There are lots of ways to study a language. Sometimes I read Crayon Shinchan comics - the pictures help me understand, & they`re funny. When I saw these dogs at a highway service area, I was reminded (思い出させた) of a Crayon Shinchan story...
I guess their owner is an attention-seeker (目立ちたがりな人).
Vocabulary:
The word `remind` is very useful:
- If someone asks you to do something, but you`re busy, you can say: "Please remind me later/tomorrow/etc."
- If somebody says something that makes you remember something: "Oh! That reminds me - I got an email from... etc."
- If somebody mentions something that you want to forget: "Don`t drink too much at the halloween party - remember last year?" "Aah... don`t remind me!"
In the waterways near my house, there are heaps of (= lots of) American crayfish [ザリガニ]. Sometimes I catch them with my sons. If we spend long enough, we can catch loads of (= lots of) them, like in this photo. It`s tons of (= lots of) fun!
Japanese people don`t usually eat them, but Americans do, especially in the southern state of Louisiana. Have you ever eaten crayfish? I haven`t.
Another name for crayfish is crawfish, but in Australia we use the name `yabby`.
Vocabulary:
- `many`, ` a lot of` & `lots of` are standard English, but native English speakers also use casual terms like `heaps of`, `loads of`, `tons of`, `stacks of` & `piles of`.
Can you find the animal hiding in this photo? Look carefully...
The answer is in comments.
Vocabulary:
- find = 見つける found = 見つけた
- Lost & Found Office = 遺失物取り扱い所
Do you like turtles? I caught this baby one in a stream (= small river) near my house. My sons were excited. They like turtles but, to be honest, I don`t really like them.
Have you ever eaten turtle? There`s a soft-shelled turtle (スッポン) restaurant near the roundabout (= rotary) in front of Ichinomiya Station. I`ve been there a couple of times with friends but I don`t really like turtle dishes.
I don`t like turtles & I don`t like turtle either.
How about you?
Grammar:
- ...like turtles/chickens/kangaroos = 亀/鶏/カンガルー が好き
- ...like turtle/chicken/kangaroo = 亀肉/鶏肉/カンガルー肉 が好き
On Monday I went cycling around Bisai & Hashima. It`s not really rural (= countryside), but there are a lot of fields, so I wasn`t really surprised to see a few small wild (野生) animals. Can you find the animal in this photo? It`s kind of hard to see... Click to zoom. The answer is in comments.
Vocabulary:
- No/Not = ではありません Not really = そんなに Kind of = 結構
- "Can you cook?" "Not really - just pasta. You?" "Kind of - my mum taught me"
On Sunday, Teragoya staff & students went to Higashiyama zoo. Of course we saw lots of animals.
Do you know the name of the animal in this photo? in Japanese? How about in English? I thought staff knew, but she didn`t. She thought it was a hippo (short for hippopotamus河馬), but actually it`s a rhino (short for rhinocerous犀). I teased (茶々を入れる) her about her mistake.
Later we saw an elephant. I asked her, "Is it an African elephant or an Asian elephant? Do you know?" She thought it was an African elephant, but actually it was an Asian elephant (Asian elephants have smaller ears than African elephants). I teased her again.
Everyone had a good time at the zoo. The kids enjoyed looking at the animals. I enjoyed teasing staff.
Grammar:
When our knowledge or information is wrong, we often use:
- "I thought (past tense verb過去形動詞) but..." e.g. 'I thought the meeting was today, but it`s tomorrow', 'I thought I didn`t need a visa, but I did'
At the end of summer last year I put a caterpillar in a box. I fed it until it got big, then it turned into a cocoon (繭). I wasn`t sure if it would survive (= not die) the winter, because it gets pretty cold in Japan, & I kept the cocoon outside, not inside my house. Finally the weather turned warm, & I noticed that a butterfly had emerged (=come out) from the cocoon. After its wings had dried, it flew away.
I was pleased (= happy) that the caterpillar finally managed to become a butterfly.
It`s a Common Yellow Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) (アゲハ蝶)
Grammar:
There are a few ways to say なります in English:
1. get + adjective形容詞 e.g. get big, get sick, get fat
2. become + adjective形容詞/noun名詞 e.g. become confused/become a mother
3. turn + adjective形容詞 e.g. turn 21 (years old), turn red
4. turn into + noun名詞 e.g. turn into a butterfly, turn into a typhoon
5. go + adjective形容詞 e.g. go crazy, go quiet
The area around our hotel was a little touristy but in front of the hotel there was a nice sandy beach. There was a roped-off area for swimming but I swam with my kids outside the roped-off area. The lifeguard came & told me not to, because... I couldn`t understand clearly, but he said either "shrimp" (ebi えび) or "snakes" (hebi へび). Probably the second I guess! He was a bit bossy.
Nearby there was a rocky area (the bossy lifegaurd didn`t stop us going there), where we looked for shells & sea animals. We found a couple of these furry crabs. They`re strange. My son thought they were really funny & laughed a lot.
Have you ever seen one? If so, lucky you!
Grammar:
More `noun名詞 + y' = 'adjective形容詞' vocabulary:
- tourist (かんこうきゃく ) --> touristy (かんこうしゃむけの)
- sand (すな) --> sandy beach (すなはま)
- boss (じょうし、ボス) --> bossy (おやぶんはだのひと, うるさい)
- fur (毛, ファー) --> furry (毛がいっぱい)
- luck (うん) --> lucky (うんがいい)
I saw this guy fishing in a canal (うんが) near my house. I could see lots of carp (こい) in the water, so I think he was trying to catch them. However, he was using a sinker (おもり) on his line, & when I asked him what bait (えさ) he was using, I didn`t understand his answer. I told him he should try using a ball of bread, & no sinker. A long time ago I easily caught a big carp using that method.
Did he understand my advice? I don`t know. Did he want my advice? Probably not.
I`ve never eaten carp. How about you?
Grammar:
- try to + [verb動詞] = __しようとする
- try + [verb動詞]ing = __してみる
On the way up the (many!) steps to Henro temple number 71, there is a small restaurant. We stopped there for lunch. Kagawa Prefecture is famous for `udon` style noodles, so we ordered udon. It was okay, but nothing special. I was a little disappointed.
The restaurant is in the middle of a forest. While we were eating, a forest animal came into the restaurant. What do you think it was? Challenge!
I`ll tell you the answer in 2 weeks.
UPDATE:
The answer is in comments!
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