I believe that people perform better and are more productive when there is a goal. Even though Dr. Stephen Hawking insists that there is no heaven, if thinking there is one makes people behave better, why not keep that as the ultimate goal of humanity? Well, I believe in my grandmother who used to say, "If you behave badly like that, you will be a snake in your next life!" So I behave decently enough...probably a mammal at least...
Speaking of goals, exams here and there are good stimulators and rhythm keepers for our lives. Together with my teacher, I was prepping up for DELF B1 exam, and I just finished it today. Hooray!
Last Tuesday, I had the speaking part of the exam in which you are asked to 1) present yourself, 2) role play, and 3) express an opinion on the subject given. The role play part is very funny and truly French. They will give you a situation such as "You parked your car in the area reserved for the handicapped, and the parking officer gave you a ticket. You justify yourself and avoid paying the fine." It requires not only the language skill but also some nerves! The third part is the most difficult one as you only have 10 minutes to prepare your discourse. As they choose articles from recent publications, I was guessing the subject to be on 1) alternative energy (environment), 2) royal wedding (culture, politics), 3)kids (kids), etc. It turned out that my topic was mass tourism versus alternative tourism. I have no clue what I said and how I argued, and I felt a great need to work on my vocabulary.
I did the listening and reading comprehension and the writing part today. Listening was brutal, and I blame myself for not immersing myself in French media. The reading part was okay, thanks to me being Japanese, and the writing part, I managed somehow, but again more vocab would have been helpful.
I do not get anything out of this exam except for my self satisfaction (or dissatisfaction), but I am glad I took the exam to find out what I need to work on. Oh, I also took DELF A1 (required by the OFII), which is exactly the same style but 120% easier. I am also glad that I had to take A1 exam because I now clearly know that I am not in that level. The result of B1 will come in a month or so, and I will start working toward DELF B2 (even if I failed B1!).
On a side note, those who talk during the exam with their neighbours, those who keep writing after the time is up, those who cheat! Shame on you! I could not believe how people behave poorly under such strict circumstance. Dr. Stephen Hawking, I think I agree with you now. The existence of heaven or hell seems to have no effect on our behaviours. God, you should have created us with a "Pinocchio function" or at least some sort of justice meter attached to our body. With all the money we are spending on scientific researches, can we not make that as one of the goals?
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