I came across a very good website where you can take your practice Japanese language exam online. It is called the Sushi test and administered by the Japan Foundation. The Japan Foundation also provides free assistance and ready made lesson plan ideas and user forum to exchange ideas with other teachers around the world via their website. Government funded and uses the standard Japanese proficency test. The Sushi Test is in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, English, Bahasa Indonesian, and Portuguese.
http://momo.jpf.go.jp/sushi/

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バリアーフリー is �barrier free� it is used to mean �accessable for wheelchairs�. They are applying this to the sidewalk, fine make it more accessable but wait a moment. What do they mean by �barrier free�? They cut down all the trees and pull up all the bushes, which by the way were not in the way because there was plenty of room to get a wheelchair or even for two to pass. Making the sidewalk a little more smoother to help wheelchairs to get by easier maybe ok but still there was no reason to cut down all the trees and pull up all the bushes. So why did they cut down the trees? To get their work trucks to pass on the sidewalks more easily. This is like why did they widen the paths in the garden for? To get the tractor through so they can plant/harvest faster and produce more volume. I can think of a number of solutions, 1. use the road for their trucks, or 2. use smaller machines, or 3. manual labor. So I am sure they say well we cannot cause problems for traffic, small machines or manual labor are just too much work = lazy workers. I have seen entire roads built by hand in some countries and I don�t see why they can�t do it in anywhere else, I believe being developed doesn�t make the excuse. Many countries, like China divert roads to go around trees just because they want to preserve them and not cut them down. The tree has been there longer than us and could be there long after we are gone. Don�t they realize how hot it gets on a a black asphalt sidewalk in the summer? I wonder what they(we) are going breathe when all the trees are gone?

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