It's answer time! Thanks for your participation. Please check your own answers. If you feel that you have learned something new from the Pop Quiz, its purpose has been fulfilled.
Food:
1. In Japan, we often eat cold meals in the summer. What is the name of the noodle dish in this pic?
Hiyamugi. Literally, "cold wheat". Someone answered "Soba" but soba noodles are dark in color and it isn't served in iced water like hiyamugi is. At least one person answered "soumen" but hiyamugi is considerably thicker than soumen.
冷麦（ひやむぎ）です。細めのスパゲティーくらいの太 さです。夏はこれです！
2. Shaved ice is immensely popular here. What kind of milk is used to make flavors like "Strawberry Milk" in shaved ice?
Condensed milk.
コンデンスミルクです。練乳（れんにゅう）とも言いま す。
3. What kind of tea is most commonly consumed in Japanese homes in the summer that is almost always served ice cold?
Mugi-cha (barley tea). It's brown in color.
麦茶（むぎちゃ）です。茶色いお茶です。日本の夏には 欠かせません。
4. What do many Japanese eat on Doyo No Ushi No Hi and why?
Barbequed fresh water eel. We eat it because it's highly nutritional and it helps us fight the summer heat and humidity.
うなぎのかば焼きです。栄養豊富なので、夏バテ防止に もってこいなんです。
5. Why is summer generally regarded as the worst season among sushi lovers in Japan?
Because many kinds of fish are skinniest and least tasty in the summer when the sea water temperature is highest. Winter is the best as fish eat a lot and don't move much, making the fish fat and sweet.
夏は海水の温度が高く、多くの種類の魚がやせていてあ まりおいしくないからです。冬は逆に魚がよく肥えてい るのでスシ愛好家には最適です。
6. Name a few popular summer festival food items.
Takoyaki, yakisoba, okonomiyaki, cotton candy, shaved ice, etc.
たこ焼き、やきそば、お好み焼き、綿菓子、かき氷など です。
7. Besides red, what is the color of the inside of water melons that you may encounter in Japan?
Yellow.
黄色です。
Language:
8. When a Japanese-speaker names the four seasons in a row for any purpose, what place does "summer" come in out of the four?
Second. Spring-summer-fall-winter.
二番目です。
9. What's your favorite summer-related word in Japanese?
Mine are 花火, 生ビール、海、風鈴, etc.
Miscellaneous:
10. What is the plant that many Japanese elementary schools require you to grow and keep a log of its growth at home as part of your summer recess assignments?
The Morning Glory.
あさがおです。
11. What is the biggest reason that Japanese schools give you homework for the summer recess?
Because, unlike in many other countries, the Japanese school year starts in April. That means the summer break falls in the middle of the academic year. So, you get a truck-load of homework for the summer.
他の諸国と違い、日本では夏休みがひとつの学年の中間 に来るからです。欧米では夏休みが終わると新学年が始 まります。日本では新学年開始は４月なので、夏休みに 宿題が出ます。
12. Name a highly popular summer festival game.
Gold fish Scooping.
金魚すくいです。
13. Does Japan practice Day Light Saving Time? Why/Why not?
No. The government actually tried to introduce it many decades ago, but many people opposed it saying it's not in the Japanese mentality to move around the clock hands with human hands. So it didn't work in Japan.
日本にはありません。以前に政府が導入したのですが、 日本人の感性に合っていないとの国民からの反発が強く 廃止となりました。
14. What are the two kinds of insect that Japanese kids (mostly boys) would like to catch in nature but often fail and end up buying in stores?
Beetle & Stag Beetle
カブトムシとクワガタです。