[originaltext]Mary did not like getting up early in the morning. If her sister

Mary did not like getting up early in the morning. If her sister did not wake her, she would be late often for her classes. One day a lecture was going to be given by a famous artist at nine o’clock. Her sister and brother-in-law were away. She set her alarm for half past seven. This should give her plenty of time to get ready and arrive early enough for a good seat. She was determined to be there in time. She would never forgive herself for missing the lecture. She had been admiring the artist’s work since she was a child.
The next morning, she slept through the alarm and woke up at half past eight. She was not used to rushing and everything went wrong. At last, she was ready, and rushed out to catch a bus. She jumped on the first one. She looked at her watch, but it was not there. She must have forgotten to put it on in her rush. When she arrived at the university, she hurried to the lecture hall. She was astonished to find that the doors were locked. She looked round to find someone, and saw a dock which said half past seven, "I can’t understand it!" she cried out. "Nobody’s here and the dock is slow!" Then she suddenly remembered. Her alarm clock had stopped the day before and she must have forgotten to reset the hands. "This is the first time I’ll hear the beginning of a lecture," she said to herself, laughing.