Last Saturday`s business class was about market research. By chance, one of our students was asked by his friend to do some market research for a new type of tape dispenser, so we used them in our role-plays. It was an nice win-win.
By the way, the special feature of the tape-dispenser is a small, moving blade which cuts the tape. Can you see it? Clever. And kind of fun.
Vocabulary:
- 'research' can be a noun (名詞) or verb (動詞), but noun is more common.
I like old Mini Coopers, especially ones with roof racks. I`d like to buy one someday, but actually I have long legs, so I think it would be uncomfortable for me to drive. Anyway, I saw this one outside Shin-Kisogawa Station. The colour of the roof is interesting - dark blue.
- this/my/the red one (単数)
- these/my/the red ones = (複数)
On the weekend, Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese golf player to win the U.S. Masters golf tournament. Congratulations!
Have you ever played golf? I guess a lot of Japanese will be inspired to play golf after hearing this news.
Vocabulary:
- 'golf' is a noun (名詞), but recently some people started using it as a verb (動詞) e.g. 'go golfing' & 'we golfed yesterday'. Personally, I think it sounds strange. Also, 'golfer' sounds like 'gopher' (ホリネズミ).
The Bohme English Academy recently held* a speech contest for junior high school students in Gifu Prefecture. From 25 video entries, we chose six winners. An article about it appeared in The Gifu Shinbun. In the photo, Teragoya Otto is in the front, holding** a pen & paper. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Vocabulary:
- * hold, held = 催す
- ** hold, held = 持つ
A student told me her favourite movie was 1959`s 'The Apartment'. I said I didn`t know it, so next class, she lent me her DVD copy. I expected a light-hearted romantic comedy, but the story was sometimes a little dark. However, it was interesting to see scenes & fashions of New York at that time, & I was surprised that I recognized a few of the actors from TV shows I watched as a young child.
Grammar:
OK: 誰か told 誰か 『＿＿』e.g. She told me it was good.
OK: 誰か said『＿＿』e.g. I said it was good.
WRONG: 誰か said 誰か 『＿＿』e.g. He said me it was good.
OK (but not common) : 誰か said to 誰か『＿＿』 I said to him it was good.
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 just* saw this car, in the carpark just** behind my school. According to the internet, just*** 1,400 were manufactured, so it`s pretty rare. I wish it was mine. It`s just**** the kind of car I like.
Vocabulary:
* (見た) ばかり
** すぐ(後ろ)
*** (1400台) だけ
**** ちょうど
On Sunday I took* my kids into Nagoya to see the Nitten art exhibition. We took** the train & subway. Altogether it took*** about 40 minutes. First we had lunch, then we looked at the exhibition at The Aichi Prefectural Museum. After that we took a walk**** around the top of Oasis 21 shopping mall, I took***** a few photos, then we went home.
Vocabulary:
Take/took/taken have various meanings:
* 連れて行った
** 乗った
*** 掛かった
**** 散歩した
*****撮った
However, 'take lunch' is unusual. 'Have/eat lunch' is usual.
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)
Merry Christmas! I didn`t get any presents from Santa, but I got a nice surprise on my way to work today - this is an 80s Toyota Landcruiser. What kind of car have you got? I`ve got a Honda Stepwagon. I wish I had this Landcruiser instead.
Thank you for supporting my blog in 2020. I hope you have a great day, and a fantastic 2021!
Vocabulary
- get = 貰う, 受ける (got: 過去形)
- have got = 有る, 持つ
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