In PE（体育课）/ˌpiː ˈiː/ class, the teacher gave each boy（男孩）/bɔɪ/ and girl three holiday（假期）/ˈhɑlɪˌdeɪ/ camp（营地）/kæmp/ plans. The summer（夏季）/ˈsəmər/ camp was five kilometres（千米）/ˌkɪˈlɔˌmətər/ away and had a pool（游泳池）/pul/, a playground（操场）/ˈpleɪˌgraʊnd/, and a picnic（野餐）/ˈpɪkˌnɪk/ field. Students could swim（游泳）/swɪm/, ride a bike（自行车）/baɪk/, hike（徒步旅行）/haɪk/, fly a kite（风筝）/kaɪt/, or sleep in a tent（帐篷）/tɛnt/. The winter camp was twenty miles（英里）/maɪl/ away, with snow（雪）/snoʊ/ for ski（滑雪）/ski/ and skate（滑冰）/skeɪt/ lessons. Everyone had one month（月）/mənθ/ to choose.

The third camp focused on ball sports. It offered football（足球）/ˈfʊtˌbɔl/, basketball（篮球）/ˈbæskətˌbɔl/, volleyball（排球）/ˈvɑliˌbɔl/, baseball（棒球）/ˈbeɪsˈbɔl/, tennis（网球）/ˈtɛnɪs/, badminton（羽毛球）/ˈbædˌmɪntən/, and ping-pong（乒乓球）/ˈpɪŋˌpɔŋ/. A kung fu（功夫）/kəŋ fu/ teacher also taught how to stand, hit（击打）/hɪt/, and move safely. “Do we choose either（两者之一；也）/ˈiðər/ the summer camp or the ball camp?” Ben asked. “Neither（两者都不）/ˈniðər/ is wrong, nor（也不）/nɔr/ is one perfect for everyone,” the teacher replied. “Think about（思考；考虑）/θɪŋk əˈbaʊt/ what else（其他）/ɛls/ you need.”

Ravi wanted to become a champion（冠军）/ˈʧæmpiən/ and win an Olympic（奥林匹克的）/oʊˈlɪmpɪk/ medal（奖牌）/ˈmɛdəl/, but he often rushed（匆忙）/rəʃ/. He could throw（投掷）/θroʊ/ a ball hard and use a baseball bat（球棒）/bæt/, yet he became（变得）/bɪˈkeɪm/ tired（疲倦的）/taɪərd/ after a long run. The teacher said a slim（苗条的）/slɪm/ body did not always mean victory（胜利）/ˈvɪktəri/. A good player had to make a plan（制订计划）/meɪk ə plæn/, practise（练习）/ˈpræktɪs/ in time（及时）/ɪn taɪm/, and learn to work on your own（独立地）/ɔn jʊr oʊn/ unless（除非）/ənˈlɛs/ help was needed.

The timetable（时间表）/ˈtaɪmˌteɪbəl/ solved Ben's problem. Swimming began at three p.m.（下午）/ˌpiː ˈem/, while football training ended at the same time. He could not do both. The winter camp lasted two weeks, but his family vacation（假期）/veɪˈkeɪʃən/ filled that month. “I will（将会）/wɪl/ take part in（参加）/teɪk pɑrt ɪn/ the ball camp,” Ben decided. “I can make progress（取得进步）/meɪk ˈprɑˌgrɛs/ in tennis and try basketball without a long journey.”

Ravi chose the summer camp because the hike and pool would build his strength（力量）/strɛŋθ/ without a rush for a score. Other students chose ski, skate, or volleyball programmes. The teacher did not ask who might win a medal. She asked whether each choice matched the student's time, health, and interest. By the end of class, every student could explain a practical（实际的）/ˈpræktɪkəl/ choice.