Translation and Summary: Two Compressed Tasks in Twenty Minutes
Sora is on the final section, which has two parts and 20 minutes. Part A: translate into English: 「この町では、十年前に比べて留学生の数が二倍になったが、寮の部屋はまだ足りない。」 Part B: summarise the passage below in 35-45 words, using your own wording. Passage: 'In 2019 a town of 40,000 replaced its 1,200 streetlights with LEDs and cut brightness by 40 percent to save energy. Over the next two years, nighttime accidents on those streets fell by 18 percent, and the town's lighting bill fell by half. However, residents over 65 complained that pavements were harder to see, and the town received 130 complaints in the first year. Last month the town announced that full brightness would return on main roads, while side streets would stay dimmed.' Sora's draft summary reads: 'The town cut brightness and accidents fell, but old people complained, so main roads will be bright again.'
1. Produce the translation and justify the three decisions most likely to cost marks.
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Model: 'In this town, the number of international students has doubled compared with ten years ago, but there are still not enough dormitory rooms.' Decisions. (i) 「数が二倍になった」 is about the number, which is singular, so 'the number ... has doubled', not 'the number ... have doubled' and not 'the students have doubled' - the students did not double themselves. (ii) 「十年前に比べて」 can be 'compared with ten years ago' or recast as 'there are twice as many international students as ten years ago'; if you choose the second, the whole sentence structure must change, and mixing the two patterns is a frequent error. (iii) 「まだ足りない」 means a continuing shortage, so 'there are still not enough rooms' or 'rooms are still in short supply'; 'not enough' modifies the rooms, so the word order 'not enough rooms are still' is wrong. Also front 「この町では」 as 'In this town'. Watch for 'doubled twice', which is redundant and wrong.
2. Evaluate Sora's summary against the rubric, then write a compliant version with a count.
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Sora's draft is 18 words, far under the 35-word minimum, and it drops two essentials: the lighting bill fell by half, and only side streets stay dimmed while main roads are restored. 'Old people' is too casual for 'residents over 65'. A compliant version (36 words): 'A town dimmed its LED streetlights by 40 percent, cutting accidents by 18 percent and lighting costs by half, but elderly residents complained; it will now restore full brightness on main roads and keep side streets dimmed.' Content check: cause (dimming for energy), two benefits (accidents, cost), objection (elderly residents), outcome (partial reversal) - four moves, no invented detail. What was deliberately cut was incidental: the 2019 date, the 40,000 population and the 1,200 lights. The technical figure 40 percent can be kept because it is the key measure, but the sentence frame must be your own; copying a full clause from the passage is usually penalised.
3. With 20 minutes for both parts, how should Sora divide the time and check the work?
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A defensible split is about 8 minutes for the translation and 10 for the summary, leaving 2 for checks, because the summary requires drafting and a word count while the translation is one sentence. For the translation, write the skeleton first - subject plus verb for each clause - then add 「十年前に比べて」 and 「まだ」; the clause structure, not the vocabulary, is where marks are lost. For the summary, underline the passage's four moves before writing, draft in one sentence if possible, then count words and trim adjectives rather than content. Final checks: singular 'the number ... has', 'arrive/compared with' prepositions, and no copied clause longer than a short technical phrase. If time runs short, the summary should not be sacrificed, since it carries its own content marks and a summary that misses one of the four moves loses more than a slightly clumsy translation.