For those who are going to take the interview test, I'll give you some advice for it. As you know, you have to choose one topic out of five printed on a sheet.
The five topics are from various themes ranging from economy, education to social issues such as global warming. I think some are easy for you to make a speech about and others are too hard for you to talk about. I'd recommend you focus on preparing for two or three categories you think you are good at talking about.
If you think you are good at talking about education and economy, then focus on preparing for making a speech about them. Chances are these two topics are included in five topics you have to choose.
You don't have to be perfect on the interview test. All you have to keep in mind is not to be silent during your speech. Silence is not golden there. Just keep talking.
You may find it hard to make a speech off the top of your head first. In that case, write some essays about the topics you are going to choose. After you get used to writing essays about them, then time for you to practice making a speech.
It's obvious your speeches are less organized than essays you write because during a speech, you don't have time to proofread it. So don't get too dissapointed about it because they don't require you to be perfect. So don't be too hard on yourselves.
Don't forget to time your speech when you practice making a speech. The point is you have to get a feel of how long the two minutes is. If you think your speech is terrible, it's too early to give up. You have the Q&A section to make up for it.
Thank you for helpful advice. Do you know the criterion for diciding a score of use of vocabulary on interveiw test? Please tell me if you know. I wonder whether they simply see the appropriateness of use of words, or they might also consider how many such words as are on the test of 1st grade they use in their speech.
>>37 I'm afraid I don't know about that.... This is just my opininon but I don't think you have to use difficult words to impress interviewers. Using appropriate words in right places is more important, I think.
I think there are key words to use when you make a speech. For example, when you make a speech about global warming, "greenhouse gas emission," "carbon dioxicide," "Kyoto Protocol," "clean energy," "industrialized countries" may be the words you have to put in your speech.
To make your speech persuasive, I think you need to use these key words. Anyway, I recommend you write essays first about topics you would choose, and remember words or expressions you need to use in your speech.
They judge your speech from various angles but if you are silent they can't judge your speech. So the most important thing to remember is to keep taking during your speech.
2006 第3回 午後 4. Hi-tech sports equipment vs. natural ability in sports today
I think it's very odd to see your personal records depend on equipment you use. Governing body of each sports should set a clear guideline in place to reduce disparity casued by equipment you use.
Let's take swimming for example. At the last national competion held the other day, swimmers wearing Speedo swimsuits made the series of world records. If my memory serves right, more than 10 world records were made at the swimming competion. They all used to wear a swimsuite made by domestic swimsuit manufactures such as Mizuno and Decsant and when they wore a Speedo for the first time, They successfully broke the world records.
Comparing other sports, swimming is very simple. The fastet wins a competion. So swimmers try to make every effort to swim as fast as they can, focusing on improving their swiming techniqus. If you know how hard they practice, the factor of what kind of swimsuits you wear shouldn't affect the records of each swimmer. A winner should be the one who has the most excellent skills of swimming, not the one who wears the most advanced swimsuites.
(続き) Male swimmers have to check their penis is in the right position. If it is in the wrong place, you have more resistence against water. When you put on a swimsuit, you have to check your penis is in the right positon, not crooked, not too right, not too left. It should be placed in the straight position down your body.
In conclusion, for big events like Olympic Games, competitors prepare for a long time and try to make every efforts to get good results. Their efforts should not be worthless by what equipment they use. Their physical abilities have to be the only one thing that can be the deciding factor.
Hi-tech sports equipment vs. natural ability in sports today
Nowadays, some people argue that, "Hi-tech sports equipments should be banned. Athletes have to compete with their natural ability in sports." I agree with them. Here are some reasons.
The first reason is inequality. There is big advantage for an athlete equipped with high-tech equipments. For example, it is well known that marathon runners from Japan in the Olympic games are given the most effective, custom-made shoes. Runners from other poor countries don't put on the shoes like that. I have to admit that Japanese and other runners are standing on different start lines.
The second reason is, it seems to me that, some high-tech equipments are sometimes used in order to make up advantage and disadvantage by intent. I remember, just before the Nagano Olympic games, new high-tech shoes were introduced in speed skating. Some skaters couldn't adjust to the shoes and miss out the medals. I don't know exactly why the shoes were introduced, but I suspect that there were some intentions.
For these reasons described above, I believe hi-tech sports equipments should not be used in competitions. I would like to watch competitions among athletes, not equipments.
>>57 おつかれーー。 I agree with them. と自分の立場をはっきりさせといて、 Here are some reasons. とこのあと理由を述べますよ、というのは 形式が整ってていいと思う。The first reason is、The second reason is, For these reasons described above, というのも形式としていいと思う。 実際のスピーチでこれほどまでスピーチを組み立てられればいいが、 なかなかそうもいかないのではないかと思う。それでも受かると思うので あまり心配しなくてもいいとは思う。
>Runners from other poor countries don't put on the shoes like that. put on じゃなくてwearじゃないかな。can't afford to use/wear the shoes like theseとかどうかな。
>but I suspect that there were some intentions. I suspect that the change in the rules was made for skateres from some countries to have an advantage. とかどうかね。
the shoes like that の部分ですね。 ここで the を使ったのは、前の文の the most effective, custom-made shoes を指し示したかったからです。 the を使って同一性を強調すると同時に、like that であいまいにする、というのは確かにおかしいですね。 教えて頂いたように、these shoes を使うか、the shoes like that を such expensive, sophisticated shoes のようにもっとはっきりと示す方が良いかもしれませんね。
147 2006 第3回 午後 2. Are people today becoming less interested in the news?
