Japanese Read & Answer: #4 [Level 1]

This is another post in my Read & Answer series of articles where I give a short dialog in Japanese followed by one or more questions to test your understanding. You can see more about this series here, and a list of the other articles in it here.

This will be Level 1, which is the easiest level and targets those who have only studied Japanese a few months to a year or so. Having said that, some of the vocabulary words (or Kanji) I use may not be words commonly learned in the first few months. Because of that I’ve given a list of Kanji words and some of the non-Kanji words with their definitions below the answer choices, so you only need to be able to read hiragana and katakana for this exercise.

For more advanced students, I suggest trying to answer the questions without looking at the word readings and meanings.

Passage

残念だね。勉強をもう少ししていたら合格できたのに。

Question 1

What is most likely the topic of this sentence?

Answer Choices 1

a) An essay

b) A test

c) A meeting

d) It cannot be guessed without more information

Question 2

What is the meaning of the word もう in the passage?

Answer Choices 2

a) any more

b) now

c) it functions with すこし as a set phrase to mean “a little more”

d) to express the extent of the words before it (勉強を)

Question 3

Did the action “合格” actually happen?

Answer Choices 3

a) Yes

b) No

c) It is unclear from the context

 

*Bonus Question:　Assuming spoken language, what is one abbreviation you could make in this passage to make it sound a little more casual?

 

Word readings and meanings

残念: zannen (too bad)

勉強: benkyou (study)

合格:  goukaku (to pass [a test, etc.])

もう: mou (several disjoint meanings: already, soon, more, etc.)

すこし: sukoshi (a little)

できた: dekita (past tense of できる, “to be able to”))

Supplementary Reading

Please see this post for an detailed explanation and examples for the particle combination「のに」.

 

Correct answers

Q1:  b) A test  (勉強 and 合格 usually refer to a test)

Q2: c) it functions with すこし as a set phrase to mean “a little more”

Q3: b) No  (the のに here is used to express regret, a sense of “if only…”, so “passing (the test)” did not actually occur.

BonusQ: The 「い」 in 「していたら」 can be omitted to make 「してたら」. Also, the 「を」 could also be omitted.

 

If you enjoyed this please comment and/or like this post so I know to write more. Also let me know if you want more difficult or more easier passages.