受講生2　男性

試験の様子

暗い廊下で結構待たされたが、受験室に入ると、そこは静かで落ち着いた雰囲気。ブラインドも下ろされておらず明るく、緊張するどころか逆に安堵感を持った。

試験官はネイティブの女性（20～30代、質問はこの人のみ）と日本人女性一名（30～40代、この人はうなずくのみ）。どちらも硬そうな学校の先生タイプでなかったので、まず安心。品がよくフランクに話せるタイプであるように感じ、好感を持つ。

質問内容

（以下、J：日本人試験官、N：ネイティブ試験官、A：受験者）

N: Good morning. What is your name and the prefecture that you are from?

A: Good morning. My name is ... They call me just ..., because Japanese name is sometimes a bit a mouthful. And my hometown is Sendai, which is in Miyagi Prefecture.

N: I like onesen. Why are there so many hot springs in Japan?

A: You know, our country is located in far east area on the earth and just on the ring of fire. This is why volcanic activity is very strong.

N: Can you suggest some good spots?

A: Let me see... Oh, yes. My hometown is one of the prolific areas in Japan. The names of two major and famous hot springs are Akyu and Sakunami.

N: How far are these spots from Tokyo?

A: From Tokyo to Sendai, my hometown, it takes about two hours by bullet train ? the shinkansen. And from Sendai to these hot spring spots, it takes just thirty minutes by local trains.

N: I know Japanese people like bathing. I'm curious about how many times they enjoy bathing.

A: In everyday life, Japanese people in general take a bath once a day in the evening.

N: Who was the last Shogun? When did he served as a Shogun?

A: The last Shogun... I'm now trying to remember the year. Oh yes, it was 1868. The Meiji Restoration started in 1868. And the name of the last Shogun is Yoshinobu. He was in the position before that year.

N: How has Japan changed after the last Shogun?

A: Yes, they often call this event the Meiji Restoration. But for me, It was a kind of a bloodless revolution. Before this event there was a hierarchy system of social classes. There were four classes. It was rigid. But after the Meiji Restoration, the idea was that “we’re all the same Japanese of the same class.”

N: I see. Then my last question is food. What kind of Japanese food do you recommend us to eat?

A: Oh, to tell the truth, I'm a moderate vegetarian and my major protein source is soybean products. Among them, I especially recommend you freeze dried beancurd, called Koya-dofu in Japanese. I think this can be a very versatile material for cooking. If you can slice it into pieces, then you can toss it on the soup. And this can be used as a meat substitute for almost every kind of dishes.

N: My family is vegetarian too. If they come to Tokyo, can we find organic food stores easily?

A: Yes, yes. Organic food is now very popular in Japan and there are a lot of organic food stores in Tokyo ? organic food stores, restaurants, and other organic things.

N: Then, we can find organic restaurants, too?

A: Yes, even on websites, there are so many sites that introduce us to organic food.

N: Now this is the end, thank you very much.

A: Thank you very much.

試験を終えて

JNTOによる会場運営には一次試験に続いて相当な不手際を見受けた。控え室のアサインミスのためか名前を呼び出しても現れない人が続出する場面が結構あった模様。連絡系統がしっかりしておらず、私の控え室では、担当者が「いったい誰に聞けばいいんだろう」と泣きそうになって廊下を走り回って対応しており、気の毒だった。また節電対策のためか廊下の電気が消されており、機密保持のためか待合室のブラインドがすべて下ろされており、全般的に薄暗く良い気分はしなかった。

また試験中の所持品に対する指示は不徹底で、廊下に置き去りにする受験者もいた。「受験室には椅子が二つ置いてあり、その一方に置けますから」という話であったが、実際は自分が座る椅子一つだった。

携帯電話の指示も不明瞭であった。印刷物では、「電源を切って机に置いて下さい」とあったが、受験者用には机はなかった。腰の下から靴の先までもが面接官に観察されることになるので、緊張感を強める受験者もいたと思う。女性受験者に対する配慮としても、面接官との間に受験者用の机は置いて欲しかったな、と思った。

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