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LEVEL B2

Shadowing the newsreader

Listen to the newsreader read out each line and then practise saying it. Record your own voice line by line and submit your voiceover.

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The Japanese railway network is highly respected globally.

Famous for its reliability, timetabling and its high tech, the system has countless fans, both in Japan and overseas.

Although Japanese trainspotters are typically mild-mannered people who spend hours looking at timetables or recording the sounds of the vehicles, some are guilty of acting carelessly or dangerously.

The 'toritetsu' or rail photographers are in serious competition to achieve the best close-up train picture.

This has resulted in arguments and even physical aggression, as well as illegal trespassing.

Train fan Tsutomu Okawa feels ashamed of their bad behaviour.

The majority of the estimated five million train enthusiasts in Japan simply enjoy riding trains or focusing on the immaculately presented boxed bento meals sold in stations.

Another lifelong trainspotter is Masao Oda, who's now in his seventies.

He's witnessed how dramatically his hobby has changed for the worse.

Many rail businesses have recently tightened security to prevent trainspotters from trespassing onto the railway tracks.

In contrast, the massive East Japan Railway is experimenting with an original solution.

Using the photos taken by the toritetsu themselves, it's promoting the company on social media in the hope of creating a community that wants to mend its ways.

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