Activity 42

ざっと読みするために文章を読むときは同時にリスニングを行う。音声を途中で止めたりせずに、話されるスピードについていこう。これはあなたにいくつかの単語をスキップさせることになるだろう。それは実は大事なスキルだ。章は短いので、１０分費やすために何度も同じ章を繰り返しざっと読みすることになるだろう。

Listen to HNT Chapter 7 on YouTube (download it, or open another window) and follow along with the text below (you'll listen as you read).
 
Don't pause. Just allow the audio to continue smoothly.
 
Repeat until the 10 minutes are up.  Your job is simply to spend the time, not to understand every word.

Listen softly, lightly.


HNT Chapter 7
 
Finally, I’m here. I’ve made it to Fukuoka airport. As soon as I pass through customs, I see Mami waiting. It has been four months since I saw her. She looks more Japanese than I remember. Her skin seems smoother.
 
But Mami doesn’t like my beard. She asks me, “Did you put on weight?”
 
Outside, we catch a coach into the city. Tonight, we’ll stay at a businessmen’s hotel. We have a lot to talk about. Also, Mami wants to cut my hair. For that, she has brought an electric razor, scissors, a comb, and even a newspaper to spread on the floor. She’s well-prepared!
 
We had met in New Zealand in April, 1999. Mami had come to New Zealand on a one-year working-holiday visa. First, she stayed in Auckland, in the North Island. Then, after a month or two, she traveled to the South Island, to Dunedin.
 
Mami wanted to live overseas as a resident, not just as a tourist. However, her English wasn’t good enough, so she decided to improve it. One day, she came to the language school where I worked. And the rest, as they say, is history.
 
I showed Mami the sights of Dunedin. It’s quite an attractive town. It has old stone buildings built with the profits from gold.
 
During the weeks we talked. We walked. We shared food and became good friends. Being together soon felt more natural than being apart. We decided to do the deed. It wasn’t long before we were living together and got married.