Speaking Section Part C

【正解の例】

  • 1. There once were three clothing stores that were side-by-side competing for the same customers.
  • 2. One day, some workers came to one of the shops, “Jennifer's”, to make some changes to its sign.
  • 3. They changed it to a large, impressive sign now reading “Jennifer's Best Deals”. The owner was confident that the improvements that had been made to his shop would surely improve his business.
  • 4. The owners of the other shops looked on. They were concerned that this would affect their businesses.
  • 5. Following suit, the owner of “Loralie Boutique” changed his sign. He also looked confident that his new sign reading “Loralie Boutique Lowest Price” would do wonders for his business.
  • 6. The confused owner of the shop in the middle, “Forte Ladies' Shop”, stared at the other shop owners who were standing smugly in front of their respective shops. He was very worried about the future of his business.
  • 7. Suddenly, he got a brilliant idea.
  • 8. He placed a small sign on the sidewalk directly in front of his shop.
  • 9. Later, a long queue formed in front of “Forte Ladies' Shop”. The sign he had placed in front of his shop was labeled “Entrance”. The other shop owners looked on angrily, realizing that the customers were easier to fool than they had imagined.
【出題の狙い】
スピーキング能力のうち、時系列的に起こった出来事を相手に説明する力があるかどうかを試す問題です。９コマのイラストを順番に過去形で説明していきます。イラストは一連のストーリーになっていますので、最初にどのようなストーリーなのかをつかみ、何を重点的に説明するかを考えると説明がしやすくなります。
【解答のポイント】
解答のポイントとなる表現例は次の通り。「看板」は「sign」。「大きな看板に変える」は「changed it to a large sign」。また7コマ目のようなアイディアを得た部分を表現するには「get an idea」を使うとスムーズに表現ができます。人の列のことは、「queue」または「line」で、「A long queue formed in front of the shop.（その店の前に長い列ができた）」と表現することで、ラストのコマが説明できます。
【学習・対策のアドバイス】
イラストを見ていない人でもどのようなことが進行しているかわかるような感じで、1コマずつ丁寧に説明していきましょう。また過去形での説明になりますので、時制は十分注意しておく必要があります。1分がどの程度の長さなのか、時間を測りながら話をする練習をしてみてください。