Today is Australia Day, so in Australia it`s a public holiday. It`s summer there, so a lot of people will have barbecues or go to the beach (or both!).
In Japan it`s winter, so it`s too cold for the beach or a barbecue, and anyway, I have to work today. However, looking on the bright side (物事の明るい面を見る), tomorrow I won`t have sunburn (日焼け), a hangover (二日酔い), or an angry boss.
This is a photo of a gift my brother gave me. Can you guess what it is? The answer is in comments.
Natural English:
- Japanese usually say " 海に行く" (go to the sea) but in English we usually say "go to the beach" (海岸に行く)
The big day has arrived! From today you can see the first video in a new Youtube series by me & Tera-chan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbI1HAuxA1U
Our last series was phrases for business situations. The current series is phrases that are useful for traveling or living abroad.
We will upload a new video each Tuesday at 1:15pm. Please watch both the previous & present series - I hope they help you with your English study!
Vocabulary:
- "前の___" = "previous/last/former/old ____" (NOT "before ___")
- "今の___" = "present/current/new ____" (NOT "now ___")
Have you seen the new Star Wars movie? A couple of weeks ago I saw it with my two sons & a couple of friends. I enjoyed it, though my youngest son got restless (もぞもぞ) after a while (the movie is over 2 hours).
When I was a kid, my father took me & my younger brother to see `Star Wars - Return of the Jedi`, so I was happy for the chance to take my own sons to see a Star Wars movie too.
Vocabulary:
- "a couple" = one boy & one girl, BUT "a couple of ___s" = about two or maybe three ___s. It`s not exact.
What are your hobbies? One of my hobbies is collecting stamps, so when my brother was in Thailand recently, he used big, colorful stamps on these packages that he sent to my kids. So nice!
My brother collects stamps too.
So does my dad.
I guess I have a kind of geeky ( オタッキー ) family.
Natural English:
- People often have more than one hobby, so: "What are your hobbies?" is better than "What is your hobby?"
My kids wanted to make a cardboard (段ボール) house, so I asked my wife to get some cardboard boxes from the supermarket. However, we didn`t make a house. I decided to make a cardboard caboose (車掌車), like the one in my kids` book. I used a goods trolley (台車) as the base, so this caboose can move. I pushed it along the street outside my house, with my kids riding inside it. My kids were excited. My wife was embarrassed. I was satisfied. It was a fun holiday project.
Vocabulary:
- Be careful: 段ボール is a Japanese word, not English. (It sounds kind of like English, but it`s not!).
Merry Christmas, everybody! It`s a busy time in Japan - people are busy attending end-of-year parties (忘年会), buying presents, preparing new year`s cards (年賀状), or busy working, like me! But I hope you`re not too busy to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, & think about his message.
I`ve been too busy to do my blog recently, but I will try to post more often in future.
This is a painting of Jesus` birth by Gauguin - `Nativity` (1896). In this painting, Jesus, Mary, the midwife (?) & the angel are Tahitian. Interesting!
Grammar:
- "busy + __ing" = ___ing a lot, ___ing hard
- "too busy to ___" = can`t ___ because too busy
I heard today that Japanese footballer Homare Sawa has finally retired. She had a fantastic career (実績, not Korea 朝鮮!). I think she`s my favourite Japanese sportsperson.
Pronunciation:
- Be careful: hear = ヒーア but heard = ハード (not ヒーアド)
On Sunday my family visited the Ninja Museum [ http://iganinja.jp/en/ ] in Iga City in Mie Prefecture. We looked at a ninja house with* secret doors etc. then we watched a show with* performers in ninja costumes. There was also an outside area with* targets where you can practice throwing `shiraken` throwing stars.
I think my two young sons would enjoy being ninjas, because at home they like to fight, throw things, jump on & off furniture (家具), & hide when it`s bathtime. Unfortunately they`re not silent (= quiet) like ninjas.
Anyway, my wife laughed when she noticed this ninja mannequin with* blue eyes. How odd!
Vocabulary:
- * In these sentences, `with` means `...that has/have...", so `a room with a view` = a room that has a view
![The Scary But Convenient Tunnel]()
After a cup of coffee for breakfast, I continued north along the east shore of Lake Biwa. Soon I came to a big, busy tunnel. There was a lot of traffic (交通量). I couldn`t see a footpath (歩道). It looked a bit scary for cycling. Fortunately I had my smart phone. I pressed a button & instantly I could check a map & find another road & tunnel. Isn`t technology great?
Anyway, I took this photo of the tunnel that I used. It also looks a little scary, right? But there was no traffic when I went through it, so I was happy. I worry about cycling through tunnels. I also worry about getting a flat tyre when I go cycling, so I always take a pump. Fortunately I didn`t need it this trip.
I wonder how old this tunnel is? It looks scary, but it was convenient.
Pronunciation:
- For some reason, In Japanese, the `U` in these words - cup, tunnel, button, pump - is pronounced `‘オ` but In English, it`s `ア`. So be careful:
- cup = " カップ", (NOT コップ) (Actually, `コップ` = `glass` in English)
- tunnel = "タネル", (NOT トンネル)
- button = "バトン", (NOT ボタン)
- pump = "パンプ", (NOT ポンプ)
Q: What did you get up to last week, Teragoya Otto?
T: I cycled from Ichinomiya to Tsuruga last Thursday.
Q: Oh - that`s a long way! Did you get up early?
T: Yes, I got up at 2am & left my house at 2:30. I got to Lake Biwa at about 8:30.
Q: What did you get up to there?
T: Nothing much. I just got coffee, relaxed a little, took this photo, then continued riding.
Q: Sounds tough.
T: Yes, pretty tough, especially as I`m not in good shape. I`ve got to improve my fitness.
Vocabulary:
- `get up to` = do
- `get up` = 起きる
- `get to` = reach, arrive, 着く
- `have got to` = must, ないと行けない
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