Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 5 · The Lunch Line Experiment
Audio track 05
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At lunch, the line in front of the school store often reached the stairs. Some students said the store needed another worker. Our class decided to observe the line before making a suggestion.
For three days, we counted how many students waited and watched where the line stopped. We noticed that students chose their food only after they reached the counter. A menu near the entrance might help them decide earlier.
The store put up a large menu for one week. On the first day, the line moved faster, but Friday was still crowded. We did not claim that the menu solved everything. We shared what we had observed and suggested keeping the menu while testing one more idea.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
午餐时间，校内商店前的队伍常常一直排到楼梯口。有些学生说，商店应该再增加一名店员。我们班决定先观察排队情况，再提出建议。
连续三天，我们数了等候的学生人数，也留意队伍排到了哪里。我们发现，许多学生要到柜台前才开始挑选食物。如果在入口附近放一张菜单，他们也许能提前决定。
商店把一张大菜单张贴了一周。第一天，队伍前进得更快了；但到了星期五，那里依然很拥挤。我们没有断言一张菜单解决了所有问题，而是报告观察结果，并建议保留菜单，再试试另一个办法。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- line
- 队伍；the line reached the stairs 指‘队伍排到了楼梯口’。
- reach
- 延伸到、达到；这里形容排队的人一直站到楼梯附近。
- observe
- 观察；先看实际情况，再提出改进意见。
- count
- 数数、统计；count how many students waited 是统计等待人数。
- counter
- 柜台；学生到了柜台前才开始选择食物。
- entrance
- 入口；建议把菜单放在入口附近。
- put up
- 张贴；put up a menu 指把菜单贴出来供大家看。
- crowded
- 拥挤的；星期五商店仍有很多人排队。
- claim
- 断言、声称；不应在证据不足时说菜单解决了一切。
- solve
- 解决；solve everything 指把所有问题都解决。
Background notes (Chinese)
一次改善不代表办法在所有日子都有效。菜单张贴后的第一天队伍走得更快，但星期五仍然拥挤。把‘已经观察到的事’与‘尚未证实的结论’区分开，是提出可靠建议的关键。claim 在这里提醒读者不要超出证据作断言。