I don't think people today are less interested in the news but I think people today have different means to have access to the news and they tend to read the news that only interest them.
It's said that young people read newspapers and watch news programs less often. Instead they spend more time surfing on the Internet. They read news online and the news they read tend to be the one that are related to their interests.
I'm a football fan and I read news about the results of the games online. The website I visit often is the one dedicated to football fans. I never visit websites which deal with various fields. I never visit online version of Japanese major newspaper company.
When you read a news paper, you sometimes read articles that doesn't interest you so much just because they are on the next page in which other artcles that interest you are on . But when you're online that doesn't happen because you only click links that grab your attention.
There are various webistes that serve only for people who are interested in particular fields so they don't have to go to newspaper companies' website. So in my opinion people these days tend to have deep understanding of particular fields they are interested in but less understanding of fields they aren't interested in.
It's not the matter of people becoming less interested in the news but the matter of the changes in the way they get accsse to the news and Internet helps people have easy access to the news they are interested in.
162 2007 第2回 A 2. Is it possible to keep politics out of international sporting events?
International sporting events such as the Olympichs has been taken advantage of for political publicity for a long period of time and this trend won't be changed.
Some people claim sporting events have to be seperated from political issues but looking back our history, they are used for politics. Natiz took advantage of Olympics to boost Germany's moral and to show off Germany's national power. Upcoming Beijing Olympics is China's biggest opportunity to promote their economic boost and democratization.
Some countries boycott Olympics to make their stances toward a particular country clear. Moscow Olympics in 1980 was boycotted by western contries including Japan in protest against Soviet invasion to Afganistan. Siviet and Eastern European countries boycotted Los Angels Olympic to retaliate western countires action against them.
Big international events are broadcast and can be seen by hundreds of millions of people so they are one of the biggest opportunities to convey political messages. That explains why terrorists try to take advantage of these events.
As long as international sporting events get people's attention from all over the world, they can be used for political things.
118 2005 第3回 午後 3. Are advances in telecommunications making it less important to meet people in person?
No matter how much advanced telecommunication is, the importance of meeting people in person should never be underestimated.
Th emerges of cell phones and portable lap top PCs have made it possible for us to frequently contact with people away from us. But these gadgits can never replace meeting people in person. It's impossible to convey your messages 100% only depending on text messages. Misunderstanding can happen when you rely only on text messages because you can't see each other's faces and you can't hear a tone of voice.
I have email pals I got to know on the net. I have met some of them in person and some of them are friends that I haven't met in person. I tend to keep in touch with the friends I met in person but I tend to stop emialing to friends I haven't met in person.
My example shows that meeting in person is inevitable to understand friends deeply and keep good relations with them. Advances in telecommunication only serve as complimentary way of building and keeping good relations with others. No technologies can beat meeting in person in my opinion.
>>138 Each country has different culture and dietry culture in each country should be respected. Whaling in Japan is a long lasting traditon so no countires should claim Japan should stop catching whales.
One of the reasons why some countries protest against Japan's whaling is that the number of whales has been decreasing and Japan's whaling can make whales listed on endangered species list. But their claims aren't based on scientific evidences. According to an accurate scientific evidence, the number of whales have been increasing. Plus, Japan's whaling now is not in full scale. It's just for research purposes and that can't be affect the number of whales at all.
Some people claim whales are very intelligent animal so Japan should stop whaling. Yes, whales are relatively intelligent but we don't have more sympathy to them than we do to dogs and cats because whales live underwater and we never see them in our daily lives. If they have time to protest against whaling, they spend the time protesting against koreans who eat dogs.
In my opininon, based on the reasons I mentioned earlier, Japan can keep catiching whaling.
45&57です。 >>94 アドバイスに従って、Brainstorming をやってみました。 題材は45で取り組んだ Hi-tech sports equipment vs. natural ability in sports today です。 キーワードを日本語&英語で書き出し、アイデアを整理すると、次のようなメモができました。
Hi-tech equipment? natural ability? 1. inequality 2. value of athletes 3. new record <- meaningless record
このメモを見ながら、再度書き直してみました。 下のような答案ができました。
Hi-tech sports equipment vs. natural ability in sports today
Nowadays, some people argue that, "Hi-tech sports equipments should not be used. Athletes have to compete with their natural ability in sports." I agree with them. Here are some reasons.
The first reason is inequality. There is big advantage for an athlete equipped with high-tech equipments. For example, marathon runners from Japan in the Olympic games are given the most effective, custom-made shoes. Runners from other poor countries don't put on such expensive, sophisticated shoes. That is to say, Japanese and other runners start from different start lines. <続く>
<続き> The second reason is that high-tech equipments reduce value of athletes. Nowadays, an Olympic swimmer from Japan, wearing a high-tech swimsuit, made a new world record. It is certain that the suit helped him make the record. And so, we might understand, the record was not made by the swimmer alone, but by the swimmer and the suit together.
However, a person would insist that the new record is valuable. I would rather say that we cannot compare the new record and the conventional one. It seems to me that the record with the equipment is something different with the conventional one. Therefore, hi-tech equipments may make new records meaningless.
