ANDREW: Well, we have this school excursion planned, but when exactly is it? Is it this Tuesday or Wednesday?

KATIE: Well it can't be Tuesday, with the English tests taking place.

ANDREW: Ah, right. Not Tuesday, but Wednesday (Example).

KATIE: That's right -- all day Wednesday -- taking a bus outside the city.

ANDREW: And where are we going?

KATIE: {[Ah, last month we went to Arthur Island, so this time we're going to the... Animal Park.][1]}

ANDREW: Arthur Island was okay, but it was too cold. Let's hope the weather for this week's excursion is better. I don't suppose animals care about bad weather, but I certainly do. Have you heard the forecast?

KATIE: Yes, and it's not too bad. Basically, they're saying Monday will be sunny.

ANDREW: Good...

KATIE: But then the weather will change.

ANDREW: Not so good.

KATIE: {[Yes, Tuesday we'll have some showers, but by Wednesday, the day of our excursion, it will be... well, their words are 'cold and cloudy'.][2]}

ANDREW: Cold and cloudy. Well, as long as it isn't 'wet and rainy', I'm happy enough. We won't need umbrellas, just warm clothing. And what time will we get there?

KATIE: {[Let's see. The bus picks us up at 8.30 am, and then it's an hour and a half on the road, so we arrive at 10 am... sorry, with the 15 minutes break, that will actually be 10.15 am.][3]}

ANDREW: That's early enough. Then all our students can see the animals, have their fun, and do whatever they want to do.

KATIE: {[Well, one fun event planned that day is 'Birds of Prey'.][4]}

ANDREW: What's that?

KATIE: That's when they bring out several birds of prey: eagles, falcons, kites, those sorts of birds, and throw pieces of meat into the air, and the birds swoop down and eat them. It's quite impressive.

ANDREW: Sounds great. 'Birds of Prey'. Are there any other activities?

KATIE: There's a catered lunch, at the park restaurant. We've already paid for that, and in the afternoon there's... well, I had a choice between the 'Reptile Display' and the 'Koala Handling'. In the reptile display, the students can handle live pythons and various other snakes.

ANDREW: Surely they'd rather hold koalas?

KATIE: {[I'm sure, but the koalas can't be handled unless the weather's sunny, and given the forecast, I thought it better to choose the reptile display.][5]}

ANDREW: Ummm, that's a shame. These Asian students would love the 'Koala Handling'.

KATIE: Yes, I know, but we can't control the weather.

ANDREW: And, then we get back. What time will that be?

KATIE: {[We leave the park at 4.30, but then we face traffic, so we won't get back until well after 6pm. It will most likely be 6.30.][6]} But that's better than the last trip: we didn't get home until 8.30 that time.

ANDREW: Yes, that was a bit too late, wasn't it?

KATIE: Andrew, I understand you've been doing some research regarding the breakdown, by nationality of our student body. That must have produced some interesting results.

ANDREW: You're right. I got some statistics from head office.

KATIE: I would imagine that most of our students are either Japanese or Chinese.

ANDREW: {[You imagine right. But it's the Chinese who constitute the majority, but only just.][7]} {[I had thought Koreans might be second, but it's actually the Japanese, quite close behind.][8]} It's somewhat surprising, but obviously all those Study Tours that our university markets in Japan are bringing in students.

KATIE: What's the breakdown exactly?

ANDREW: Japanese are a quarter of the whole, which is considerable. Last year they were only 16%, so that market has grown nicely. {[Ah, the only other proportions of some weight are the Indonesians and Koreans -- about the same. Indonesians at 15%, and... ah... the Koreans are a little higher -not like last year when they were less than 10%.][9]}

KATIE: I thought we'd have more Indonesians than Koreans?

ANDREW: Well, as I said, they're about the same -- just like the Saudi and Thai student numbers, almost the same also -- both just under 10.

KATIE: Which one is bigger?

ANDREW: {[Ah, Thai students number just a fraction more.][10]} As for the other nationalities, collectively they're only 3%, so it wasn't worth giving each of them a separate category. I just grouped them under 'other' -- that's Vietnamese, South American, a couple of Russians, and so on.

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