Fukuoka Entrance English flashcards

37 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Listening: question word first

Identify who, what, when, where, why, or how in the question before the audio plays. This tells you which detail type to listen for and ignore irrelevant information.

Listening: corrected numbers

Speakers often revise times and prices mid-sentence with phrases like 'Actually, make it...' or 'Sorry, I meant...'. Record the final stated value, not the first one.

Listening: contrast signals

Words such as but, however, instead, and actually signal a change from what was said before. The correct answer often follows these signals, not the earlier statement.

Listening: map directions

Directions are given in sequence from a starting point. Mentally trace each step (turn left, go straight, pass the bank) and mark the final destination on the map.

Listening: second speaker answers

In dialogues, the first speaker provides context and the second speaker's reply usually contains the information needed. Focus attention on the response, not only the setup.

Reading: topic sentence

The sentence stating a paragraph's main point, usually first or second. Identifying it quickly helps you locate details and answer main-idea questions efficiently.

Reading: pronoun reference

For questions about what 'it', 'they', or 'this' refers to, read the preceding sentence and the sentence containing the pronoun. The referent is usually the nearest matching noun.

Reading: inference vs. stated fact

An inference answer must be logically supported by the passage, not merely true in the real world. Reject choices that are plausible but not grounded in the text.

Reading: author's stance

In two-view passages, the author's opinion often appears in the final paragraph through evaluative words. Distinguish the author's view from the views being described.

Reading: vocabulary in context

Substitute each answer choice into the original sentence and check whether the surrounding logic and tone remain consistent. Context overrides the word's most common dictionary meaning.

Reading: main idea scope

The main-idea option must cover the entire passage. Choices that are true but limited to one paragraph are detail answers, not main-idea answers.

Dialogue: declining invitations

Decline politely with 'I'm afraid I can't' or 'I'd love to, but...' followed by a reason. A direct 'No' is too blunt for most situational English tasks.

Dialogue: responding to requests

For 'Could you...?' requests, reply with 'Sure', 'Of course', or 'I'm sorry, but...'. Do not answer 'Yes, I could', which sounds unnatural in conversation.

Dialogue: responding to apologies

Reply to an apology with 'That's all right', 'No problem', or 'Don't worry about it'. 'You're welcome' responds to thanks, not to an apology.

Dialogue: responding to offers

Accept an offer with 'Yes, please' and decline with 'No, thank you'. 'Yes, I do' is incorrect because the offer uses a modal, not 'do'.

Dialogue: indirect questions

When asked 'Do you know where...?', give the requested information directly. Answering 'Yes, I know' fails to respond to the actual question.

Dialogue: service expressions

Learn common clerk phrases: 'May I help you?', 'For here or to go?', 'Cash or card?', 'Would you like a bag?'. These set phrases recur in situational tasks.

Dialogue: tag question replies

Tag questions expect confirmation or agreement using the same auxiliary. For 'You're coming, aren't you?', reply 'Yes, I am' or 'No, I'm not'.

Grammar: tense and time expressions

Time words determine tense: 'yesterday' takes past, 'since 2010' takes present perfect, 'by next week' takes future perfect. Match the tense to the time marker.

Grammar: true subject agreement

Ignore prepositional phrases when finding the subject. In 'The list of items is long', the subject is 'list', so the verb is singular 'is'.

Grammar: participle clauses

Use -ing when the subject performs the action (active) and -ed when it receives the action (passive). 'Walking home, I saw...' vs. 'Built in 1900, the house...'.

Grammar: relative pronouns

Use who for people, which for things, whose for possession, and that in defining clauses. Do not use 'that' after a comma in non-defining clauses.

Grammar: comparatives and superlatives

Use 'than' after comparative forms and 'the' before superlatives. 'As ... as' takes the base adjective: 'as tall as', not 'as taller as'.

Grammar: modal verb meanings

Must = strong obligation, have to = external obligation, should = advice, may = permission or possibility, might = weaker possibility. Choose by the intended strength.

Vocabulary: common collocations

Learn verb-noun pairs: make a decision, take a break, pay attention, do homework, have an appointment. Collocation clues often determine the correct vocabulary answer.

Grammar: prepositions of time

Use in for months and years, on for days and dates, at for clock times, and by to mean 'not later than'. 'By Friday' means before or on Friday.

Writing: three-part structure

Organize essays as introduction (position), body (one reason per paragraph with example), and conclusion (restatement). This structure satisfies most composition prompts.

Writing: opinion signal phrases

Use 'I believe that...', 'First,...', 'For example,...', and 'Therefore,...' to make reasoning explicit. Clear signals help the reader follow your argument.

Writing: picture description tense

Describe actions in a picture with present continuous ('A boy is running') and state location with phrases like 'in the background' or 'on the left'.

Writing: letter and email format

Include greeting, purpose sentence, body, closing, and signature. Match register: formal for unknown recipients, casual for friends. Omit casual contractions in formal letters.

Writing: paraphrase the prompt

Restate the prompt in your own words instead of copying it. Copied phrases earn no credit and may reduce your score for originality and language control.

Writing: word limit balance

Staying far under the limit suggests underdevelopment, while going far over risks irrelevance and errors. Aim for the middle of the required range.

Information: read question first

Identify the target data (price, time, condition) before scanning the chart or table. This focuses your search and reduces time spent on irrelevant rows.

Information: check units and headers

Confirm row and column headers and their units (yen, minutes, percent). Misreading units is a frequent cause of wrong answers in data-retrieval tasks.

Information: pie chart totals

Percentages in a pie chart sum to 100. Use the largest and smallest slices to answer most/least questions quickly without reading every label.

Information: schedule exceptions

Check day-of-week, holiday, and advance-booking conditions. The correct answer often requires combining two conditions from different parts of the notice.

Information: NOT-true questions

For 'which is NOT true', verify each option against the source and eliminate the three that are supported. The remaining option is the answer.