For these reasons, I believe hi-tech equipments should not be introduced in competitions. I would like to watch athletes with natural ability in sports.
Topic: Should students be asked to evaluate their teachers?
I think students should be asked to evaluate their teachers. There are two reasons for this.
The first reason is that education is basically interaction. (沈黙) If students tell teachers good and bad points of their teaching, they will understand their ability better and can try to improve it.
The second reason is that nowadays there are some teachers who do bad things to students, that is, sexual harassment or some kind of crime. If students have the opportunity to evaluate their teachers, the officials will know such and such teachers are not good, and they will be expelled from their school.
For these two reasons, students should be allowed to evaluate their teachers. The old way of teaching ― that is, teachers teach something and students memorize it ― such way of teaching should be changed in this age.
145 2006 第3回 午前 5. Do arranged marriages have a role to play in society today?
Not all the people have chances to meet their prospective partners. So I think arranged marriges still have a place to stay.
Today, it's not uncommon to see people in their 30's who are singles, especially in Tokyo metropolitan area. One of the reasons for them to stay single is that they don't have many chances to meet their dates. They are too busy on weekdays working late at night. If someone set up a date for them on weekends, they will eager to join the event as long as they have marrage in mind.
In case of arranged marriages, you have a chance to meeta men/women with similar backgrounds such as family and academic backgrounds. If you don't like your perspective date's background, then you don't have to meet them. You can choose to meet only men/women who you think match your preferances. So an arranged marrige is very effective way to meet your prospective partner.
In this day and age, some people find their partners on the Internet, but still an arranged marrage can meet the demands of some people.
(Pros and cons of )introducing a system integrating junior and senior high schools
There are advantages and disadvantages to this system. First, I'll talk about advantages. If this system is introduced, schools can adopt carriculums with long term education in mind. The carruculums aren't interupted by classes dedicated to high school entrance examinations. Teachers only have to concentrate on teaching each unit without focusing on classes for high schoo entrance exams.
Students can enjoy school life without worring about high school entrance exams, too. They can put their heart and soul to things other than studying, such as club activity after school.
One of the disadvantages of this system is, it doesn't provide students with an opportunity to meet new people. Even if you recognized that your school's atmosphere doesn't suit you, you have to continue to go to the same school until 18. It takes courage to change schools in the middle. In case that you are bullied, it's dificult to change your situation as long as every students go to the same school until 18.
Integrated junior and senior high schools have both advantages and disadvantages so you have to think it over what kind of school you really want to go.
先輩方、質問です 真面目に答えると折衷が普通の内容の場合はどうでしょうか?例えば、 Which should be more emphasized in school education: coorporation or competition? のようなテーマで、2分だからとって極論でもいいのか? 折衷はやはり、日和見・日本的でダメなのか? どうかご意見・ご指導お願い申し上げます。
Hi-tech equipments sometimes make playing sports less enjoyable. If I could get better score in golf with such equipments, I would not feel satisfaction. It is the equipments that made the score better, not my skill and effort.
>>206 148 2006 第3回 午後 3. Does the Japanese custom of gift-giving have a place in modern business?
I personally think the custom should be abandoned, but in reality, it is deep rooted and it's not easy to stop it. Gift-giving in business is very common in Japan and it can be a hot bed of crimes such as bribary.
I heard the news the other day that one taxi company had been sending boxes of beer for years to officials of the central government. I forgot which ministry they belong but the aim of giving the gifts to them was to have them use the taxi company.
Taxi fares the officials had paid to the company was originally from taxes imposed on us and to favor one specific taxi company just because it gives gifts to the government officilas is definately against the benefit of us tax payers. They have to choose taxi companies they use with cost factors in mind. Cutting down on various costs is what these officials have to prioritize as civil servants.
To show gratitudes by giving a gift is wonderful, but when it comes to business, gift-giving can lead to unfair business practices and crimes. To stop the custom altogether is the best way to prevent crimes.
I knew I have talent for English composition. I almost gave up everything, ever since I heard that the minimal passing score is 79. I haven't got prepared for the next interview yet. What am I supposed to do?
The model answers to each question are quite long. I don't think my answeres were that long but this is a test to measure English fluency so, the more you speak the more chances you give to examiners for them to judge your fluency. Answering to them with just one word isn't good. You have to show examiners that you are eager to communicate with them and want to support your speech in the Q&A section.
The girl in the demo was holding the sheet of paper all the way through her speech. That looks strange. In reality, after you choose your topic, you put it back where it originally is and start your speech. Art least in my case.
You must be nervous about how your interview test will turn out to be, but you've alreadly gathered lots of info in this thread. And other websites on the net give you useful info. Time has changed. In this day and age, even though you haven't taked the test, you can get lots of information which you couldn't get access to unless you didn't take the test. Just amazing. Take the full advantages of Internet.
Hi, guys. I have a suggestion to make. Why don't we speak only English to fulfill ourselves, and prohibit Japanese. This way, we would be able to get fluent in English much faster than otherwise.
No argument? Ok. I will severely punish people who speak Japanese, from now on.
You morons stop posting just one line or a few lines of English. It's a lot better to post your rough speech drafts here. I already passed grade one and I've already posted my speech drafts here, so now it's your turn.
>>335 I don't see why I have to inform you of my age and sex. Nobody is supposed to ask anybody such things as how old or which sex they are, where they lives, what they like, unless of course they want to.
