7/10/2016

The second stage of the Eiken exam

I took the second stage of the Eiken Grade Pre-first exam yesterday.

It is the speaking exam.

Examinees need to answer some questions from examiner in English, then they look at a four-panel comic and summarizes the story and narrate in English for two minutes.

After that, the examiner asks four questions to us, and examinees answer them.

First, I was going to enjoy conversation with the interviewer not to be nervous during the interview.

But I was not nervous than I expected.

And the interviewer, who was a Japanese man, didn't smile at all, so I didn't enjoy it.

The topic of the four-cell comic was related to deforestation.

I don't think I did it well, but it was my true ability.

I could answer the four questions, but I was not satisfied with my answers.

I don't know whether I could pass the exam, but if I could not, I will try it again.


I went to the place where my 7-year-old son came back from the Karate practice trip to pick him up with my 6-year-old daughter and husband yesterday afternoon.

I asked him about the tour a lot.

He said:

"It was fun! Most of other children are already my friends!"

I was pleased and relieved to hear that.

He seemed to grow a little for me.

He told me:

"But I am tired. We had a lot of activities, and we went to bed late last night."

"All right. Let's go to bed early tonight. You must be tired."

I said to him.



When I was making dinner, I saw him covering himself with some Japanese cushions on the sofa.

"What's the matter? Are you sleepy?"

I asked him.

"No, I feel cold."

He said.

"Cold? Hey, do you have a cold, don't you?"

I touched his forehead, it was hot.

"Oh, it is hot! You must have a fever. Let's take a temperature."

He had a fever of 39.3 degrees Celsius (102.74 Fahrenheit).

"Oh, you poor thing. You must have a summer cold like your sister. Change your cloths and go to bed now."

I prepared him a cool pillow.

He still has a high fever now.

I will have to take a day off and take him to see a doctor today.

I hope he will get well soon.



Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!
If you enjoy it, please click the button below and vote me!
I will be encouraged by you.

にほんブログ村 英語ブログ 英語の日記(英語のみ)へ

2 comments:

  1. Hello Kumi-san,

    I am glad to hear that your son made lots of friends and enjoyed himself at his Karate meetup camp. Hopefully he will soon recover from his fever.

    Here is a list of some of the issues found in the rest of the post:

    Part 1:

    This line:
    Examinees need to answer some questions from examiner in English, then they look at a four-panel comic and summarizes the story and narrate in English for two minutes.

    Should be:
    Examinees need to answer some questions from (the/an) examiner in English, then they look at a four-panel comic and summarize the story and narrate it in English for two minutes.

    Reason: A few corrections in the sentence above. First, "from examiner" needs (the/an) added before it to sound correct and be grammatically correct. Second, "summarizes" should be in singular form "summarize". Three, "narrate in English" should be "narrate it in English".

    This line:
    After that, the examiner asks four questions to us, and examinees answer them.

    Should be:
    After that, the examiner asks us four questions, and examinees answer them.

    Or:
    After that, the examiner asked us four questions, and we try to answer them.

    This line:
    First, I was going to enjoy conversation with the interviewer not to be nervous during the interview.

    Should be:
    First, I was going to enjoy conversation with the interviewer and not (be/get) nervous during the interview.

    Reason: Filler words

    This line:
    But I was not nervous than I expected.

    Should be:
    But I was not as nervous as I expected.

    Reason: Filler word "as" added and removed "than" and changed to "as"

    This line:
    The topic of the four-cell comic was related to deforestation.

    Should be:
    The topic of the four-panel comic was related to deforestation.

    Reason: Changed "four-cell" to "four-panel" as this sounds more natural.

    This line:
    I don't think I did it well, but it was my true ability.

    Should be:
    I don't think I did well, but it was to the best of my ability.

    Or:
    I don't think I did it well, but I (gave/tried) my best.

    Reason: "it was my true ability" sounds a little unnatural in English but it is completely clear as to its meaning. We have a few expressions which represent what you wanted to express. The first one is "the best of my ability". The second one is "I (gave/give/tried) by best":

    Examples:
    I am not good at painting but I painted to the best of my ability.
    I am not good at painting but I (gave/tried) by best.
    I love cooking and always try to cook to the best of my ability.
    I love cooking and always give my best when cooking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Part 2:

    This line:
    I don't know whether I could pass the exam, but if I could not, I will try it again.

    Should be:
    I don't know whether I passed the exam, but if (I did not/not), I will try again.

    Reason: Using "whether I could" implies that you not sure if this is the sort of exam you can pass. Whereas what I think you mean is if you could pass this particular exam you are doing at that moment. If so then using "I passed the exam" is more specific. Also changed "if I could not" to "if (I did not/not) for the same reason. Removed "it" as it was not needed.

    This line:
    He seemed to grow a little for me.

    Should be:
    He seemed to grow a little to me.

    Reason: Changed "for me" to "to me", as this is the more natural way to word that expression in English.

    This line:
    "Cold? Hey, do you have a cold, don't you?"

    Should be:
    "Cold? Hey, you have a cold, don't you?"

    Or:
    "Cold? Hey, do you have a cold?"

    Reason: The expression you used "xxx do you have a cold, don't you?" is generally written as either "xxx you have a cold, don't you?" or "xxx do you have a cold?".

    This line:
    I prepared him a cool pillow.

    Reason: Although the above sentence is grammatically correct and is often used by native English speakers, it can also be written as:

    I prepared a cool pillow for him.

    Which sounds a little more flowing/natural.

    ReplyDelete