記事を読むReading Articles
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Recognize the typical structure of a feature article, interview, or public report, including headline, lead, body, and quoted commentary.
- Identify who said what in a text by tracking quotation chains and attribution phrases.
- Use によると and other source markers to introduce information drawn from a specific source.
- Extract main ideas and key details from moderately dense mixed-script texts with reduced furigana.
- Recognize common headline-style grammar and expand it into full sentences.
- Summarize an article orally and in writing, distinguishing the article's claims from your own reaction.
- Complete listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks that draw on an article-like text.
Communication Scenario
Emma's community center newsletter often reprints short articles from a local paper about neighborhood events, technology in daily life, and community projects. Her supervisor has asked her to read a short feature article about a new community recycling program, identify the main points and who is quoted, and then summarize it for volunteers who prefer to hear the highlights rather than read the whole article themselves. This chapter's Practical Performance Task asks you to read an article, track its sources and quotations, and produce a clear oral and written summary.
- The reader identifies the headline, lead sentence, and overall topic of an article before reading in detail.
- The reader tracks who is being quoted or cited at each point in the article, using attribution phrases and によると.
- The reader distinguishes reported facts, quoted opinions, and the article's own framing from one another.
- The reader produces an oral or written summary that accurately reflects the article's content and sources.
Core Vocabulary
This chapter's vocabulary supports reading and discussing feature articles, interviews, and public reports about technology, culture, and community life.
| Japanese | Reading | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 記事 | きじ | article |
| 見出し | みだし | headline |
| 取材 | しゅざい | news coverage; interviewing for a story |
| 報道 | ほうどう | news reporting |
| 情報源 | じょうほうげん | source of information |
| 引用 | いんよう | quotation; citation |
| 分析 | ぶんせき | analysis |
| 取り組み | とりくみ | initiative; effort |
| 住民 | じゅうみん | resident |
| 担当者 | たんとうしゃ | person in charge |
These items recur in the model dialogue, reading passage, and assessment tasks below, combined with this chapter's attribution and source-marking grammar.
れんしゅう — Practice: Choose four words from the table above and write one sentence for each describing an article you might read in a community newsletter.
Script and Kanji Focus
This chapter introduces kanji for media, reporting, society, and analysis. Furigana is reduced further than in Chapters 6 through 10, following the Furigana / Reading-Support Matrix; it remains available for names and any unscheduled readings.
Feature articles pack more information into each sentence than the conversational texts of earlier chapters. Rather than reading word by word, first scan the headline and the first sentence of each paragraph to build a rough map of the article before reading closely for detail.
When you meet an unfamiliar kanji compound, check whether its components are already familiar from earlier chapters before assuming the word is entirely new; many article-style compounds combine known kanji in new combinations.
れんしゅう — Practice: Write the readings for 記事, 報道, 引用, and 分析 from memory. Then write one sentence using 記事 together with によると.
Pronunciation and Listening Focus
Formal written Japanese, including article-style text, often uses longer noun phrases and fewer pauses than ordinary conversation. When reading such text aloud, group words by phrase rather than by individual word, and pause briefly at commas and clause boundaries rather than at every particle.
- 市の担当者によると (しのたんとうしゃによると): read as one phrase group, without a pause after 担当者.
- 住民からの取材で分かった: keep とりくみ-style long compounds evenly paced, without dropping any mora.
Practice reading the Reading Assessment passage aloud at a natural, moderate pace, grouping phrases rather than individual words.
Grammar: Attribution and Source Markers
This chapter authorizes headline grammar recognition, quotation chains, attribution phrases, によると, and other source markers, building directly on the quotation and clause-linking systems developed earlier in this volume.
Headline grammar recognition
Purpose: to recognize the compressed, noun-heavy style used in Japanese headlines, and to expand a headline into a full sentence when reading the article body.
- 市、リサイクル拡大へCity to expand recycling (headline style)headline drops particles and predicate endings; へ suggests future direction
- 市がリサイクルの取り組みを拡大する予定です。The city plans to expand its recycling initiative.expanded sentence with particles and predicate restored
Recognition only: learners are not expected to produce headline-style compression, only to recognize it and expand it into ordinary sentences when reading.