2006-3 Card A C. Have modern farming methods become too industrialized?
I think modern farming methods have become too industrialized. This may seem unfavorable to some people, but I think this tendency is helpful for many people. I'd like to explain why this situation has happened using some examples.
First, technology has progressed these days, so it is reasonable that farmers take advantage of this progress to improve productivity and save time. I'm not a farmer but many of them surely think that they want their tools to be more sophisticated.
Secondly, the world population is increasing day by day and many people in Third World are starving to death. To make this urgent need, farmers must produce much more food than ever before. With the use of automatic methods, this situation would be improved.
Finally, here in Japan nowadays, the number of people has been decreasing who engage in agriculture. I also read in the newspaper that Japanese sufficiency ration for food is less than 40%. Therefore, something is needed that makes up for labor deficiency. It is natural that farmers rely on industrialized methods instead of human resources.
Due to necessity for higer productivity and labor deficiency, I suppose that farming methods will continue becoming industrialized in the future.
>>350 what a lowest-level thread! im amazed at your english you are just using english its too bad become english fuse with english after that, the road will open the lord said like that you are just sap at present polish your brain see ya
>>351 I hope you realize how things are here lately. Didn't you see everybody started speaking English and there is no Japanese? You should have got the sense of how things are, which is known in Japan as 'KY(KuukiYome).'
>>353 You're very lovely. You're special. You are the prettiest girl I have ever seen. I'm a quite sincere gentleman and I shall take you to the amusement park. That should be very fun! Hey, let's walk hand in hand with me!
Римские солдаты издеваются над Иисусом Солдаты отвели Иисуса во двор резиденции правителя и созвали весь отряд. Они одели Его в пурпурную мантию и надели Ему венок, сплетенный из колючего терновника. - Да здравствует Царь евреев! - кричали они. Они били Его палками по голове и плевали на Него, падали перед Ним на колени и кланялись Ему. [ Вдоволь наиздевавшись ], они сняли с Иисуса пурпурную мантию, одели Его в Его собственную одежду и вывели на распятие.
167 2007 第2回 B 2. Do fathers today play a big enough role in their children's upbringing?
The days when all fatheres have to do is just working are over. Fathers have to spend some of their time on children's upbringing.
First, mothers these days juggle both work and household chores so it's unfair that fatheres are allowed to focusing only on their work. They have to share the burdon with mothers.
Second, to show that fathers are interested in child upbringing to their children are crucial. That gives their children a sense of being protected.
I heard young fathers tend to get involved in children's upbringing more than those a generation ago and that's a very good sign. If fathers can't get involved in children's upbringing, they can help their wives with other things while thier wives are taking care of their children. Fathers should spend their time at home washing dishes, cleaning a bathroom to reduce their wive's burden.
I think it's better for fathers to help their wives take care of their children but at the bottom of by heart, I want my future wife to do all househould chores and children's upbringing. This is what's called, Hone and Tatemae. I have no time to explain the notion of Hone and Tatemae. Thank you for listening.
出題された内容について、全く知識がないという状態を仮定して、それでも何かしゃべらなければならないというときに、このようなスピーチもあり得るだろう、という例ですね。 the Japanese custom of gift-giving については何も語らずに、とにかく gift-giving は駄目なんだ、それは a hot bed of crimes such as bribary なんだ、という一般論を力説したわけですね。 このように欠点についてだけ話しておけば、Q&Aで利点について質問されることが予測できますし、話している間に、the Japanese custom of gift-giving について何か思いつくかもしれませんね。 沈黙=不合格であるのですから、沈黙だけは避けなければならない、というのが趣旨ですね。
Some people argue that, "The Japanese custom of gift-giving does not have a place in modern business." I can not agree with this argument. There are some reasons.
The first reason is that this custom has long history. The Japanese have a custom of gift-giving, usually in the summer and at the end of the year, not only in personal, but in business relation. This custom has already existed in the samurai society in the 17th century. We can not change our custom easily.
The second reason is that this custom is actually effective even in modern business. In business, it is certain that, price and quality of products are the most important. But the relationships with customers is also indispensable. With the way of gift-giving, we can show them our thankfulness and personal care, and we can do business in a friendly mood.
However, it is also true that this custom has been exploited to cover bribe-giving. Gift-giving to public officials is banned by law now. Some companies begin to stop accepting gifts, as well as governments.
It seems to me that, the Japanese gift-giving custom was originally beautiful one. All we have to do is not to do away with this wonderful custom, but to watch out whether this custom are used for the wrong purpose, or not.
>Does the Japanese custom of gift-giving have a place in modern business? >これは贈り物の文化が現代のビジネスに存在するか、しないかがポイント
この英文の have a place の place の意味ですが、「場所」や「位置」ではなく、「役割」ではないかと思います。 『プログレッシブ英和辞典 第2版』のp1355の 左段、place の8の項目に 「役目、役割、本文、任務:the 〜 of machines in history 歴史における機械の役割」 とあります。
Living in a space station seems fun and exciting. But my answer to this question is "No". I would like to explain why I came to this conclusion with three reasons.
First, I was born on the Earth, needless to say, so I am accustomed to living under gravity of 1G. It definitely takes a long time and tremendous efforts to live under no gravity. I am neither athletes nor astronauts, so I'm not confident that I can finish training sessions for living in space.
