AP Japanese Language and Culture Practice Test 1

The revised AP Japanese Language and Culture Exam (effective for the 2026--27 school year) has two sections: Section I (Free Response) and Section II (Multiple Choice). Section II assesses Interpretive Communication through Listening and Reading parts, together worth 50% of the total AP score; Section I includes speaking and writing tasks. This companion set reviews the reading-comprehension and interpretive-communication portion of Section II; the full AP exam also includes listening, speaking, and writing sections not represented here. It contains 30 original multiple-choice reading questions built around 7 short passages (emails, notices, blog posts, informational articles, a cultural essay, and a travel schedule with dialogue) drawn from the course's recurring thematic units: Families and Communities, Personal and Public Identities, Contemporary Life, Beauty and Aesthetics, Science and Technology, and Global Challenges. Passages are printed in Japanese (a natural mix of kanji, hiragana, and katakana) with romaji and English glosses in parentheses for key vocabulary, and every question stem, choice, and explanation is written so an English-speaking learner can follow along. For each question, read the passage first, then select the single best answer from the four choices given. Give yourself about 35 minutes to work through all 30 items, then check your answers against the key and read every explanation, even for items you answered correctly. This is an independently written practice test created for this book and is not an official College Board AP Japanese Language and Culture exam form.