6. A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP

It is a cold day in Japan. Is Japan colder than Holland? A young Japanese woman is sitting on the bank of the river with her boyfriend. She is very very tall but he is taller than her. He is Dutch. Dutch people are the tallest people in the world. The guy’s name is Herman and his girlfriend’s name is Naoko.

Naoko is wearing a coat but it is not very warm. Herman is wearing a coat too. Is his coat warmer than her coat? Naoko is cold so Herman gives her his coat. He does not feel cold. Is Holland colder than Japan? The two lovers look at the water. Naoko tells Herman about her life. Herman listens carefully. Do they speak English or Japanese? Has Herman taught Naoko any Dutch words? How long has he studied Japanese? Has he studied German or French? Is French harder than English? Which is closer to English, Dutch or German?

The two lovers look at the water in the river. The river is flowing slowly. The weather is cold. Winter is coming. Is this month colder than last month? There are some flowers growing on the bank of the river. There are red flowers and there are yellow flowers and there are tiny blue flowers in the grass. The yellow flowers are taller than the red flowers. Which ones are more beautiful, the red ones or the yellow ones? Which ones are more common?

After a while the Naoko and Herman stand up and walk along the river. They are hungry. There are two restaurants by the river. One of them is a normal Japanese restaurant and the other one is an ethnic restaurant. Which one is cheaper? Which one is bigger? Which one has better food? Which one do Herman and Naoko go to? How does Dutch food compare to Japanese food? After dinner Naoko goes home. How long does it take to get home? Uncle Taro is at home. He has a bruise on his face and he has a black eye too.
He talks to Naoko about the map.