Secondly, not all people can live in a space station. Going to and living in space costs too much money under current technology. Therefore, it is natural that I lead a life there alone or with few people who I don't know well. I will surely feel loneliness and soon get homesick.
Finally, we don't know very much about space life yet. We may suffer from unknown diseases if we live under zero gravity for a long period. I have heard in the news that an astronaut's calcium density had decreased after his trip. This phenomenon may end in a serious illness in the future.
Due to my unwillingness to hard training, living a lonely life, and unknown diseases, I would not live in a space station. I like this ordinary but peaceful life.
>日本の食料自給率(self-sufficiency ratio for food)と言いたかったのですが、 今回のこのミス?をチェックするために、「自給率」の言い方を調べました。 その結果、 degree of self-sufficiency self-sufficiency rate self-sufficient rate self-supply ratio のような言い方をすれば良い、わかりました。 もっと簡単な言い方として、自分としては、 self-supply rate を採用しようと思っています。
148 2006 第3回 午後 3. Does the Japanese custom of gift-giving have a place in modern business?
Some people argue that, "The Japanese custom of gift-giving does not have a place in modern business." For example, gift-giving to public officials is banned by law now. Some companies begin to stop accepting gifts, as well as governments. And so, they say that this custom will be disappear in a short time.
However, I can not agree with them. There are some reasons.
The first reason is that this custom has long history. This custom has already existed in the samurai society in the 17th century We can not change this custom easily. Even though this custom is restricted on the surface, the custom will survive in another, probably uglier way. Let's think about the example of so-called "Japanese-style bar taxies."
<続き> The second reason is that this custom is actually effective even in modern business. In business, it is certain that, price and quality of products are the most important. But the relationships with customers are also indispensable. By the mean of gift-giving, we can show them our thankfulness and personal care, and we can do business in a friendly mood.
It is true that this custom has been exploited to cover bribe-giving. But this custom was originally a beautiful one. All we have to do is not simply to do away with this custom, but to watch out whether or not this custom are used for the wrong purpose.
095 2005 第1回 午前 5. “Honesty is the best policy”----in all situations?
No, sometimes being honest can offend a person so it depends on a situation whether it's better to be honest or telling a what's called a white lie.
I had a girlfriend who underwent a cosmetic surgery. What she did was enlarge her breast size. I've seen lots of pornography photos on the Internet so I can tell easily which boobs are fake and which are real ones. Most of all porn stars's boobs are fake.
The moment I stripped her clothes off, I thought her boobs might be fake. Their shape were too good. After I carassed them, I recognized they were fake. She told me her boobs were real but I didn't believe her. To be honest, I wanted to tell her that her boobs are fake but I had to praise her for having very good shape boobs. I didn't want her to get disappointed.
I don't think many men have an experience like me but similar situations are everywhere. When your girlfriend buys a new dress, she often ask your opinion whether she looks good in it. You have to give her a positive response to her instead of being too honest and giving her a negative comment in the situation.
In these cases, being too honest and giving a negative response is not the best policy for better communication. You can't be KY in these situations. I have no time left to explain the buzz word, KY.
144 2006 第3回 午前 4. Do competitive sports build character in chidlren?
Yes, competitive sports certainly build character in children. Whether it's a team sport such as baseball and succor, or individual sport such as Judo or Karate, children who practice a particular sport strengthen their heart and body.
Fisrt, they have to practice very hard on daily basis to win a game or match. They set a goal of winning a game or a match and to accomplish their goal, they make every effort. In case of team sports, children have to try hard to make a team. Even if they didn't selected as a regular member they have to keep move on.
Second, In case of competitive sports, to win a game is the most important thing. Not only to survive the competition in their own team to become a regular member but to win a game, they have to try really hard.
In this world we live in, competition is everywhere, so it's good for kids to experience various competiotions in sports. They learn that sometime they win, sometimes they lose.
And by doing sports, children strengthen their heart and body to overcome difficulties they face.
126 2006 第1回 午後 1. Are foreign workers the solution to Japan’s predicted labor shortage?
Yes. As long as the population keeps decreasing, it can be one of the solutions to Japanese labor shortage. As the birth rate is decreasing, it's expected that labor shortage becomes more serious.
If Japan can't provide enough workforce on its own, importing it from foreign countries is a good way to solve the problem. Japan has already cut a deal with Indonesia in which Japan'll accept a number of Indonesian nurses. Hospitals in rural areas are suffering from the shortage of nurses so this move will help hospitals provide sufficient medical services.
But everything isn't rose colored. Workers from foreign countires have to adopt to Japanese customs and cultures. They have to be fluent in Japanese, too. So it's very important for us to provide them training before they come to Japan to solve every possible problem they'll face once they start working in Japan.
128 2006 第1回 午後 3. Should Internet crime be taken more seriously?
As people use internet more and more, crimes related to the use of the Internet have to be tackled more seriously. But going to the extreme can prevent the Internet develp. So balancing the develpment of Internet and regulate the use of it is crucial.
Internet bullying is getting attentions these days. School kids call their names under anonymity. Verbal abuse is everywhere on the net. Some school kids commit suicide, being bullied on the net.
While children are familiar with the Internet, some of their parents don't know much about it and it's effect to their kids. So bullying on the net wasn't handled appropriately for a long time.
Filtering service in which children get limited access to the net is one solution to the problem. But to restrict the use of the Internet too much can harm the develpment of the Internet. The key is to balance between restrictions and development of Internet.
