Okinawa Public High School Entrance Examination - English flashcards

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

Teen versus -ty numbers

Thirteen/fourteen versus thirty/forty. The -teen ending carries strong stress on the second syllable; -ty is unstressed and short. Write the digit immediately when you hear it.

Listening: price and time changes

Questions often require a calculation, not the number you first hear: 'twenty minutes late', 'half price', 'two hours by bus'. Note the change and compute the final answer.

Wh-question answer matching

A Wh-question (who, when, where, why, how) is answered with information, never yes/no. A yes/no or auxiliary question takes 'Yes, I do' or 'No, I don't' style replies.

Contrast markers in dialogues

Words like but, however, actually, instead and not really signal that the speaker is correcting an earlier statement; the answer usually follows these markers, not the first number mentioned.

Two-play rule for listening

The recording is played twice. During the first playing, mark a provisional answer; during the second, confirm only the detail the question asks about instead of re-reading every choice.

Dictation of dates and names

Write months, days, weekdays and place names in full with correct capital letters; spelling errors lose points. Pre-write likely spellings in the margin before the recording begins.

Pronoun referent test

For it, they, this or them, substitute the candidate noun into the sentence. The referent must match in number and make the sentence sensible; usually it is the nearest preceding noun phrase.

English question, English answer

Answer in a complete sentence: reuse the subject and verb of the question, add the information required, and never copy an entire paragraph from the passage.

Why-questions and because-clauses

When a question asks why, scan for because, so, that is why, or to plus verb. The answer choice must restate that clause, not merely repeat a nearby fact.

Title and main-idea questions

The correct title covers the whole passage. Reject options that match only one paragraph, one example or one character; check that the chosen title fits both the first and the last paragraph.

Blank-filling in a passage

Read the sentence before and after the blank, decide the part of speech needed, then test each option for both grammar and meaning; wrong options usually fit one but not both.

Passage order with connectives

Sequencing items follow linking words: first, next, then, after that, finally. Pronouns such as he, this and it point backwards, so the sentence introducing the noun must come earlier.

Chart and table questions

Read the title, the units and the legend before the numbers. Answer with the figure the question asks for and check whether it wants a total, a difference or a percentage.

Present perfect form

have or has plus the past participle. Use since with a starting point and for with a length of time; 'have been to' means experience, 'have gone to' means still away.

Infinitive or gerund

want, hope, decide, plan and try take to plus verb. enjoy, finish, stop, practice and mind take the -ing form. 'stop to rest' differs from 'stop resting'.

Indirect question word order

After a question word inside a sentence, use statement order: Do you know where he lives? not where does he live. No do-support and no inversion appear.

Relative pronouns who, which, that

Who refers to people, which to things, that to both. In the object case the pronoun can be omitted: the book (that) I bought yesterday. Never repeat the object.

Conditional and time clauses

After if, when, before, after, as soon as and until, use the present tense for a future meaning: If it rains tomorrow, we will cancel the game.

Comparative and superlative rules

Add -er and -est to short adjectives, use more and most with long ones. Use as ... as for equality, than after comparatives, and 'one of the most' plus a plural noun.

Word-order rearrangement strategy

Locate the verb first, then decide the subject, then attach objects, adverbs and time expressions at the end. Check subject-verb agreement and the position of not and never.

Offering help

'Shall I carry it?' or 'Would you like some tea?' Accept with 'Yes, please' or 'Thanks, that would be great'; refuse politely with 'No, thank you, I'm fine.'

Making a request

'Could you open the window?' Accept with 'Sure' or 'Of course'; decline with 'Sorry, I can't right now.' 'Would you mind -ing?' takes 'Not at all' as acceptance.

Asking permission

'May I use your phone?' or 'Can I sit here?' Allow with 'Sure, go ahead' or 'Yes, of course'; refuse with 'Sorry, you can't' plus a reason.

Phone call formulas

'May I speak to Ken?' is answered 'This is Ken speaking' or 'Hold on, please.' Say 'I'm sorry, he is out' to report absence; never answer 'I am Ken' for someone else.

Asking and giving directions

Go straight, turn right at the second corner, it is on your left, next to the bank, across from the park. Use 'How can I get to ...?' to ask.

Suggestions and invitations

'Why don't we go together?' and 'How about playing tennis?' invite a shared action. Agree with 'That sounds good' or 'Sure, let's'; refuse with 'Sorry, I have other plans.'

Composition word-count rule

Japanese entrance exams state a minimum, such as 'ten words or more'. Write one or two words above the minimum, count articles and prepositions as words, and avoid contractions so counting stays simple.

Three-sentence opinion frame

Sentence one states the opinion: I think that .... Sentence two gives a reason with because. Sentence three adds an example or a closing statement, satisfying most three-sentence conditions.

Subject-verb agreement check

After writing, check that a singular subject takes a verb with -s in the present tense, that plural nouns carry -s, and that a or an precedes singular countable nouns.

Avoiding literal translation

Write English in subject-verb-object order. Do not start with a time phrase copied from Japanese; put it at the end, as in 'I play tennis every Sunday.'

Paraphrase instead of risk

If you cannot spell a word, replace it with one you can spell: 'very big' for enormous, 'a lot of' for numerous. Correct simple English scores higher than misspelled ambitious words.

Capital letters and periods

Begin every sentence with a capital letter, end with a period, and capitalize I, names, days, months and countries. Missing periods count as sentence-boundary errors.