High 3 · Reading series
Lesson 43 · The Meeting at Four O'Clock
Audio track 43
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
The town held a meeting about the park at four on a weekday afternoon. The room was full, and the chairperson called the turnout representative. Yet most people in the room were students and retired residents. Parents on late shifts and shop workers had not had the same chance to attend.
We suggested an evening session and a written way to comment. The town tried both. New participants raised questions about lighting after work and the path used to take children home. Their concerns did not cancel the afternoon group's ideas about shade and benches; they added conditions that the first meeting had not captured.
In the final report, the town listed when each opinion had been collected and who might still be missing. No schedule could suit everyone perfectly, but the process could make its limits visible.
A full room can still represent only part of a community. The clock on the wall was not a neutral detail. It shaped whose experience entered the plan.
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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The town held a meeting about the park at four on a weekday afternoon.
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The room was full, and the chairperson called the turnout representative.
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Yet most people in the room were students and retired residents.
-
Parents on late shifts and shop workers had not had the same chance to attend.
-
We suggested an evening session and a written way to comment.
-
The town tried both.
-
New participants raised questions about lighting after work and the path used to take children home.
-
Their concerns did not cancel the afternoon group's ideas about shade and benches; they added conditions that the first meeting had not captured.
-
In the final report, the town listed when each opinion had been collected and who might still be missing.
-
No schedule could suit everyone perfectly, but the process could make its limits visible.
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A full room can still represent only part of a community.
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The clock on the wall was not a neutral detail.
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It shaped whose experience entered the plan.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
镇上在工作日下午四点开公园议事会。会场坐满了人，主持人说出席情况很有代表性。然而，屋里多数是学生和退休居民；上晚班的家长与商店员工没有同样的机会到场。
我们建议再开一场晚间会议，并允许书面留言。镇政府两项都试了。新参加的人提出下班后照明和接孩子回家路线上所需的改进。这些意见没有推翻下午那组对树荫和长椅的想法，而是补上第一场会议未记录的条件。
最终报告列出各项意见收集的时间，也指出可能还有谁缺席。没有一种会议时间能完美适合所有人，但过程可以把限制说明白。
满屋的人仍可能只代表社区的一部分。墙上的时钟不是无关紧要的细节，它影响了谁的经历能够进入方案。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- chairperson
- 主持人；称出席者有代表性。
- turnout
- 出席人数；满座仍有遗漏。
- representative
- 有代表性的；需看哪些人能来。
- retired
- 退休的；下午较易出席。
- session
- 场次；加开晚间会议。
- participants
- 参加者；带来新的需求。
- captured
- 记录到；首场遗漏了部分条件。
- limits
- 限制；报告应说明。
- neutral
- 中立的；开会时间并非如此。
- shaped
- 塑造；时钟影响最终方案。
Background notes (Chinese)
会议时间决定谁有机会参加；增加晚间和书面渠道后，规划获得了新的使用情境。