2002-2 午前B Can age restrictions in the workplace be justified?
I think that it depends on workers' abilities and ages whether age restrictions can be justified or not. For elderly employees with vast knowledge and experiences, age restrictions are not always required. However, when hiring young people for some positions, they are needed. Here are two reasons.
Regarding retirement, loss would be bigger when employers dismiss elderly workers with special skills and experiences. Countries where the workforce is decreasing, of course Japan is included, are to ask skillful workers to continue working and to impart their knowledge to younger generations.
On the other hand, some young people are reluctant to work even if they are healthy and capable of working. To motivate this kind of young people, a certain age limitation will surely do. If they hear "This is a last chance to get a job", they would make efforts to do so.
As long as age restrictions effectively function, motivate workers, and enhance productivity, I agree that age restrictions can be justified.
Questions 1. Why do you think almost all organizations have set retirement age? 2. If you were an employer, which employee would you like to hire, the person who are old and experienced, or the person who are young and inexperienced? 3. You said that Japanese workforce is decreasing in number. In this situation, are age restrictions for young people actually needed?
003 2002 第1回 午前 3. Should capital punishment be abolished?
Japan is one of a few developed countries where capital punishment still exsists. Some people say that to conduct an execution is too cruel but I don't agree with them.
One of the ideas behind abolishing capital punishment is that nobody should kill any criminals even under a law. I support capital punishment because if I were a family member of a victim of a murder, I would want to punish him/her with capital punishment.
I understand an eye for an eye approach shouldn't be adopted in a criminal trial, but If I imagine myself in a position of a victim's family member, that's the best thing to do. If the criminal wasn't executed, I would think, "why my family member was robbed of right to live, the criminal is allow to keep on living."
Under current laws, crimes conducted by people who are mentally ill aren't handled the same way as those by mentally normal people. I don't even support this idea, either. It doesn't matter criminals are mentally desabled or not. The focus should be on what serious crimes they do.
Police have to be careful not to arrest a wrong person for a crime to prevent wrong executions. But as long as they arrest the right person and the crime he committed is serious enough, then I think capital punishment have a place to stay in Japanese laws. And no foreign countries have a right to interefere with Japanese judicial system.
004 2002 第1回 午前 4. Is the Internet bringing the world's cultures closer together?
In the course of development of the Internet, it's said it helps bring different cultures bring together, but I would say that is not the case.
I think boundries between countries among English speaking countries are getting vague and that helps those countries bring together culture-wise. But language barriers are higher than you imagine so I don't think cultural gaps between countries where English is spoken and English is not spoken become narrow.
There are no boundries that devide countries on the Internet. You certainly can access to every countries' website as long as you are connected to the Internet but if you don't understand the language on a particular website, it means there's still a boundry between you and the website.
On the internet, some people translate Japanese comic books and dramas into English and people overseas have more chances to get themselves exposed to Japanese pop culture. However, getting to know Japanese pop culture and gtetting to know people in Japan is two different things. To be very familiar with Japanese mangas and animes doesn't mean to be familiar with ordinary Japanese people.
Internet provides many chances for you to peek other cultures but still, coutural barriers continue to exist because of language barriers.
061 2004 第1回 午前 1. Are we doing enough to protect the environment?
On personal levels, more and more people are getting aware of environmental problems but on governments' levels, there are many obstacles to protect the environment.
In the case of Japan, more and more people refuse to use plastic bags when shopping at a store. Instead, they bring their own bags to a store to carry what they buy back home. Some people don't use wooden chopsticks with a deforestration problem in mind. These are good signs to make global environmental problem go in the right direction.
However, America doesn't show any signs of coping with the envirnmental problem the right way on government's level, even though it is one of the countires which emit much amount of the grrenhouse gas. It refused to join Kyoto protocol, which is a framwork to tackle global worming on a global level.
America put its own economical develpment ashead of global environmental problems. I think some American people are environmental problems concious on personal levels but on government level, it doesn't show any signs of making things better for the benefit of the planet earth.
What people can do on personal levels is very limited compared to what a contry can do. All we ordinary citizens can do is to choose the right leader who has a passion to improve environmental problems accumilated over the years.
Back to the original question, yes, we are making a quite a lot of efforts on personal levels, but on governments' levels, some countries don't seem to give environmental problems serious thoughts.
Pros and cons of sex education in elementary school
I agree with the idea of providing sex education for elementary school children as long as it suits the stages of children's mental and physical develpments. Teaching first graders about a sperm and egg is too early. But overall, children's physical and mental develpments are faster than a generation ago, so giving them enough information is very useful for them.
In Japanese society, pornography is readily available even for elementary school kids. They can see and read something pornographic even at a convenience store. Articles about sex in a magazine aren't always accurate and they, more often than not, don't live up to the expectations for the right sex education. Information about sex on TV and magazines aren't necessarily appropriate for children so that's where sex education at elementary school comes in.
Some fifth and sixth graders recognize changes in their bodies and are very desperate to get information about them. Some students are too shy to talk about them with their parents so, giving some information about them reduce their worries about the changes in their bodies. Sex education also gives students deeper understanding of the opposite sex.
As long as teachers use appropriate terms and wording, I think it's good to teach elementary school kids sexual intercourse, too. But teachers have to be careful not to sound like encouraging them sexual intercourse.
