あと十ぷんTen Minutes Left

About this story

Ren was the best footballer in Yuta's year until his father told him to put the game down and study. Today the entrance exam and the last match of the season fall on the same day, and the match is going badly.

An original story written by Yomimaru for JLPT N5 readers.

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What you'll learn

Yuta sits beside Ren, who is working at a desk on the day of his university exam, while outside the window the team warms up for the last match of the year. Three months ago Ren was the best player in the school, until his father told him to stop; since then Kai has forbidden anyone to say his name. Yuta leaves for the match.

Key vocabulary

しあい	match, game (a sports fixture)
勉強べんきょう	study, studying
上手じょうず	good at something, skilled
弱よわい	weak
声こえ	voice; a shout or a call
点てん	point, goal (a unit of score)
あし	leg, foot
時間じかん	time; a stretch of time

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～ている N5The te-form plus います describes a state that is going on right now, or a state something is left in. Here the books are lined up and stay that way.

  つくえの上うえに、勉強べんきょうの本ほんとえんぴつが、きれいにならんでいます。

• ～のなかで～がいちばん～ N5Inside a group, one member is the most something. The group takes の中で, and いちばん sits in front of the adjective.

  カイは、ぼくたちの中なかでいちばん声こえが大おおきいです。

• ～てください N5The te-form plus ください asks someone to do something. It is polite, but from a parent to a child it lands as an order.

  勉強べんきょうをしてください。

• ないでください N5The negative ない form plus でください asks someone not to do something. Compare it with the positive ～てください two lines earlier.

  もうその名前なまえを言いわないでください。

• まだ～ていません N5まだ with a negative ～ています means the thing has not happened yet, and may still happen. It is not the same as ～ませんでした, which closes the door.

  ユウタ、まだまけていません！

• で N5で after a noun marks the means or the manner: the thing you do it with, or the way you do it. Here it is the size of the voice he speaks in.

  ぼくは小ちいさい声こえで言いいました。

Cultural notes

• School clubs, and quitting themJapanese students play their sport through a school club, not a town team, and practice runs most days after class. A club is also the first thing a family cuts when exams get close, so a parent saying "that is enough of soccer" ends the sport entirely.
• The university exam dayEntry to a Japanese university turns on an exam sat on a fixed day, the same day for everyone taking it. There is no second sitting that year, which is why the date cannot be moved for anything else on the calendar.
• Knockout, so the last match is lastSchool tournaments in Japan are single elimination. A team that loses is out for the year, so "the last match" is literal: the season ends with the final whistle.

Topics & grammar