At the start of a cross-subject（语境补充词）/cross-subject/ challenge, Mina's team received a real case rather than a textbook（教科书）/'tekstbuk/ exercise. The opening evidence connected a.m（上午）/ˌeɪ ˈem/, abandon（放任、无拘束）/ә'bændәn/, abnormal（反常的、不规则的）/æb'nɒ:mәl/, aboard（在船上、在火车上）/ә'bɒ:d/, absence（缺席、缺乏）/'æbsәns/, absolutely（绝对地；完全地）/ˌæbsəˈlutli/, absorb（吸收、使全神贯注）/әb'sɒ:b/, abstract（摘要、提炼）/'æbstrækt/, abuse（滥用、虐待）/ә'bju:s.ә'bju:z/, accent（口音；重音）/ˈækˌsɛnt/, accompany（陪伴、伴随）/ә'kʌmpәni/, accuse（指责、控告）/ә'kju:z/, ache（疼痛）/eɪk/, and achievement（成就）/ә'tʃi:vmәnt/. The links looked unusual, but each detail came from a witness, label, form, or measurement（尺寸、度量）/'meʒәdmәnt/ in the case file. The team has already reviewed the complete plan.

A second folder added acid（酸、酸类物质）/'æsid/, acknowledge（承认、告知收悉）/әk'nɒlidʒ/, actually（实际上）/ˈæktʃuəli/, ad（广告）/æd/, adaptation（适应、改编）/.ædæp'teiʃәn/, addict（入迷的人、上瘾者）/ә'dikt/, addition（加法、增加的人(或物)）/ә'diʃәn/, admire（赞美、钦佩）/әd'maiә/, admit（承认）/ədˈmɪt/, adopt（采用；收养）/əˈdɑpt/, adorable（可崇拜的、值得敬慕的）/ә'dɒ:rәbl/, adult（成年人）/ˈædʌlt/, adventure（冒险、冒险经历）/әd'ventʃә/, and advertise（做广告、通知）/'ædvәtaiz/. Some entries described people and places; others recorded objects, actions, or changing conditions. The students sorted each clue by time and source instead of forcing an early answer. The final choice was explained to everyone at the meeting.

The hardest set included affair（事情；事务）/əˈfɛr/, afterward（然后、后来）/'ɑ:ftәwәd/, ahead（向前）/əˈhed/, aim（目标、瞄准）/eim/, alcohol（酒精、酒）/'ælkәhɒl/, alongside（在...旁边、与...在一起）/ә'lɒŋ'said/, alternative（两者择一的、供选择的）/ɒ:l'tә:nәtiv/, altogether（完全地、总而言之）/.ɒ:ltә'geðә/, amateur（业余爱好者、外行）/'æmәtә/, amazing（令人惊异的）/ә'meiziŋ/, amuse（消遣、娱乐）/ә'mju:z/, anger（忿怒）/'æŋgә/, angle（角、角度）/'æŋgl/, and ankle（踝）/'æŋkl/. Mina checked spelling and context while a partner marked facts that could be tested. Mina, who led（lead的过去式和过去分词）/led/ the discussion（讨论）/dɪˈskʌʃn/, asked for clear evidence. Then the supervisor（管理者、监督者）/.sju:pә'vaizә/ said, “Do not hide an awkward clue merely because it weakens（削弱、减弱）/'wi:kәn/ your first idea.”

The last working board brought together announce（宣布；通知）/əˈnaʊnst/, annoy（使恼怒、骚扰）/ә'nɒi/, anticipate（预期、占先）/æn'tisipeit/, antique（古董、古物）/æn'ti:k/, anxiety（焦虑、忧虑）/æŋ'zaiәti/, anxious（忧虑的、发愁的）/'æŋʃәs/, anyhow（无论如何、至少）/'enihau/, apart（分离的）/ә'pɑ:t/, apologise（道歉（等于apologize））/ә'pɔlәdʒaiz/, apparently（表面上、清楚地）/ә'pærәntli/, appetite（食欲、欲望）/'æpitait/, applaud（拍手喝彩、称赞）/ә'plɒ:d/, appointment（约会、委任的职位）/ә'pɒintmәnt/, and appreciate（赏识、鉴别）/ә'pri:ʃieit/. The group compared the four boards, removed repeated claims, and wrote（写下）/roʊt/ a short reason beside every decision（决定）/dɪˈsɪʒn/. If the first method fails, we can try another one. That rule helped them correct two mistakes without blaming a teammate（队友）/'ti:mmeit/.

They would carry out（开展；执行）/ˈkɛri aʊt/ a careful review before they could draw a conclusion（得出结论）/drɔ ə kənˈkluʒən/. The answer must be based on（以……为依据）/bi beɪst ɔn/ evidence. Everyone would have access to（有机会使用；可获取）/hæv ˈækˌsɛs tɪ/ the same file, focus on（集中于）/ˈfoʊkɪs ɔn/ the task, and refer to（查阅；提到）/rɪˈfər tɪ/ original notes. In contrast（相比之下）/ɪn ˈkɑntræst/, guesses would be rejected; in addition（此外）/ɪn əˈdɪʃən/, every change needed a reason. The completed record told（告诉）/toʊld/ a clearer story than the first draft. It did not pretend that every clue was equally important; it showed how disciplined reading, calm cooperation（合作、协力）/kәu.ɒpә'reiʃәn/, and a checkable（语境补充词）/checkable/ decision could turn a crowded case into useful（有用的）/ˈjuːsfəl/ action.