single question had hidden those differences.
We wrote a new survey. It offered several lunch ideas, invited students to explain their reasons, and reached different classes. The answers were less simple. A warm meal, a lower price, and enough time to eat mattered to many students.
Our first survey had not been useless. It showed that people cared about lunch. But it did not show which change would help most. A good question has to make room for answers we did not expect.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
-
For a class project, we wanted to improve lunch choices at school.
-
We asked twenty students, “Would you like more healthy food?” Nineteen said yes.
-
We were excited and wrote a proposal for a salad counter.
-
Our teacher read it and asked two questions.
-
“Who answered your survey?
-
And what does healthy mean to them?”
-
We had asked only friends near our classroom.
-
Some wanted vegetables; others wanted meals that would keep them full during afternoon practice.
-
Our single question had hidden those differences.
-
We wrote a new survey.
-
It offered several lunch ideas, invited students to explain their reasons, and reached different classes.
-
The answers were less simple.
-
A warm meal, a lower price, and enough time to eat mattered to many students.
-
Our first survey had not been useless.
-
It showed that people cared about lunch.
-
But it did not show which change would help most.
-
A good question has to make room for answers we did not expect.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
为了班级项目，我们想改善学校午餐的选择。我们问二十名学生：‘你希望有更多健康食品吗？’十九人说希望。我们兴奋地写了一份建议书，提议开设沙拉柜台。
老师读完后问了两个问题：‘是谁填了问卷？对他们来说，健康意味着什么？’我们只问了教室附近的朋友。有的人想多吃蔬菜，有的人则希望午餐能让自己有体力参加下午的训练。一个笼统的问题，掩盖了这些差别。
我们重做问卷，列出几种午餐方案，请学生解释理由，也发给不同班级。答案不再简单。许多人在意热乎的饭菜、更低的价格，以及充足的用餐时间。
第一次问卷并非毫无用处：它说明大家关心午餐。但它没告诉我们哪种改变最有帮助。好问题必须容得下预料之外的答案。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- improve
- 改善；班级想让午餐安排更好。
- survey
- 问卷调查；第一次只问了二十名学生。
- proposal
- 建议书；最初提出沙拉柜台。
- answer a survey
- 回答问卷；老师追问受访者是谁。
- mean to
- 对……意味着；健康的含义因人而异。
- hide a difference
- 掩盖差异；笼统问题遮住具体需要。
- invite A to do
- 邀请某人做；请学生说明理由。
- reach
- 覆盖、接触到；新问卷发给不同班级。
- matter to
- 对……重要；价格和用餐时间很重要。
- make room for
- 为……留空间；容纳预料之外的回答。
Background notes (Chinese)
问卷结论受提问方式和受访者范围影响。‘想要健康食品吗’容易得到赞同，却难以识别价格、份量、温度和用餐时间等不同需要。