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Do you love reading? For me the answer is “Yes”, especially concerning novels.　I started reading when I was in elementary school.　First, I read biographies of Japanese Samurai generals such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobunaga. I felt excited while I was reading, because their lives were very stormy and dramatic.　I used to go to the library after school to read them.　Then, in junior high school, I fell into the world of fiction.　I read British fantasy novels such as Harry Potter, The Bartimaeus Trilogy, and The Golden Compass.　Though these books are very long (for example the Japanese version of a Harry Potter novel is at least 500 pages long), I didn’t mind because they were fun and kept me absorbed from beginning to end.　Now, I read American and British novels as well as the occasional scientific book. What kind of books do you like?
(written by student Miss Harada, edited by Prof. Simon Smith)
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Notes:
epic: 叙事詩的な
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When I see falling snow, I am reminded of one day last year. It was New Year’s Eve. After flying back from London to Osaka, I took the bus to Matsue. The journey was only supposed to take 4 hours but in the end it took 16 hours. The bus left Osaka at 2pm on December the 31st, and arrived in Matsue at 6am on the morning of January 1st! The reason for this epic journey was the heavy snow that fell on Matsue and the surrounding area causing bad traffic jams and delays everywhere. As well as welcoming in the New Year on the bus, I also watched Kohaku in my bus seat. Although at the time it was a terrible experience, it has now become a good memory!
(written by student Kakitani, edited by Prof. Simon Smith)
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