CO2の排出量を減らすために、あなたがしていることは？

*太字の単語やフレーズは、今週のボキャブラリーです。この記事の最後に詳しい説明を載せています。

Last week’s answers surprised me a little bit. EVERY PERSON I spoke to said they felt UNVAVORABLE about North Korea. There were other countries they felt unfavorable about too, for example, China, Myanmar, Iraq and America, but the most unfavorable country was North Korea. Everyone said they feared North Korea and their nuclear ambitions (核兵器への野心). I wish there would have been more time to discuss that question but maybe another time. Or you could always leave your thoughts in the comments section below. I will respond and would love to continue the conversation.

Ok, on to this week’s topic. This week, I read a United Nations webpage called, “12 little things” that focuses on fighting climate change. Basically, it says how each of us, in our own little way, can reduce climate change in our own lives and houses. In other words, we can reduce our carbon footprint. You can read the “12 little things” below. After reading, think about the following questions:

Q. How many of the “12 little things” do you do in your daily life?

and...

Q. What, if anything, do you do to decrease your carbon footprint?

Here are the “12 little things” you can do according to the UN:

TURN IT OFF
Turn off your lights, televisions, DVD players, stereos and computers when you are not using them because they can use between 10% to 40% of the power even when they are on standby. Also, unplug battery chargers (i.e., portable telephone chargers) as soon as they have finished charging.

BE EXACT
When making tea or coffee, fill your kettle with only as much water as you need.

CLOSE IT ASAP
Don't leave fridge doors open for longer than necessary.

CHECK YOUR CAR TIRES
Inflate your tires to the correct pressure to improve your car’s fuel efficiency.

DON’T USE PLASTIC
Use cloth or reusable bags when shopping and avoid buying products that use unnecessary wrapping.

USE A FAN
Instead of using air conditioners in the summer, wear cool clothes, and use a fan.

DRIVE LESS
Do your weekly errands in a single trip and pay your bills online. Walk, bike, ride the bus or carpool as much as you can.

SLOW DOWN
If you drive slower than 90 kph, you will consume up to 25% less fuel.

DRIVE A HYBRID CAR
A hybrid or other fuel-efficient car emits less carbon dioxide.

REPLACE
Replace your regular light bulbs with a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). CFLs cost more but use about one third less power.

WATCH WHAT YOU EAT
Choose as much local food as you can—food which was grown or made near you.

RECYCLE
Consume less, and re-use old products.

There isn’t a Japanese website for “12 simple things” but if you wish to view the site in English, click this here.

Have a good week and I will look forward to hearing from you.

Keith//

This week’s vocabularies:

United Nations
国連

focus
集中する

fighting
食い止める

reduce
…（の程度数量など）を減らす

carbon footprint　
人間の活動が地球温暖化に及ぼす影響を、CO2の排出量に数字で換算した数値

standby
スタンバイ.

unplug
（プラグを抜いて）電源を切る

fridge
冷蔵庫(refrigerator).

necessary
必要な

inflate
（空気ガスで）膨張させる, 拡張する

correct
正しい

pressure (tire pressure)
気圧

fuel efficiency
燃費効率がよい, 低燃費の

unnecessary
不必要な,

instead
それよりむしろ, その代わりに,

errand
雑用

carpool
（通勤買い物で）自動車の相乗り

consume
消費する

hybrid car
ハイブリッドカー

replace
替える

compact
コンパクトな

fluorescent light bulb
螢光灯

あなたが好意的に思う、又は思わない国は？

*太字の単語やフレーズは、今週のボキャブラリーです。この記事の最後に詳しい説明を載せています。

After speaking with students last week, I realized that talking about family is difficult for many people. Using adjectives to describe someone’s body or personality was very DIFFICULT for many of you!

We will talk about family again at a later date but for this week, let’s turn our attention to another question: What is your opinion of other countries or other places around the world?

I read a new story this week about how Americans feel about other countries or places around the world and I wondered if people in Japan had similar or different feelings. The basic question was:

Do you feel favorable or unfavorable about XXX (XXX=place name)?
（どこかの国）について、あなたは好意的に思っていますか？それとも、好意的に思っていませんか？
For example:
Do you feel favorable or unfavorable about Japan?

The results for 20 countries or places are below. The dark green represents “favorable” feelings and the light green represent “unfavorable” feelings.