Attribution and quotation chains
Purpose: to track who said or reported what across a passage, especially when a single article quotes more than one source.
- 担当者は「参加者が増えている」と話しました。The person in charge said, "The number of participants is increasing."direct quotation + と話す attribution
- ある住民は、この取り組みに賛成だと述べています。One resident has stated that they support this initiative.indirect quotation + と述べる attribution
When an article quotes several people, track each attribution phrase carefully; the opinion belongs to the person named, not to the article's author.
によると and other source markers
Purpose: to mark that a piece of information comes from a specific source rather than being the writer's own claim.
- 市の発表によると、来月から新しいごみの分別が始まります。According to the city's announcement, new waste-sorting rules will begin next month.によると marks the source of the following information
- 担当者の話では、参加者はすでに三百人を超えているそうです。According to the person in charge, participants have reportedly already exceeded three hundred.〜の話では as an alternative source marker, combined with そうです for hearsay
によると and 〜の話では both mark a source; そうです may combine with either to show that the information is reported rather than directly confirmed by the writer.
Grammar Practice
- Expand the headline 住民、新しい取り組みに賛成 into a full sentence.
- Rewrite 「参加者が増えている」（担当者） as a direct-quotation sentence with correct attribution.
- Complete 市の発表＿＿＿＿＿、来月から新しい分別が始まります。 with the correct source marker.
- Identify whether the following sentence reports the writer's own claim or a quoted source, and explain why: 担当者の話では、参加者はすでに三百人を超えているそうです。
- Write one original sentence combining によると with a quotation and attribution.
Model Dialogue
Setting: Emma discusses a newsletter article about a new community recycling program with her supervisor, 田中さん.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What does the headline mean, and how did Emma expand it into a full sentence?
- According to the city official, what will begin next month?
- Who else is quoted in the article besides the city official?
Guided Practice
タスク１ — Headline expansion. Given three short headline-style phrases, expand each into a full sentence with particles and a predicate.
タスク２ — Source-tracking chart. Read a short passage provided by your instructor or partner and, for each sentence, note whether the information is the writer's own statement, a によると source, or a direct or indirect quotation, and who the source is.
タスク３ — Quotation identification. Underline every quotation and attribution phrase in a short passage, then state in your own words what each quoted person said.
タスク４ — Source marker substitution. Rewrite three sentences, replacing によると with 〜の話では or vice versa, keeping the meaning natural.
タスク５ — Building an article paragraph. Using the Building Block pattern from the Grammar section, write a short paragraph that includes a headline-style opening (expanded into a sentence), a source marker, and at least one quotation with attribution.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud at a clear, moderate pace.
きくタスク — A short radio-style news report
市の発表によると、来月からごみの新しい分別が始まります。市の担当者は「住民の協力がとても大切です」と話していました。ある住民は、この取り組みに賛成だと述べています。一方で、分別の方法がまだ分かりにくいという声もあるそうです。市は、来週から説明会を開く予定です。
聞くタスク — Listening task: Identify (1) what will begin next month according to the city's announcement, (2) what the city official said, (3) what the resident who was quoted said, (4) what concern is mentioned regarding the new sorting method, and (5) one example of a source marker and one example of a quotation with attribution.
This script combines a source marker, direct and indirect quotation with attribution, and a contrastive comment, assessing this chapter's listening comprehension cumulatively with earlier Unit III systems.
Speaking Practice
コントロールされた練習 — Controlled practice: Quick transformation prompts
- 見出し「住民、新しい取り組みに賛成」を、完全な文にしてください。
- 「参加者が増えている」（担当者）を、引用文にしてください。
- 市の発表＿＿＿＿＿、来月から新しい分別が始まります、を完成させてください。
コミュニケーションタスク — Article summary exchange
With a partner, each read a different short article-style passage silently, then take turns summarizing your article aloud for the other person, including at least one source marker and one quotation with attribution. Your partner should ask one follow-up question about who said what.
ひとりでもできる練習 — Solo practice: A rehearsed article summary
Choose the Reading Assessment passage below or a similar short article-style text. Prepare and record a thirty-to-sixty-second spoken summary that identifies the main topic, at least one source, and at least one quotation, distinguishing the article's claims from your own reaction. Listen back and check your phrase grouping and pacing.
