Notes
the House of Councillors 参議院;
seat　議会の席;
manifesto (政党などの政策に関する)宣言(書)、声明(書)

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An election was held in Japan on Sunday for the House of Councillors. It seems that many voters were not interested because fewer than 50% took part in the election. Prime Minister Abe’s party is the largest in Japan, and the LDP got the most votes. I was surprised to see a new party called the Protect the Nation from NHK Party. It got one seat. Usually political parties have a manifesto with many different ideas, but this party only has one idea. It wants to stop NHK from collecting monthly fees for its TV programs. (by Douglas Jarrell)
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Note
thunderstorm 雷を伴ったあらし;

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I was asleep at 3 a.m. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and my apartment building shook. I thought it was an earthquake at first. Then I realized that it was a thunderstorm. The thunder went on for another 15 minutes. Each time I saw a flash of lightning, I started to count. If you count to 3, the lightning is about one kilometer away. I counted to 10. That means that the lightning was about 3 kilometers away. Sometimes I saw a flash and heard the thunder right away. The lightning was just above me! Finally, the thunder stopped, and it started to rain heavily. I went back to sleep. (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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