Sixth and fifthe grades are the time when some kids come to know about sex. But the sources of the information aren't always appropriate and right. Before elementary school kids get wrong and biases information, they have to learn right and appropriate information about sex at school.
064 2004 第1回 午前 4. The pros and cons of self-employment
Some people like being independent, being self employed and others like to work for a company. So it depends on people whether they choose to be self-employed or work for a company.
One of the advantages of being self employed is that you are your own boss. If you work for a company, you may be annoyed by your bosses but that doesn't happen when you are self-employed. You don't have to be bothered by mean and incompetent coworkers. You can work at home at your own pace and live on your skills.
But there are some disadvantages, too. You have to take all responsibilities that come with your work. The fact that you are your own boss means you have to take all the responsibilities. Another disadvantage is that you can enjoy benefits that come with working for a company.
For example, you can't enjoy paid holidays. You have to organize your own work schedule, always paying attention how much you can earn a year and take holidays when the time is right. If you work for a company, you can have a month off with being payed when you are sick but if you are self employed, you can't have a benefit like this. Income is unstable, too.
There are advantages and disadvantages of being self-employed so you have to look at them from various angles before you start working as self-emplyed.
Answers 1. I think some people begin to work less productively as they get older. Also, jobs are limited, so employer are obliged to secure jobs for younger generation. 2. That's a difficult question to answer. I would hire the former and ask them to teach young inexperienced employees until they are skillful enough to work by themselves. 3. Yes, they are needed. People are inherently lazy and without limitation in number, they would not be competitive. They don't work hard if they know they are guaranteed jobs.
2002-1 午後A Is medical care too expensive in Japan?
My answer to this question is a "Yes." I have heard in the news that some people can not go to hospitals because of too expensive medical bills. I have also found that the number of the elderly in hospitals have dwindled these days due to rising medical fees. I can give two factors.
One factor is population pyramid. It is said that about 20% Japanese are older than 65 years old. These people are mainly the retired, so it costs money to support them. To make matters worse, Japanese birthrate has declined and is 1.34 as of 2007. Considering the present condition, it is reasonable that the Japanese government plans to raise medical bills.
Another factor is medical system. The controversial system has been launched since April 2008. The Japanese government announced that anyone who are over 75 years old must join this system. The government says it would reduce costs for low-income earners. However, many elderly people said that it only increased their burdens. The Japanese people seem to have to put up with an additional increase again.
I think too expensive medical bills are attributed to uneven population distribution and the unplanned system. These are really difficult to change in a short time. Therefore, we should live healthier lives and take care not to come down with serious illness.
memo population pyramid = population distribution:人口分布 low-income earner:低所得者
2002-2 午前E The characteristics of modern society that our ancestors would find most surprising
Many things have been changed throughout history and nothing remains unchanged. Our ancestors would not imagine that the day comes when Japanese population begins to decrease. I'd like to explain why I chose decreasing population in Japan as the theme in this short speech. I think three factors are related to this phenomenon.
First, lifestyles and views of life have become diverse these days. The young have begun to pursue their hobbies and pleasures. They can no longer afford to spend money on their future spouses and children. As a result, the number of marriages is gradually diminishing.
Secondly, some people are too poor to live a life ― so-called "working poor". Some of them actually want to get married and have children, but monetary problems prevent them.
Finally, in Japan it costs too much to raise children until they are old enough to live by themselves. Considering long depression and rising prices of commodities, it may be wiser to have no or only one child.
In summary, people choose not to get married due to diverse philosophy of life and tend to have no or one child because of monetary obstacles. Our ancestors would be surprised to know this fact.
>>637 形式面では最初に自分の立場をはっきりさせてるし、結論めいたことを 終りに持ってきてるのでいいと思う。 I can give two factors.と 二つとはっきり言ってるから、One factor isの次は、Another factor じゃなくて、the other factor だろうな。
Our ancestors would not imagine は、must have not imaginedか I'm certain that ...... didn't imagine みたいにしたほうがいいのでは。 As a result, the number of marriages is gradually diminishing.
>下の世代が上の世代を支えなきゃいけないからそれではまずい、という文言を >入れるとわかりやすくなるのではないか。 確かに「下の世代が上を支える」という事を先に説明しないと何故to make matters worseなのか解らなくなりますね。Q&Aで突っ込まれたらピンチです。
>あと、キーワードとして、health insurance 健康保険 とか pension 年金などの言葉を >使えれば、もっとわかりやすくなるのではないかと思った。 キーワードも大切ですね。後期高齢者医療制度も英語で言えると良かったと思います。 yomiuri online で検索したら以下のようでした。 ・healthcare system for those aged 75 and over ・a health insurance system for people aged 75 and older
2007-1 CardA-D Are patrols by local citizens an effective way of reducing crime?
I think patrols by local citizens are effective in preventing and reducing crime. I'd like to explain the reasons from now on.
It is needless to say that dogs are useful and reliable against offenders, especially thieves and burglars. I think many people keep dogs for this reason. To protect our family and community, all we have to do is to take a dog for a walk two or three times a day. It is a good idea because we can do two things at the same time.
Of course, patrols without dogs are also helpful for safety of our communities. Only greeting our acquaintances and exchanging information about potential dangerous people make our neighborhoods safer places.
