At closing time（临近关门时）/æt ˈkloʊzɪŋ taɪm/, Nina reached the Westbridge registration（登记、挂号）/.redʒi'streiʃәn/ desk with a definite plan（带着明确计划）/wɪθ ə ˈdɛfənət plæn/: enrol（登记、使加入）/in'rәul/ in elementary（初步的、基本的）/.eli'mentәri/ algebra（代数学）/'ældʒibrә/, confirm her tuition（学费、讲授）/tju:'iʃәn/, and meet her tutor（当...的教师、教）/'tju:tә/. As a new bachelor（单身汉、学士）/'bætʃәlә/ student from a middle-class（中产阶级的）/ˈmɪdəlˈklæs/ family, she depended on a housing allowance（津贴、零用钱）/ә'lauәns/. Yet the screen showed an overdue（过期未付的）/'әuvә'dju:/ fee and a preliminary（初步做法、初步措施）/pri'liminәri/ quiz（考查、课堂测验）/kwiz/ she had supposedly（想象上、看上去像）/sә'pәuzidli/ failed. Nina had already completed the preliminary quiz before she reached the desk（在她到达柜台前）/ˌbiˈfɔr ʃi riʧt ðə dɛsk/. She could reckon（计算、总计）/'rekәn/ that one misleading（误导）/mis'li:d/ record might block her whole first term.

Mr. Cole（芸苔属植物、海甘蓝）/kәul/, who managed enrolment（登记、注册）/in'rәulmәnt/, opened the original record. The handbook（手册）/'hænd,buk/ used an old-fashioned typewriter（打字机）/'taip.raitә/ font（字体、字形）/fɒnt/, but its rules were clear. One segment（片段、部分）/'segmәnt/ said a language course covered the alphabet（字母）/'ælfәbit/, adjective（形容词）/'ædʒiktiv/, adverb（副词）/'ædvә:b/, verb（动词）/vә:b/, singular（单数）/'siŋgjulә/ forms, the hyphen（连字符）/ˈhaɪfən/, and each bracket（支架、括弧）/'brækit/. Another rule required staff to organize（组织、有机化）/'ɒ:gәnaiz/ evidence before changing a result. The essence（实质、本质）/'esns/ of the problem soon appeared: the system had confused Nina with another lass（少女、爱人）/læs/ whose surname began the same way. The overdue charge was removed after May checked the handbook.

Nina tried to converse（相反的事物、倒）/kәn'vә:s/ calmly although the harsh（粗糙的、刺耳的）/hɑ:ʃ/ notice had filled her with despair（使她充满绝望）/fɪld hər wɪθ dɪˈspɛr/. Mr. Cole said, “If the system is wrong, we can renew（使更新、使恢复）/ri'nju:/ the enrolment tonight.” Nina replied, “I appreciate that, but I need written（书面的、写成文字的）/'ritn/ assurance（保证、把握）/ә'ʃuәrәns/ before I go forth（继续前往；向前）/goʊ fɔrθ/ to the housing office.” May added, “We can accommodate（使适应、调和）/ә'kɒmәdeit/ you now, and I will interact（互相影响、交互作用）/.intәr'ækt/ with finance on your behalf（代表你）/ɔn jʊr bɪˈhæf/.”

A second file explained the failed quiz. It belonged to a biotechnology（生物工艺学、生物技术）/.baiәutek'nɔlәdʒi/ safety workshop where students had to weigh one gram（克、绿豆）/græm/ of powder, measure a crystal（水晶、水晶装饰品）/'kristl/ in each centimeter（厘米）/'sentimi:tә/, and keep long hair under a comb-like（语境补充词）/comb-like/ cover. The test warned that a loose stool（凳子、大便）/stu:l/ could bump a bench, a sudden thrust（插、戳）/θrʌst/ could make a tool penetrate（穿透、刺穿）/'penitreit/ a box, and a careless slap（掴、掌击）/slæp/ could spill material. A whistle（口哨、汽笛）/'hwisl/ was the signal to stop. Someone had typed “fuck（性交、些微）/fʌk/ this quiz” in a comment; the rude outburst（爆发、突发）/'autbә:st/ was clearly not Nina's heartfelt（衷心的、真心真意的）/'hɑ:tfelt/ response. Nor had she joined the bake（烘焙、烤）/beik/ sale that used food as bait（饵）/beit/ for visitors.

The headmaster（(中小学)校长、监工）/'hed'mɑ:stә/ was reluctant（不情愿的、勉强的）/ri'lʌktәnt/ to alter records without proof, but the evidence began to prevail（获胜、流行）/pri'veil/. In the realm（领域）/relm/ of student records, a prominent（卓越的、显著的）/'prɒminәnt/ database shortcoming（缺点、短处）/'ʃɒ:t'kʌmiŋ/ had linked students by initials instead of（而不是）/ˌɪnˈstɛd əv/ full names, thereby（因此）/'ðєәbai/ creating the error. Nina did not dislike（嫌恶）/dis'laik/ the rules; she disliked being deprived of a fair place by bad data. The school promised to renew its checks and erase the false mark. With the utmost care（极其谨慎地）/wɪθ ðə ˈətˌmoʊst kɛr/, Mr. Cole printed a corrected schedule and May confirmed the allowance. Nina left with no need for an heir（继承人、嗣子）/єә/, privilege, or influence—only accurate records and staff willing to listen.