つかえる英会話Daily / Travel

Yoko: Entrance exams for graduate schools often include reading comprehension in English, which I’m not really good at. Could you give me some advice?

Patterson: Sure. First of all, you select reading materials. Um…what are you interested in most?

Yoko: Me? Um…I like cooking…and…I’m kind of interested in soccer now…because of my husband.

Patterson: I see. In your case, it could be a little difficult. When you choose your reading material, it’s always better to select what you love to read. But cooking often involves recipes, which are not suitable, and sports…it could also be difficult because the genre has many special terms and phrases which you might never see in your exam.

Yoko: What about magazines?

Patterson: Magazines are good. I’d recommend Newsweek, because the sentences are appropriately long, but not Time, because the vocabulary is a little too difficult. Newspaper is not recommendable when it comes to reading comprehension training, because sentences are often too short. You need a lot longer sentences to train yourself. Contemporary novels had better be avoided, as they include many casual, contemporary words. If you can’t think of anything to read, it’s always wise to get a reading workbook. But before you read, what do you think is the most important tool to improve your reading skill?

Yoko: Erm…vocabulary?

Patterson: Vocabulary, yes, but not so vital as this: grammar. You need to have at least a good grasp of the English grammar, what you studied at high school. You have that? (Yoko nods) OK, now you read an English passage you have in front of you, and when you do that…it’s very important here…don’t you ever translate it into Japanese in your head. Always write translation down. I’ll tell you now why this writing part is so essential.