High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 38 · The Library's New Hours
Audio track 38
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
Our school library closed at five. Students who commuted from far away often waited for a bus at six, and some wanted a quiet place to study until then. We asked the librarian whether the library could stay open an extra hour.
She listened but explained that the staff schedule and building rules could not be changed by students alone. Instead of repeating our request, we asked how to collect useful information. For two weeks, we counted students who were still at school after five and asked what kind of space they needed.
The results showed interest, but not every student needed the full library. The school tried opening one supervised study room twice a week. After a month, the staff reviewed attendance and the extra work involved.
Our first proposal had been simple: “Keep the library open.” The trial gave us a more precise question: which space, on which days, helps students without placing too much work on the people who run it?
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.
-
Our school library closed at five.
-
Students who commuted from far away often waited for a bus at six, and some wanted a quiet place to study until then.
-
We asked the librarian whether the library could stay open an extra hour.
-
She listened but explained that the staff schedule and building rules could not be changed by students alone.
-
Instead of repeating our request, we asked how to collect useful information.
-
For two weeks, we counted students who were still at school after five and asked what kind of space they needed.
-
The results showed interest, but not every student needed the full library.
-
The school tried opening one supervised study room twice a week.
-
After a month, the staff reviewed attendance and the extra work involved.
-
Our first proposal had been simple: “Keep the library open.”
-
The trial gave us a more precise question: which space, on which days, helps students without placing too much work on the people who run it?
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
学校图书馆下午五点关门。通学路远的学生常常要等到六点才坐上公交车，有些人希望这段时间能有个安静的自习地点。我们问图书管理员，能否让图书馆多开一小时。
她听完解释说，教职员排班和校舍规定不能由学生单独改变。我们没有一再重复请求，而是问怎样收集有用的信息。接下来两周，我们统计五点后仍在学校的学生人数，并询问他们需要怎样的空间。
结果显示确实有需求，但并非每个人都需要整座图书馆开放。学校试着每周两次开放一间有人管理的自习室。一个月后，工作人员查看了使用人数，也评估了增加的工作量。
最初我们的提案很简单：‘延长图书馆开放时间。’试行后，我们的问题变得更精确：在哪些日子开放哪种空间，既能帮助学生，又不会让管理人员负担过重？
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- commute
- 通学往返；有些学生从远处来。
- extra hour
- 额外一小时；最初希望延长的时间。
- staff schedule
- 员工排班；开放时间受其制约。
- alone
- 独自地；学生不能单方面更改规定。
- collect information
- 收集信息；统计留校人数和需求。
- count
- 统计；记录五点后还有多少学生。
- supervised
- 有人管理的；试行开放的自习室。
- trial
- 试行；每周两次的暂行做法。
- attendance
- 出席、使用人数；一个月后复核。
- precise
- 精确的；提案由笼统变具体。
Background notes (Chinese)
延长开放涉及人手和校舍管理。学生先调查需求，学校再试行较小范围的自习室，依据使用人数和工作人员负担评估方案。