英語の下に日本語もあります

I don’t know when you’re planning to take the entrance exams, and the advice I have for you will take some time. However, I believe it’s an effective way of improving your English reading comprehension skills.

You mentioned that you have subscribed to both Time and Newsweek, but found it difficult to keep reading them. The English in these magazines is not so difficult compared to what you may have to read as a graduate student (several Japanese graduate programs require their students to read journals and do research from English language sources). As such, reaching a level of English reading ability where you can read these easily would be a good goal.

Since you are going to do a graduate program overseas, we can say that you don’t dislike studying, and therefore that you don’t dislike reading. The main problem is that because of your current English skills, it takes more time and effort to do the reading than you want to spend.

Instead of reading a magazine like Time or Newsweek which has articles on a variety of topics, it might be better for you to choose something that focuses on a topic that you are interested in. For example, what are you going to study in graduate school? There are many magazines that focus on science, business, and art, for example. If you choose a magazine or book that focuses on what you want to study, it may give you the motivation and energy to keep reading and studying, even if it is difficult for you.

In the same way, it might be a good idea to read something that focuses on your hobbies, such as music, sports, or movies. If you have two different things to read, if you start to feel tired or frustrated reading one you can take a break, read the other for a while, and then return to the first feeling refreshed and ready to try again.