High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 11 · A Message I Did Not Send
Audio track 11
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
When I saw photos from Saturday's outing, I felt left out. Three friends had visited a new café, and nobody had invited me. I typed, “I guess I'm not part of the group anymore.” My finger stayed above the send button.
Before sending it, I looked at the conversation from Friday. I had mentioned that I would be helping my brother move that weekend. Maybe they had assumed I was busy. That did not remove my disappointment, but it changed what I wanted to ask.
On Monday, I spoke to Saki after class. “I saw the café photos,” I said. “I felt a little left out. Was the plan made suddenly?” She explained that they had gone after a study meeting and had not thought to invite anyone else. She apologized for not checking.
We did not solve every feeling in one talk. Still, I was glad I had asked a question instead of sending a sentence that had already decided what her actions meant.
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.
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When I saw photos from Saturday's outing, I felt left out.
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Three friends had visited a new café, and nobody had invited me.
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I typed, “I guess I'm not part of the group anymore.”
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My finger stayed above the send button.
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Before sending it, I looked at the conversation from Friday.
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I had mentioned that I would be helping my brother move that weekend.
-
Maybe they had assumed I was busy.
-
That did not remove my disappointment, but it changed what I wanted to ask.
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On Monday, I spoke to Saki after class.
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“I saw the café photos,” I said.
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“I felt a little left out.
-
Was the plan made suddenly?”
-
She explained that they had gone after a study meeting and had not thought to invite anyone else.
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She apologized for not checking.
-
We did not solve every feeling in one talk.
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Still, I was glad I had asked a question instead of sending a sentence that had already decided what her actions meant.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
看到星期六出游的照片，我觉得自己被排除在外。三个朋友去了新咖啡馆，却没人邀请我。我打出一句‘看来我已经不是这个小团体的一员了’，手指却停在发送键上方。
发出去之前，我回看了星期五的聊天记录：我曾说周末要帮弟弟搬家。也许他们以为我有事。这个想法没有消除失落，却改变了我想问的问题。
星期一课后，我找咲谈了谈。‘我看到了咖啡馆的照片，’我说，‘有点觉得自己被落下了。你们是临时决定去的吗？’她解释说，他们是学习聚会后顺道去的，没想到再邀别人，也为没有问我道了歉。
一次交谈没能解决所有情绪。可我庆幸自己先提了问题，而不是发出那句早已替她的行为下了结论的话。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- feel left out
- 觉得被排除；看照片时的感受。
- invite
- 邀请；朋友没有请主人公同行。
- above
- 上方；手指停在发送键上。
- assume
- 以为；朋友可能以为他周末忙。
- disappointment
- 失落；回看聊天记录也没立即消除。
- suddenly
- 突然、临时；询问计划如何形成。
- apologize for
- 为……道歉；咲为没问他而致歉。
- solve
- 解决；一次谈话未消除所有情绪。
- instead of
- 而不是；主人公选择提问。
- decide what ... means
- 认定……的含义；草稿消息过早下结论。
Background notes (Chinese)
看到朋友没邀请自己，失落是真实的；对方为何没邀请，却不能仅凭照片判断。主人公先回看上下文，再以感受加提问开启谈话，避免把猜测当事实。