You are learning confusion recovery: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 9 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (japanese confusion recovery phrases), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
Everywhere in Tokyo. The moment when Japanese comes too fast, uses unfamiliar vocabulary, or answers a simple question with a long explanation. This lesson teaches you to stay in the conversation.
Tokyo taxis are immaculate. The drivers wear white gloves and the seats are covered with antimacassars. The back door opens automatically — don't touch it. The driver will ask, sometimes in rapid Japanese, sometimes not at all. The navigation system can read addresses if you show them on your phone.
The stranger gets in. The driver asks something in very fast Japanese. The stranger bows slightly and says: 「すみません、わかりません。ゆっくり話してください。」
The driver nods and repeats more slowly. The stranger still doesn't catch it. Shows his phone with the destination in Japanese characters. The driver nods, enters the address, and drives.
Midway, the driver says something else. 「そうですか。」 — sō desu ka — the stranger says. The driver laughs. It's the right response to almost anything in Japanese. "Is that so?" works everywhere. The stranger is learning.