Now you are going to have the listening test. This listening test has two sheets: No. 1 and No. 2. You are going to use sheet No. 1 first. Please open sheet No. 1. There are three parts in this listening test: part A, part B, and part C.
Please look at part A. In this part of the listening test, you will hear six conversations between two people. You will hear each conversation twice. After each conversation finishes, you will hear a question. Each question will be read only once and you must choose the answer from 1 to 4. Now begin.
１
Woman:
I need some juice for today’s party. But I have no time to go to a shop to buy it.
Man:
Are you preparing for dinner? OK. I’ll go after walking with our dog.
Question:
What will the man probably do?
２
Man:
Oh, it has started raining. I don’t have an umbrella with me.
Woman:
Let’s run to the bus stop over there. The bus for the station will come soon.
Question:
What does the woman mean?
３
Boy:
I’m going to join the speech contest next Sunday.
Girl:
That’s great. But you don’t look happy. Why?
Boy:
It’s my first time to speak English in front of a lot of people. I’m afraid I can’t do it well.
Question:
How does the boy feel?
４
Woman:
May I help you?
Boy:
Yes. I like this black T-shirt. But it’s too large. Do you have a smaller one?
Woman:
Sorry, we have only this size. But I don’t think it’s too large for you.
Boy:
No, it’s not for me. I’m looking for a present for my sister.
Woman:
I see. How about this black one with a picture of flowers? It’s very popular among girls.
Boy:
She doesn’t like pretty things. This blue one looks nice. It’s for men, but she’s 165 centimeters tall. So it’s not too large for her, right?
Woman:
Sure.
Question:
What will the boy buy?
５
Girl:
Hi, Riku! I heard you went to Tokyo last week.
Boy:
Yes. This is a present for you.
Girl:
Thank you. A cup? Oh, TOKYO SKYTREE is painted on it. Did you visit it?
Boy:
No. I joined a comic festival in Akihabara with my friend. I never visited any other places. I bought this at the airport.
Question:
What was the purpose of the boy’s visit to Tokyo?
６
Girl:
Hi. You’re good dancers. You practice dancing in this park every Sunday morning. Do you have any events?
Boy:
Yes. We have a big dance contest next week. We want to win. We’re dancing just because we like dancing. I know you are often watching us. You like dancing, too, right? Why don’t you join us?
Girl:
Really? I like dancing, but I can’t dance well like you.
Boy:
No problem.
Question:
What does the boy mean?
Look at part B. In this part of the listening test, you will hear a passage. The passage is spoken twice. After the passage is read twice, you will hear two questions. Each question will be read only once and you must choose the answer from 1 to 4. Now begin.
７
Today I’ll tell you about my favorite place. It’s Minato Animal Park. It’s in front of Minato Station in Aoba City. It’s not very large but always makes me happy.
There are rabbits, monkeys and many kinds of birds in the park. We can’t see big animals there, for example, lephants, lions, or bears. But all the animals in the park are cute. They come to us, so we can touch them. We can take pictures of them, too. We can enjoy some events in the park. One of the most popular events is a bird show. You can watch it in the large building. Also, in that building, a lot of beautiful flowers are grown and different colorful birds are flying around.
You need 1,500 yen to enter the park. If you are a student, you need 1,000 yen. Children under five years old are free. You may say it’s a little more expensive than that for other city parks. But I think this park is a good place to visit for everyone who likes small animals, especially birds.
Question1:
Why is the park a good place to visit for people who like birds?
Question2:
Which sentence is true about the information of Minato Animal Park?
Part C. Now, please open sheet No. 2. First, please read the passage about manga in one minute. Now, begin to read.
〔 one minute to read 〕
Stop reading. Now you are going to hear the conversation between Ryota and Ms. Green. They are talking about manga. You hear their conversation twice. After listening, you will hear a question, and the question will be read only once. You can write notes on the right side of the sheet when you are listening.
Now, listen to the conversation.
Ryota:
This passage is very interesting to me. I like reading manga very much, but I didn’t know manga is so popular in the world. Do you like manga, Ms. Green?
Ms. Green:
Yes. I’m so interested in manga, too. Before I came to Japan, I often read Japanese manga in English in America, my country. I learned a lot about Japan and Japanese culture from manga. When I came to Japan three years ago, I could hear and speak Japanese a little, but I couldn’t read and write Japanese. So I started studying Japanese by reading manga in Japanese. At first, it was difficult to understand what the characters said. So I looked at the pictures carefully. Then I came to understand the story. I learned some Japanese words and conversations through reading manga. I think it’s useful to read manga. Especially for people who want to learn Japanese.
Ryota:
Oh, really? Well, do you think I can learn English by reading American comics?
Ms. Green:
I don’t think it’s easy. Usually the stories of manga are simple and clear. And the characters’ faces tell us their feelings. But American comics are different from manga in those points.
Ryota:
I see. My mother often tells me to read books. She also says manga is not good for children. What do you think about her opinion?
Ms. Green:
I think she is both right and wrong. I’ve asked students in my class how many books they read in a month. Some students answered they read no books, but read manga a lot. They also said it was difficult to read long sentences. What does this mean? In manga, the characters usually speak in short sentences, and the pictures help us with understanding the story. We don’t need to read long sentences which explain the scene and characters’ feelings. However, I also think reading and understanding easily does not bring only good things. In addition, there are some bad manga which show children bad examples, bad manners and dangerous acts.
Ryota:
You’re right. I know some manga have bad influences on children. But there are a lot of good manga, too. I learned a lot about history, friendship and the importance of effort through them. When I was little, my parents gave me some manga about Japanese history. After reading them, I became interested in history and studied it hard. Now history is my favorite subject!
Ms. Green:
Good. Manga gives us a chance to learn about difficult things easily. So I want people, especially children and students, to read a lot of books to learn more if they get interested in something. It’s important for us to use manga well to learn different things. Of course, we don’t have to be too serious about reading manga. It’s also OK to read manga only for fun, too.
Ryota:
I agree with you. That’s the biggest purpose of reading manga.
Question:
What does Ms. Green think about manga? Explain her opinion and reasons in English. You have five minutes to write. Now begin.
〔 five minutes to write 〕
Stop Writing. This is the end of the listening test.
