Kraise
先輩
- 8 Mar 2013
- 380
- 46
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We had precisely the same experience on the first part, it would seem.
I wondered why they made the listening part so incredibly much easier than the rest of it. I went into it never having heard any practice audio, so I had no idea what to expect. When they played the first example audio I wondered why they made it so much easier than what would be on the test.... then they started the test and I thought, "You gotta be joking...." I really couldn't believe the gap in expectations of proficiency between the two parts of the test.
I didn't study or prepare for the test, and the results for the first part may very well show that. (I've always said I don't believe I could pass it without studying for it). But apparently decades of living and working with people who speak nowhere near as clearly as the voice actors on the test was ample preparation in itself.
I felt like the pieces of conversation that simulated radio/news were a lot easier to follow than conversations between 社員. The speed, the vocabulary used and the long sentences said in one breath made me search just for hints and keywords.
Passing or not, improving my ears is definitely my new objective in japanese.