E-S04 — The Night Bus Notice
Module E · version 0.6.0 · original fictional reading practice

1. A notice at a bus stop can contain the right information and still be misunderstood. In the fictional town of Pineford, a new night bus leaves the station at ten minutes past midnight on Saturday. On the first notice, this appeared under the heading 'Saturday service'. Several passengers read the heading but missed the time. They arrived on Saturday evening, almost a day after that week's bus had left. The transport office had received complaints before anyone suggested changing the notice. Staff checked the timetable and found that the departure time itself was correct.
2. The office then prepared a different notice. It kept the official Saturday date, but added the words 'late Friday night' beside the departure time. A small calendar picture showed the change from Friday to Saturday. The picture was not a map of the bus route. Staff asked a group of passengers to explain when they would arrive after reading the new notice. They used the passengers' answers to identify wording that was still unclear. They were checking whether people understood the notice, rather than asking whether they liked its colours or whether they used buses frequently.
3. One passenger, Lea, preferred a sentence to the calendar picture. She said that pictures could be useful, but that this one required too much attention. Another passenger liked having both. These comments led the office to keep the short sentence and use a simpler picture. The departure time was printed in larger letters, while information about ticket prices appeared below it. Lea did not ask the office to change the actual bus schedule. Her concern was that someone reading quickly might see the date without understanding which night it meant.
4. The new notice is now at the station. A staff member will also check notices for other services that leave soon after midnight. Those services have not changed their departure times. Pineford has not reported how many missed journeys the new wording has prevented, so the office cannot yet say that confusion has disappeared. It can say that the notice now explains the date in two ways. Passengers who need more information can still call the office. Clearer writing is meant to support that existing service, rather than replace every opportunity to ask a question.

E-S04-Q01 | E-S04-P1
Give ONE answer from paragraph 1.
When did some passengers mistakenly arrive?

E-S04-Q02 | E-S04-P1
Circle ONE correct answer.
What happened before the notice was changed? (Paragraph I)
A. The office received complaints.
B. The simpler calendar picture was displayed.
C. Every passenger missed the bus.
D. The office changed the bus departure time.

E-S04-Q03 | E-S04-P2
Circle ONE correct answer.
Why did staff ask passengers to explain when they would arrive? (Paragraph II)
A. To find out whether they preferred the colours.
B. To learn how often they travelled by bus.
C. To make bus travel safer than driving.
D. To check their understanding of the notice.

E-S04-Q04 | E-S04-P2
Complete the sentence using paragraph 2.
COMPLETE THE SENTENCE. "Late Friday night" was added to help readers understand _____.

E-S04-Q05 | E-S04-P3
Circle ONE correct answer.
What did Lea want? (Paragraph III)
A. Information about the bus service in general.
B. A telephone number for the office.
C. An earlier departure for the bus.
D. A clearer explanation of the departure night.

E-S04-Q06 | E-S04-P4
Give ONE answer from paragraph 4.
Why can the office not yet say that confusion has disappeared?

E-S04-Q07 | whole_text
Circle ONE correct answer.
What does the whole text mainly describe?
A. How one passenger chooses ticket prices
B. How a bus notice was rewritten to make its departure night clearer.
C. Why night buses should stop operating
D. How a new notice ended every travel problem