Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 1 · The Note on the Library Door
Audio track 01
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
On Monday, a note appeared on the library door: “Our opening hours will change next month. Do you have an idea?”
The library closed at four, but many students had club practice until five. I suggested opening it for fifteen minutes before the first class. My friend added a request for a quiet corner. We wrote our ideas below the note.
The librarian invited us to discuss them. “We cannot do everything,” she said, “but we can try one change for a week.”
A week later, I saw students reading before class. The note had not asked for a perfect answer. It had asked us to notice a problem and speak up.
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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On Monday, a note appeared on the library door: “Our opening hours will change next month.
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Do you have an idea?”
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The library closed at four, but many students had club practice until five.
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I suggested opening it for fifteen minutes before the first class.
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My friend added a request for a quiet corner.
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We wrote our ideas below the note.
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The librarian invited us to discuss them.
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“We cannot do everything,” she said, “but we can try one change for a week.”
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A week later, I saw students reading before class.
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The note had not asked for a perfect answer.
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It had asked us to notice a problem and speak up.
Check your understanding
主人公为什么建议上课前开放图书馆？
因为图书馆下午四点关门，而许多学生的社团活动直到五点才结束；上课前开放能提供另一个使用时段。
图书管理员答应了什么？
先试行一项改变，为期一周。
结尾说通知没有要求‘完美答案’，想表达什么？
重要的是注意到问题并提出可尝试的办法，而不是一开始就找出十全十美的方案。
Chinese translation
星期一，图书馆门上贴出一张通知：‘下个月，开放时间会调整。你有什么建议吗？’
图书馆下午四点关门，可不少学生的社团活动要到五点才结束。我建议在第一节课前提前开放十五分钟。朋友还提出，希望有一处安静的角落。我们把想法写在通知下面。
图书管理员请我们一起讨论。她说：‘我们不能把所有建议都实现，但可以先试行其中一项，看看一周的效果。’
一周后，我看到有学生在上课前读书。那张通知要的不是完美答案，而是请我们发现问题，勇敢说出想法。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- appear
- 出现；appear on the door 指‘出现在门上’，这里是通知被贴出来。
- opening hours
- 开放时间；opening hours 指图书馆向读者开放的时段。
- suggest doing
- 建议做某事；suggest opening 表示‘建议开放’，suggest 后常接 -ing 形式。
- add
- 补充、加上；朋友在原有建议之外又提出一项要求。
- request
- 请求、要求；a request for a quiet corner 是‘希望设立安静角落的请求’。
- invite A to do
- 邀请某人做某事；invite us to discuss 是‘请我们一起讨论’。
- discuss
- 讨论；discuss 后可直接接讨论的事情，不必再加 about。
- try one change
- 试行一项改变；先小范围尝试，再看实际效果。
- notice a problem
- 发现一个问题；notice 在这里是‘注意到’，不只是‘看到’。
- speak up
- 说出自己的意见；文末鼓励学生在发现问题时主动表达。
Background notes (Chinese)
想改变学校的安排时，说明‘谁在什么时候遇到困难’，再提出一项可以试行的小改动，更容易展开讨论。文中的十五分钟就是这样的具体建议。英语 suggest 后接动词时常用 -ing 形式，如 suggest opening。