Over* the New Year holidays, I watched the movie 'E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial**' with my kids. I think I last watched it over*** 35 years ago. Even though it`s pretty old, my kids really liked it.
Did you know that there was an extra**** scene for the movie that featured Harrison Ford (Han Solo from Star Wars)? However it wasn`t included in the final version of the movie.
Vocabulary:
- *over = during
- ***over = more than
- **extra = outside, terrestrial = earth
- ****extra = more than necessary
Have you been to Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture before*? I went there with my family yesterday. It`s very near Lake Biwa, so before** coming home, we went to a lakeside park to play & collect driftwood (漂流木), pine cones, & other junk. I`ll use the wood to make picture frames or display cases or something.
Now I`m at work. I gave the pine cones to my workmate Megumi just before***. She`ll use them for her own craft hobby. I hope she displays it in our lobby!
Vocabulary:
- *before = ever
- **before = 前
- ***before = 先ほど
Most people throw away bottle caps, but I keep them. This is most of my collection, in a display frame that I made last week. Some of them are from Japan, a few of them are from Australia, & one of them is from Cambodia - it was given to me by one of my students who went there last year. Can you find it?
All of them are attached using magnets, so they can be easily removed or re-arranged.
Grammar:
- OK: All/Most/Some/A few/One + 名詞
- OK: All/Most/Some/A few/One + of + my/your + 名詞
- OK: All/Most/Some/A few/One + of + us/them
- WRONG: All/Most/Some/A few/One + of + 名詞
Happy New Year! I didn`t blog during my New Year holiday, but this week I`ll blog about what I did.
On December 31st I went to Ise shrine in Mie Prefecture with my family & my wife`s sister`s family. After visiting the shrine, we walked around Oharai-machi. I don`t usually drink sake, but my wife`s sister & her husband made me drink sake with them at a sake counter bar, then we all watched a taiko drum performance, ate beef croquettes, & looked at some shops. Even though it`s winter, my kids wanted to eat ice cream. It`s holidays, so we let them. Strange kids.
Vocabulary:
- make + 誰か + 動詞 = 誰かに好きではない事をさせる(強制的な感じ)
- let + 誰か + 動詞 = 誰かに好きな事をさせる(させてあげる感じ)
How was your Christmas? Mine was great! On Christmas Day, some special guests visited Gifu Teragoya. No, not Santa Claus & reindeer (トナカイ). Do you know the Japanese idol girl group called SKE48? Three members - Ruka, Haruka, & Natsuki - came to our school for an English lesson. It was a lot of fun.
A camera crew recorded their visit. You can see it on Gifu TV on Jan 23.
Before leaving, they signed a card for us. We are happy to have their autographs!
Vocabulary:
- Be careful: In English, 'sign' is a verb (動詞), NOT a noun (名詞)
- サイン (名詞) = signature [ セレブや芸能人からもらうのは『autograph』]
This is the 2nd time I`ve restored & reused this Christmas wreath. I removed the old brown leaves from last year, & replaced them with new green ones, but I didn`t remove or repaint the pine cones (松ぼっくり). I also upgraded baby Jesus` cardboard (段ボール) manger (馬槽) to a wooden one I made using recycled wood. I include baby Jesus in my wreath to remind us that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus Christ`s birth. Finally, I returned the wreath to its place above our front door.
Vocabulary:
- The prefix (接頭辞) 're-' can mean two things: 1) back, or 2) again. e.g.:
- 1) re-use = use again, recycle
- 1) remind = make us remember (i.e. put in our mind again)
- 2) remove = move/take back
- 2) return = turn/go/put back
I made a display case for my collection of old fishing floats. I found these floats on the beach over the last few years. They are all different except for three. Can you find the three which are the same?
There are two spaces left (残り) in the case. In 2019, I hope to fill them!
Vocabulary:
- float (動詞) = 浮く, 浮かぶ
- float (名詞) = ウキの種類
- soda/ice-cream float = soda with ice-cream floating on top
I found this cool stamp sheet on sale at the post office. This story is pretty famous. In Japanese, it`s called "はらぺこあおむし.” In English it`s "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." I have both English & Japanese versions at home.
In this story, a caterpillar eats a lot of food, becomes fat, makes a coccoon, & finally becomes a beautiful butterfly. But you shouldn`t follow the caterpillar`s example. If you do, you`ll become fat but you won`t become a butterfly. You`ll increase your chances of getting health problems, for example heart disease, osteoarthritis, & type-2 diabetes. Finally, you`ll die early.
Vocabulary:
- example = 例え, 実例
- for example = 例えば
This week I got Christmas presents for my three kids from my brother in Australia. Check out all those fancy stamps! My kids (& their father) were impressed. My daughter is four years old & loves princesses, so she especially liked the stamps which featured Queen Elizabeth.
I haven`t finished my Christmas shopping yet. I got presents for my kids, but I haven`t got anything for my wife yet. Hmmm. What should I get her...? I should get her something nice, right? It`s difficult...
Grammar:
- "get + 何か + from + 誰か" = 誰かから何かをもらう
- "get + 何か + for + 誰か" = 誰かに何かを買う
- "get + 誰か + 何か" = 誰かに何かかを買う
I`m not usually a fan of romance movies, but I like this movie, set in Venice & starring Katherine Hepburn (not Audrey). One reason is that everyone is dressed so stylishly (stylish = お洒落). The men wear nice suits & the women wear chic, elegant dresses. Of course, the scenery & buildings are also beautiful. Another reason is the bitter-sweet (楽しくも複雑な?) ending, which features a steam train. I like steam trains.
If you get a chance, please watch it.
Vocabulary:
- dress (動詞) = put on clothes
- dress up (動詞) = wear special, nice clothes
- dress (名詞) = ドレス ( ワンピース は英語ではない)
- chic = シック, 粋 (だから栄名古屋で「ラシック LA CHIC」と言うのファッション店があります）
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