Reading Practice
Read the following short feature article, then answer the questions below.
地域のリサイクルの取り組み、拡大へ
市の発表によると、来月から新しいごみの分別が始まります。この取り組みは、住民からの意見を受けて、市が半年前から準備してきたものです。市の担当者は「住民の協力がとても大切です」と話しました。取材に対して、ある住民は、この取り組みに賛成だと述べています。「分かりやすい分別表があれば、みんな協力しやすくなると思います」とも話していました。一方で、別の住民からは、新しい方法がまだ分かりにくいという声もあるそうです。市は、来週から地域ごとに説明会を開く予定です。
This article combines headline-style framing, a source marker, direct and indirect quotation with attribution, and a contrastive comment, assessing this chapter's reading comprehension cumulatively.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- According to the city's announcement, what will begin next month, and how long has the city been preparing this initiative?
- What did the city official say, according to the article?
- What did the quoted resident say in support of the initiative, and what suggestion did they offer?
- What concern is raised by another resident?
- Identify one source marker and two separate quotations with attribution used in the article.
Writing Workshop
In this workshop you will draft the written portion of your Practical Performance Task: a summary of the Reading Practice article for volunteers who have not read it themselves.
- Reread the article in the Reading Practice section and note its main topic, sources, and quotations.
- State the main point of the article in one or two sentences, in your own words.
- Report the sources using at least one source marker, such as によると or 〜の話では.
- Include at least one quotation with correct attribution, either directly or indirectly.
- Add a brief closing sentence distinguishing the article's content from any reaction of your own, if you include one.
- Revise your summary using the checklist below.
チェックリスト — Editing checklist:
- My summary states the article's main point clearly in my own words.
- My summary includes at least one source marker used correctly.
- My summary includes at least one quotation with correct attribution.
- I did not confuse the article's claims with my own opinion.
- I checked this chapter's kanji readings without relying on furigana where possible.
- My summary would be understandable to a volunteer who has not read the original article.
Culture and Communication
Many neighborhoods, volunteer organizations, and municipal offices in Japan produce short community newsletters that summarize local announcements, initiatives, and resident opinions, often written in a style similar to this chapter's reading passage. Recognizing this genre helps learners identify similar community-level texts in other contexts.
The formality and structure of local newsletters and community reports can vary by region, organization, and publication. Some favor a more formal, article-like style similar to this chapter's passage, while others use a plainer, more conversational tone. The pattern taught here represents a common, moderately formal style rather than the only acceptable format.
Many languages distinguish a writer's own claims from information attributed to someone else, though the specific markers differ. Comparing how your own language signals "according to" or introduces a quotation can help clarify why Japanese consistently marks sources with phrases such as によると rather than leaving attribution implicit.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: Summarizing ある住民は、この取り組みに賛成だと述べています。 as "the article says the initiative is a good idea," losing the fact that this is one resident's quoted opinion, not the writer's own claim.
Correction: "According to the article, one resident supports the initiative." — always preserve who is speaking when summarizing a quoted or attributed statement.
Error: *来月から新しい分別が始まります。 stated as a plain fact when the article actually attributes this to the city's announcement.
Correction: 市の発表によると、来月から新しい分別が始まります。 — keep the source marker when the original text attributes information to a specific source, rather than presenting it as an unattributed fact.
Error: Misreading 市、リサイクル拡大へ as an incomplete or ungrammatical sentence, rather than recognizing it as headline-style compression.
Correction: Expand the headline mentally into 市がリサイクルの取り組みを拡大する予定です。 before continuing to read, rather than expecting headlines to follow ordinary sentence grammar.
Chapter Review
Section A — ごい (Vocabulary)
1. Use 記事, 見出し, 報道, 引用, and 分析 each in one original sentence about a community newsletter or article.
Section B — もじ (Script)
1. Write the readings for all four new kanji words in the Script and Kanji Focus section from memory, then check them against that section.
Section C — ぶんぽう (Grammar)
1. Complete the five Grammar Practice items above, if you have not already done so.
2. Explain, in your own words, the difference between によると and a direct quotation with と話す, and give one original example of each.
