Because of Covid-19*, we haven`t received postcards for a while. However, I made a display frame for the ones we already have. I made it because** I want students to feel motivated to study English, in preparation for the time when we can all travel abroad again. I hope it`s soon.
Because** they are hanging, you can turn them easily to read the messages on the back. Please check them out!
Grammar:
* 'Because of ' + 名詞,
** 'Because' + 文章
I bought this figure of Gomora ゴモラ for my coll... I mean* my son`s collection. Of course I checked that it was made in Japan, not China. What does 'Gomora' mean**? Well, the Bible (聖書) mentions a city called Gomorrah. It was full of evil people, so God destroyed it. So I guess ゴモラ is a suitable name for an enemy of Ultraman, right?
Vocabulary:
- * "A...I mean B" = "A...じゃなくって...B" (間違ったことを言って、(言い直しをしたい時に) 正しい言葉に言い換える時に役立つ言い回し）
- ** 意味
I have a lot of old fishing floats. I put the nicest ones in a display case in my classroom*, but I still had a lot left over (残り). So I made another display case. Actually, I didn`t find one of the floats in this case. I made it myself, from a champagne cork. Can you find it?
* https://en.bloguru.com/otto/361390/a-few-new-floats
Pronunciation:
- Champagne シャンパン is pronounced シャンぺーン in English (it sounds like campaign キャンペーン)
I made two Christmas wreaths. Wanna buy one? The one on the left is ¥1500. The big one is ¥2000. I have another one at home, but it`s not for sale.
By the way, I used the seedpods that I found at Lake Biwa ( https://jp.bloguru.com/otto/387792/a-bagful-of-what ) in the big wreath. Can you see them?
Grammar
the + 形容詞 + one
the + one + 前置詞
![Hobbies Podcast #3]()
In this podcast, I talk about my hobby of gardening:
https://bohmeenglish.podbean.com/e/the-bohme-english-podcast-24-ottos-gardening-listening%e7%b7%b4%e7%bf%92%ef%bc%89/
This is a transcript:
Hello, everyone. In this podcast I`m going to tell you about another one of my hobbies – gardening. But not vegetables or flowers – a different kind of gardening. But before I tell you what it is, let me explain how it began.
So when I was growing up in Australia as a kid, I loved playing sports – tennis, swimming, cricket, and so on. Then when I was a teenager, I really got into football – or 'soccer' as it`s called in Australia, Japan & the US. I especially loved watching English Premier League football on TV – the teams` uniforms looked so colorful & cool, and the atmosphere in the stadiums, with all the chanting & singing, really impressed me. Another thing that caught my eye when I watched those games was the beautiful condition of the pitches – the grass was amazing. The pitches looked like big green carpets; completely different from the sort of football fields I was used to playing on in Australia, which were usually dry, hard & dusty - really terrible, not to mention painful if you enjoyed slide-tackles, which I did.
So anyway, inspired by that, I decided to try turning my house`s front yard into an English-style football pitch. It was in pretty poor condition when I started, but I watered it every day, pulled out weeds, and cut it whenever the grass grew an inch or so. And little by little it started to turn from brown to green, and the naked dirt patches became covered in nice, healthy grass. Finally, after a couple of years, it ended up looking pretty good.
So there you are – I like grass gardening! And in fact, even though I now live in Japan, I still do this hobby, but not in my house`s yard, which is pretty small. Instead, a few years ago, I decided to become a volunteer groundskeeper for a small park near my house. I go there about once a week to cut the grass, pull weeds & pick up trash. I`m sure some of the neighbors think it`s strange, but I don`t care – I enjoy it, and my kids play there, so it benefits them too. Also, little by little, I`m getting closer to achieving my ultimate goal & dream – to create a beautiful, grassy, English Premier League-style football field in my own neighborhood!
The limes on my lime tree were turning yellow, so before I left* for work today, I harvested them. As you can see in the photo on the left**, I got a trayful. I didn`t pick all of them, though. I left*** a few small ones on the tree - maybe they will grow a little more. I took the photo on the right a few weeks ago - fortunately this guy wasn`t in the tree today.
Vocabulary:
- * leave (= 出る) --> left [過去形]
- **left = 左
- *** leave (残す) --> left [過去形]
The Biwa beach that I visited was pretty empty - just a handful of people were there, walking their dogs, or sitting on benches. A couple were beachcombing, like me, but I don`t think they were collecting what I collected - walnuts & water chestnut seed pods*. I had an idea, so I gathered a bagful of them. What do you think I`m going to make? Hint: Next month is December. The answer is in comments.
* https://jp.bloguru.com/otto/341395/water-chestnut-seed-pods
Vocabulary:
- a bagful/boxful/mouthful of ___ = 袋/箱/口にいっぱいの＿＿
- a handful of ___ = a small number/amount of ___
- 'A Fistful of Dollars' (Movie name, in Japanese: 荒野の用心棒) = 拳固にいっぱいの金
Last week I went camping in Fukui. I arrived in Wakasa-Wada around midday, set up my tent, then went beachcombing. My main target was fishing floats. As you can see, I managed to (= tried & could) find several, so I was satisfied. I was also pleased with the weather - mainly sunny, with some clouds. Another good point was that the campsite was almost empty - in Japan, people mainly camp in summer only.
Grammar:
- Be careful: 'main' is 形容詞, 'mainly' is 副詞, so 'My main purpose...' OK, but 'The mainly reason...' WRONG
I found this 4WD (Four-Wheel-Drive) toy car in a second-hand shop. I had an idea, so I bought it (it was only 50yen). At home, I drilled holes in the black plastic spotlights, inserted (入れる) small lights, & connected (繋ぐ) them to a watch battery inside the body. Now my 4WD has working spotlights! Unfortunately they only stay on for about 3 seconds, then die. That`s a bit disappointing. But I enjoyed showing & explaining it to my kids, & also to my wife while she pretended (ふりをした) to be asleep.
Pronunciation
- Writing '4WD' is okay, but when speaking, it is always pronounced "Four Wheel Drive" (not 'four double-u dee'). Similarly, 'BBQ' is often written, but always pronounced "BARbeque" (not 'beebeeque')
My 2nd son used to be into (= interested in) the Japanese superhero Ultraman, so we bought him a book & some figures. Nowadays most Ultraman figures are made in China, but they used to be made in Japan. Little by little, I started to enjoy looking for made-in-Japan Ultraman figures in thrift stores. When I buy a new one, I give it to my son to I.D. (= identify 指す) in his Ultraman book & play with it, then I display it with the others.
Vocabulary:
- Overseas, at bars or nightclubs, staff may ask you for “I.D. please” before you can enter or buy alcohol. In this case, I.D. = passport, driver`s license etc. that shows your age.
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