DNF. The copy of this that I borrowed from a friend was mostly used anyway, but I figured I could use the "implementation questions" at the end of each week. Nope. They're some sort of weird hybrid between the grammar section and the reading sections of the test, without really covering either.
What a nice way to end this book, with a 100% on the last reading practice.
This book.
Well, it is what it is. It's a book of practice readings with comprehension questions that supposedly prepares a Japanese student to take the N1 test.
I personally don't think it did the greatest job. The actual practice tests are a whole level of difficulty above the reading practices. A lot of the readings correct answers didn't have explanations for why they were correct. Granted, a lot of the time as soon as I saw the correct answer it made complete sense, but a lot of the time I was left wondering why my answer was wrong, so some more explanations would have been nice.
On the other hand, the only real way to prep for the JLPT readings is to do a bunch of readings and then answer comprehension questions about them, so in that instance this book did a good job.
What I noticed is that I did much better on topics that I personally found to be of interest. The last was an essay on Japanese attitude towards donations to the arts in foreign countries. It was fascinating. I enjoyed reading it, I got a 100 on it. The one right before had been on when it's appropriate to ignore what your boss says and when it isn't, I was bored reading it, and I got a 25%. So, if nothing else, I learned about myself through this book.
Goodbye! N1 practice! You have been on my reading shelf for almost 5 years. Get thee gone!
I used this book to prepare for JLPT N1 in 2019. The book is separated into weeks and days. There are 6 weeks; the days from Monday to Saturday are "lessons" and Sunday is "test". Unfortunately, especially for preparing for N1 reading just 2 pages for reading comprehension per day is far from enough, so I felt the need to do 3 to 4 "days" at a time. The fact that there wasn't a proper exam like test was also a big problem. In the end I had to use a second book for Reading Comprehension to get as prepared as I wanted. Although the lack of sufficient exercise was bothersome, the real problem was the type of texts presented. Readings about death and cancer were just overwhelming in number. Having to deal with stress about the upcoming exam AND time and time again read about heavy topics was just too much. And even if someone doesn't mind reading about such topics on a daily basis, to prepare for N1 there is a need to read wide variety of topics as to get used to different writing styles, and the Sou-matome is certaintly not satisfactory in that area.
"Nihongo Soumatome N1 Dokkai" is an essential book for Japanese language learners. It is packed with practical exercises and explanations that effectively enhance the skills needed for the N1 exam's reading comprehension section. The practice tests, especially those in the mock exam format, are incredibly useful for exam preparation and will boost your confidence for the actual test. Additionally, the clear explanations and example problems make understanding difficult texts much smoother. This book is a valuable support tool for anyone aiming for the N1 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.