Section D — どっかいりかい (Reading comprehension)
1. Look again at the article in the Reading Practice section. Write two sentences summarizing the article's main point and one quoted opinion, using at least one source marker of your own.
Section E — かくこと (Writing)
1. Complete your article summary following the Writing Workshop steps, as part of the Practical Performance Task below.
Section F — はなすこと (Speaking)
1. Present your rehearsed article summary and complete the article summary exchange task, as part of the Practical Performance Task below.
Practical Performance Task
パフォーマンスタスク
記事を読む — Reading, tracking, and summarizing an article
Using the Reading Practice article or a similar short article-style text approved by your instructor, complete all four components below.
- Source-tracking notes: List each source quoted or cited in the article, what each source said or reported, and which attribution or source-marking phrase introduces it.
- Written summary: Write a summary of at least six sentences that states the article's main point, includes at least one source marker, and includes at least one quotation with correct attribution.
- Spoken summary: With a partner, instructor, or recording, perform a thirty-to-sixty-second spoken summary of the same article, including at least one source marker and one quotation with attribution.
- Peer or self-audit: Exchange your written summary with a partner, or review your own after a break, and check specifically that quoted opinions are not presented as your own claims and that source markers are used accurately.
Assessment focus: accurate identification of headline meaning; correct tracking of attribution across multiple sources; accurate and natural use of によると and related source markers; clear distinction between reported information and personal reaction; and comprehensible, accurately paced spoken summary.
Answer Key
Core Vocabulary and Script Review
Open-ended; check readings and sentences against the Core Vocabulary table and the Script and Kanji Focus section above.
Grammar Practice
- Model answer: 住民は新しい取り組みに賛成しています。
- Model answer: 担当者は「参加者が増えている」と話しました。
- Model answer: 市の発表によると、来月から新しい分別が始まります。
- Model answer: This sentence reports a quoted source (担当者の話) rather than the writer's own claim; そうです signals that the number is reported rather than directly confirmed.
- Open-ended; model answer: 市の発表によると、来月から説明会が開かれるそうです。担当者は「ぜひ参加してください」と話していました。
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- The headline means the city is expanding its recycling initiative; Emma expanded it by adding the subject 市, the object marker, and a predicate meaning "plans to expand."
- According to the city official, new sorting rules will start next month.
- A resident is also quoted, stating support for the initiative.
Listening Practice — Model summary
According to the city's announcement, new waste-sorting rules will begin next month. The city official said that residents' cooperation is very important. The quoted resident stated support for the initiative. However, another voice mentioned that the new sorting method is still hard to understand. The city plans to hold information sessions starting next week.
Reading Practice — Comprehension
- New waste-sorting rules will begin next month; the city has been preparing this initiative for about six months.
- The city official said that residents' cooperation is very important.
- The quoted resident supported the initiative and suggested that an easy-to-understand sorting chart would help everyone cooperate.
- Another resident's comment raises the concern that the new method is still hard to understand.
- A source marker example is 市の発表によると; quotation examples include 「住民の協力がとても大切です」と話しました and 「分かりやすい分別表があれば、みんな協力しやすくなると思います」とも話していました.
Chapter Review — Sections A and B
Open-ended; check against the Core Vocabulary and Script and Kanji Focus sections above.
Chapter Review — Section C
Open-ended for item 1; see Grammar Practice guidance above. For item 2, a correct explanation notes that によると introduces information as coming from a named source without necessarily quoting exact words, while と話す introduces a specific quoted statement attributed to a named speaker.
Chapter Review — Section D
Model answer: 市の発表によると、来月から新しい分別が始まります。ある住民は、この取り組みに賛成だと述べています。 (Other accurate answers accepted.)
Chapter Review — Sections E and F, and Practical Performance Task
These are open-ended production tasks. Evaluate the written summary against the Writing Workshop checklist above, and evaluate the spoken summary, article summary exchange, and peer or self-audit against the assessment focus listed under the Practical Performance Task.
Looking Ahead
いまできること — What you can do now
You can recognize the structure of a feature article or public report, expand headline-style phrases into full sentences, track attribution across multiple quoted sources, and use によると and related source markers to report information accurately. This continues Unit III, 情報と表現, and prepares you to move from reading articles into giving oral presentations of your own.