High 3 · Reading series

Lesson 7 · When the Interview Changed

Audio track 07

Lesson illustration：When the Interview Changed

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I went to interview a baker about rising food prices. My questions assumed she would describe only difficulty: more expensive ingredients, fewer customers, and shorter hours. She did mention the cost of flour. Then she talked about a small class she had begun for older neighbors who wanted to learn to make bread.

The class did not solve her business problems. It changed how she thought about the bakery's role in the street. I almost pulled the conversation back to my prepared list, but I asked why the class mattered. She showed me letters from participants who had started meeting one another outside the bakery.

In the article, I included the price problem and the class, without claiming one had canceled the other. I sent her the factual details to check before publication. She corrected the opening date of the class, which I had written from memory.

Preparation had helped me begin the interview. Listening allowed it to become an interview rather than a search for sentences that fit my first story.

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.

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I went to interview a baker about rising food prices.
My questions assumed she would describe only difficulty: more expensive ingredients, fewer customers, and shorter hours.
She did mention the cost of flour.
Then she talked about a small class she had begun for older neighbors who wanted to learn to make bread.
The class did not solve her business problems.
It changed how she thought about the bakery's role in the street.
I almost pulled the conversation back to my prepared list, but I asked why the class mattered.
She showed me letters from participants who had started meeting one another outside the bakery.
In the article, I included the price problem and the class, without claiming one had canceled the other.
I sent her the factual details to check before publication.
She corrected the opening date of the class, which I had written from memory.
Preparation had helped me begin the interview.
Listening allowed it to become an interview rather than a search for sentences that fit my first story.

Check your understanding

After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.

Chinese translation

我去采访一位面包师，话题是食物价格上涨。我的问题预设她只会谈困难：原料更贵、顾客更少、营业时间更短。她确实提到面粉成本，接着却讲起为年长邻居开的小课程，教他们做面包。

课程不能解决经营难题，却改变了她对面包店在街上所扮演角色的看法。我差点把谈话拉回预先写好的问题表，后来还是问她课程为何重要。她给我看学员写来的信，有些人在店外也开始互相来往。

报道里，我同时写价格问题和这门课，没有说一方抵消了另一方。发表前，我把事实细节交她核对；她改正了我凭记忆写错的开课日期。

准备让我知道怎样开始采访，倾听则让采访真正成为交流，而不是搜集能塞进原有故事的句子。

Key words and expressions

Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.

interview: 采访；关于食品涨价。
assumed: 预设；问题先替受访者决定方向。
ingredients: 原料；面粉价格确实上涨。
role: 角色；面包店在社区里的作用。
prepared: 事先准备的；提纲未覆盖新课程。
participants: 参加者；课程学员写来信。
canceled: 抵消；课程不消除经营困难。
publication: 发表；之前先核对日期。
corrected: 纠正；面包师改正开课时间。
memory: 记忆；记者凭它写错日期。

Background notes (Chinese)

采访提纲能帮助开场，但不应限制受访者说出预料外的重要内容。记者保留价格与社区课程两条线索，并请受访者核对事实。

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