二島

More pictures, this time a little closer to home (so to speak). This pair of tiny islands is one of my favorite photo subjects, though I can't decide if I'm happy with any of the numerous pictures I've taken of them. They're located in the bay south of the Rock. The ferry that goes that way passes right by them.

( おっぱいに似ているそうだ )

It seems overcast weather inspires me to bust out the camera, doesn't it? I do love those shades of grey. I'll have to remember to get some when it's bright and sunny out, for comparison. If it's not too much trouble, tell me which of these shots you like best!

日本語能力試験, again

Warning: This is probably of interest only to me.

Well, today I administered the 2003 Level 1 Japanese Proficiency Test to myself. This is the highest level, and a person who passes it "has mastered grammar to a high level, knows around 2,000 kanji and 10,000 words, and has an integrated command of the language sufficient for life in Japanese society."

My score? 278 out of 400. You need 280 (70%) to pass. I've got eight months to improve my score by two points. To answer ONE MORE QUESTION correctly.

By the way, I scored 63% on the kanji/vocabulary section, 88% on the listening comprehension section, and 64% on the doubly weighted reading/grammar section (73% on the reading, 50% on the grammar (the thing about my grammar is this: the grammar I use, I use really well, and I think my Japanese is fairly pristine, but the stuff on this test is mostly forms I've never even seen before, and thus all I can really do is make educated guesses).

I know about 1500 kanji, by the way. So theoretically if I make sure and get those last 500 down pat in the next eight months, I should be good to go, right?

(Incidentally, having passed Level 2 in December, I'm officially certified to "have mastered grammar to a relatively high level, know around 1,000 kanji and 6,000 words, and have the ability to converse, read, and write about matters of a general nature.)