1. Today we will take the TOEIC Reading Test. This test is very long (75 minutes), so we will only take it once. If you want to study by yourself at home, I have more reading tests, so just ask.
Reading Test
Answers
2. Anki (141-150).
3. Homework
Article 1
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Friday congratulated scientist Shinya Yamanaka for sharing this year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, telling him the news brought "great joy all over Japan."
During his meeting with Yamanaka, Noda said his wife, Hitomi, has personally contributed funds to help the Kyoto University professor conduct his research.
Yamanaka, who shared the prize with John Gurdon of Britain, a professor emeritus at Cambridge University, won for his work on artificially derived multipurpose stem cells.
Yamanaka reiterated his appreciation for the government support his research has received.
"Not only I, but Japan as a whole, received the prize" for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent, or iPS, cells, he said.
Noda emphasized the government will make efforts to support research of the iPS cell so it will be put to practical use.
Article 2
Since arriving in Japan in 2008, Apple Inc.'s iPhone series has won the love of many Japanese cellphone users long accustomed to phones heavily customized for the domestic market.
The iPhone shock could have even more repercussions, as the September debut of the iPhone 5 appears to be changing the landscape of Japan's telecommunications industry.
Softbank Corp. made a surprising move last week to acquire eAccess Ltd., the country's fourth-largest carrier and operator of the Emobile brand, to reinforce its network infrastructure and gain a competitive edge over its rivals, especially KDDI Corp. The competition between Softbank and KDDI — the two iPhone providers in Japan — has been escalating.
Article 3
Rakuten Inc. plans to expand in India and Australia as the likelihood of slowing economic growth at home hurts demand at its online shopping malls.
"We're making very steady progress in terms of expanding our global presence," Chief Executive Officer Hiroshi Mikitani, 47, Japan's third-richest man, said Thursday in Tokyo. Japan's top Internet retailer aims to have 70 percent of sales transactions abroad by as early as 2020, he said.
The retailer in the past three years announced more than $1.6 billion worth of purchases, such as stakes in social network Pinterest and digital bookseller Kobo Inc., as part of its strategy to catch up with Amazon.com.
Mikitani, whose company's revenue is about one-tenth that of his U.S. rival's, has a T-shirt that reads "Beat Amazon."
The move to expand abroad has yet to contribute to earnings, said Tokyo-based analyst Justin Weiss, who is ranked second in one-year performance among 17 analysts tracking Rakuten.
"It hasn't disclosed country-by-country numbers showing what progress has been made to date and what it expects going forward," said Weiss, who recommends selling the firm's stock.
Mikitani, a Harvard Business School grad who requires employees to learn English, said he plans to expand to 27 countries and regions from 13 at present.
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