I'm practicing for levels N2 and N1 of the JLPT with modern Japanese novels, but the novels that I have chosen seem easy to read in comparison to the passages on the test.
Where do the passages on the test come from? Are they taken from newspapers, magazines college textbooks?
Thanks,
Update:Thanks mom chit,
But there have to be some guide-lines. When the test makers look for passages, they obviously can't use classical Japanese, it has to be modern, right? Plus, I doubt they can use articles with too much jargon. Do they edit the original passages to make them more level appropriate or do they try to keep them in their original form and just add notes at the bottom for difficult language?
There has to be some kind of guide-line for the test makers to answer these types of questions.
Answers & Comments
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I found some sources of test passages on the JLPT site. Here, you can see the variety of the sources, and there is no way of focusing on certain reading materials, or authors. The only common ground for them is that you may well come across some of these writings if you are to live in Japan using Japanese as a medium of communication.
Okamoto Taro: late avant-garde artist / famous
Hinohara Shigeaki: a hundred-year-old GP / well-known
Hoshino Hiromi: photographer, non-fiction writer / minor
Shibata Yoshihide: science journalist / minor
Yoro Takeshi: anatomist / philosopher / well-known
Wada Hideki: entrance exam advisor / critic on education / minor
Forbes JPN edition
Asahi Shinbun newspaper
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No one can specify a certain genre or author or anything as for the source of the test passages.
The reason is simple. If a frequient source, if there are any, is known to the testees, the test resuts could change greatly according to how much info each testee had about the source. This does not make a good test, as you can imagine.
So, the test makers of any kind generally do not focus on any topic, genre, or author. What test makers always bear in mind is whether, with a certain would-be test material, they can make good questions that can see how good/bad eash testee is.
If you find the material you are reading quite easy for you, it's better for you to change for a bit tougher material. Remember, "a bit tougher" is the key to improving your competence effectively in the foreign language learning.
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Yes. As you can see, test maker don't use classical Japanese, and the reason is again very simple. You cannot tell the proficiency of testees by that kind of materials.
As for the jargons, it's natural that test makers avoid materials with so many technical terms, and again the reason is already clear to you.
Editing can occur along with the test making, but it would usually be limited to a small part. The reason: if there is too much of it, the natural flow of the original passage is often damaged.
All these are not necessarily what you call 'guidelines', but just common knowledge and common practice for anyone who make language tests.