In fact, retired people, the elderly, and children's mothers accompany schoolchildren every day when they go to school and come home in our society. Thanks to them, no crime has been reported. So, I think patrols definitely help prevent and reduce the number of crime.
Are patrols by local citizens an effective way of reducing crime?
I think a patrol certainly is an effective way of reducing crimes. It not only keep potential thieves away from our neighborhoods but also raise pepople's awareness of taking preventive measures against crimes.
I read somewhere that thieves can distinguish which communities are eager to tackle burglary and other crimes. Communities which are eager to prevent crimes tend to do patrols and put posters on walls and lamposts to raise awareness of crime prevention there.
Retired people in my neighborhood voluntarily patrol a coulple of times a week. They patrol with wooden sticks which is used by judges of sumo. and while they walk around in my neighborhood they make sounds with the wooden sticks for everybody to know they are doing a patrol.
Everytime I hear the sounds of the wooden sticks, I feel secured. They remind me of having to lock all the windows before I go to bed. The retired people doing a patrol is a sign that people in the neighborhood are well aware of taking precautions to prevent crimes, so that keeps potential thieves away from the neighborhood.
This thread's busy when you are talking about what vocabulary book is good, but when someone post their comments in English, you become as quiet as a mouse. That's really funny.
You sure like to talk about ways to improve your English but just talking about them get you nowhere. You can't even post in English.
What you are interested in most is babbling about "in Japanese" how to study English. Your goal is discussing how to study English, not what you do with English.
>>653 Here comes a nitpicker. What I forgot to mention in 648 is a nitpicker like you. lol All this type of person can do is nitpicking. lol You guys like to talk about grammatical mistakes in somone's posts, too, while you can't even post in English.
>>661 No, he is not my friend. He always irritates me. >>663 Neither can they. Don't you hear me say I rather hope the book's title or the URL of the site should be specified?
Hi, guys. I have a suggestion. Why don't we speak only English and prohibit Japanese. In this way, we'd be fluent in English much faster than otherwise.
Agreed? From now on, something irreversible will happen to those who use Japanese. おk?
That suggestion has been made countless times here but posts written in English have lasted no more than ten posts or so.
This is becuase Japanese English learners don't wantto practice writing in English seriously. All they are eager to do is discussing effective ways of studying English or what vocabulary books are the best to pass Grade 1 test.
With regard to the usage of the phrases '(the) chances are that...,' I've ever seen two patterns--the one with 'the' and the other withouut 'the.'
For example, see the pair of sentences below. (1) The chances are that she will marry him. (2) Chances are that she will marry him.
Would you, anybody, tell me the difference in meaning between them, please? I know the difference might be trivial, but it is the triviality that I want to know.
2007-2 CardB-D Should potentially dangerous sports like boxing be banned?
Sports such as boxing, karate, judo, and wrestling ― these are generally called combat sports ― are said to be potentially dangerous. Therefore, some say they should be banned. But I don't think so. Here are three reasons.
First, not a few people are already enjoying and live on these kinds of sports. Prohibiting these sports deprives of their hobbies, chances to exercise, and ways of earning.
Secondly, not all people who engage in dangerous sports are exposed to danger. Both amateurs and professionals usually wear protectors during practices and even matches so that they will not get hurt. All of them know combat sports sometimes end in fatal results.
Finally, danger is ubiquitous. It is useless to forbid dangerous sports simply because they are potentially so. There are many hazardous jobs in the world, for example, cleaner of skyscraper windows, worker on pylons, and researcher in nuclear power plants. Can we ban all of the above?
I think that as long as people like, enjoy, and live on them, and most importantly they understand their potential risks well, they should not be banned.
辞書有り、考慮時間5分、60分で仕上げ。本番がヤバス。 2007-1 CardB-C Is building more road the solution to Japan's growing traffic problems?
My answer to this question is a "No." True, well-planned road construction may alleviate Japan's growing traffic problems. But I often hear in the news that some of the newly built road are seldom used. Additionally, building roads takes too much time and costs a great deal of money. Instead, I think people should use public transpotation. There are many advantages too good to pass up.
First, if the number of cars on a road decreases, traffic jam and car accidents occur less frequently. It definitely solves traffic problems much faster than building unnecessary roads.
Secondly, global warming is discussed alomost every day and it is well-known that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and dinitrogen monoxide are to blame. Of course, cars emit carbon dioxide into the air. Imagine the number of cars running in Japan. Buses and trains emit less CO2 per-capita.
Finally, the price of gasoline has surged these days and unfortunately there is no sign of slowing down. Moreover, the prices of daily essentials are rising due to high-priced fossil fuels. Isn't it about time we stopped relying on private cars?
In summary, public transportaion can lessen traffic problems, help prevent global warming, and save money. Wny not use this excellent means of transportation?
But I think it is more likely that most of STEP interviewees are actually 2ch viewers than it is that girls like having sex although they do not look like they do.
>>113 Despite the good fortune of getting awarded Michelin star-rating, it brought in a little trouble on their side; they got a flood of reservations from all over Japan, ended up keeping their regular patrons out of the table. In addition, overnight gourmets take photos of the dishes the moment they are served, the shutter sounds running other guests the wrong way. Since I heard you are working in food industry, how about going to one of those restaurants?
>>904 I'd been thinking that way, too, until I began to realize that what >>903 indicated was that everyone can say whatever they like and pretend here in 2ch that they have a high score.