Dialogue and situational response (対話文・場面応答)
What the dialogue section asks
This part gives a short conversation with a blank, or a single utterance and four replies. It tests 場面応答: can you choose the line that fits the situation, the relationship, and the function of the utterance?
Core rules
- Name the function first: request, offer, invitation, permission, apology, opinion, agreement.
- Match the reply to the function, not to the words.
- "Could you ~?" → "Sure." / "Sorry, I can't."
- "Would you like to ~?" → "I'd love to." / "I'm afraid I can't."
- "Do you mind ~?" → "No, go ahead." (permission) / "Yes, I do." (objection)
- "Why don't we ~?" → "Good idea." (suggestion, not a reason question)
- Check the second half of two-part questions: "How was it, and how long did it take?"
- Keep politeness consistent: a formal clerk does not answer "Yeah."
Worked example
A: "Do you mind if I open the window?" B: ( ) → ① "No, go ahead." ② "Yes, please." ③ "That's too bad." Reasoning: "Do you mind" asks about objection. "No" = I do not mind = permission, so ①. ② agrees to a request that was not made; ③ is sympathy, the wrong function.
Traps
- Answering the literal grammar and ignoring the social meaning.
- Repeating the question's verb in a reply that does not fit ("Yes, I opened it.").
- Missing a refusal hidden in politeness: "I'd love to, but I have a piano lesson."
- Choosing a reply that fits the first speaker but not the next line, when the blank is mid-dialogue.