アメリカ人が好意的に思う国のランキング 濃緑色：「好意的である」％, 薄緑色：「好意的でない」％



As you can see, Americans have the highest “favorable” feelings for Canada and the highest “unfavorable” feelings about Iran. Japan is ranked #4 with a 77% favorability rating. This basically means that about 77% of people in America have positive feelings about Japan and about 23% of Americans have negative feelings about Japan.

Now the question is, how do you feel about these countries?
さて、それでは質問ですが、これらの国についてあなたはどのように思っていますか？

Some other questions to think about are:
その他、考えてほしい質問は：

Have you ever visited these places?
これらの中で、訪れたことのある国はありますか？

Have you ever met someone from these places?
これらの国出身の人と会ったことはありますか？

What are some of the stereotypes about these places in Japan?
日本では、これらの国について、どのような固定観念を持っていますか？

What language do they speak in these places?
これらの国では、どのような言語が話されていますか？

What are these places famous for?
これらの国で、有名なものは何ですか？

Of course, there are many other questions too so let’s be prepared to discuss these questions and more when we speak to each other next.

I will look forward to hearing your opinions and questions when we speak this week.

Be well,

Keith//

This week’s vocabulary:

adjective:
形容詞の；形容詞的な, 形容詞の役目をする(adjectival)

describe:
(動詞•他動詞)［III名　詞（副　詞）/wh-節/wh- to do］（人に）…を（文字言葉で）述べる, 記述する, 表現する｟to ...｠
describe an event｜事件を描写する
describe ... to a person ［＝describe to a person ...］｜人に…を説明する

personality:
(名詞)（複-ties)（他人の目に映じる）性格, 性質, 人格, 人柄, 人となり（⇒CHARACTER[類語]）；人間的魅力

at an early ［a later］ date:
近いうちに［あとで, また日を改めて］

turn one's attention to ... :
…に注意を向ける

opinion:
(名詞) 1 意見, 見解, 考え；｟主に～s｠所信, 自説, 持論
(類語opinionある問題について考えた末の個人的な見解；誤りや異議の余地がある. view個人の立場視点偏見などを反映する意見；複数形の場合もある：in my view私の考えでは)

wonder:
［III wh- ［if］節/wh- to do］〈…を〉不思議に思う, 〈…〉かしら；〈…かどうか〉と思う. ▼ふつう自問で用いるか, 相手に間接的に尋ねることになる
I wonder who that woman is.｜あの女の人はだれかしら
I am wondering how to solve the problem.｜どうやってその問題を解くのだろう

similar:
(形容詞)
1 （…と）似ている, 類似した；（…と）同種の, 同類の｟to ...｠. ⇒LIKE1[類語]

feel favorable:
( 形容詞) 利益［便宜］を与える, （人事にとって）有利な｟to ...｠；（ある目的に）都合のよい, 適した｟for ...｠；〈状況見通しなどが〉幸先（さいさき）のよい, 有望な；〈気候が〉良好な

feel unfavorable:
好意的だと思わない

result：
(名詞) 結果, 結末, 成り行き. ⇒EFFECT[類語]
the final result｜最終結果

rank:
［III名　詞•副　詞］〈人物を〉（特定の階級地位身分などに）位置づける, 分類する, 段階をつける｟among, with ...｠；［V名　詞as名　詞］…を（…の）部類に入れる
She is ranked 6th in the world.｜彼女は世界第6位である.

positive:
ポジティブな

negative:
ネガティブな

stereotype/stériətàip/
(名詞) 固定観念, ステレオタイプ, 決まり文句, 定型［紋切型の］表現
an ethnic stereotype｜民族的な固定観念
hold stereotypes about women｜女性に関して固定観念をもつ.

あなたの兄弟／姉妹について教えて下さい。

*太字の単語やフレーズは、今週のボキャブラリーです。この記事の最後に詳しい説明を載せています。


It was interesting to hear about different people’s “phobias” last week. It seems that MOST EVERYONE has a cockroach phobia! I thought I was the only one, but there were many people who said they shared my intense fear. There were also many other phobias, worries and fears that people shared with me. I wish we all didn’t have so much to fear but c'est la vie.

This week, let’s turn our attention to talking about your family, specifically your siblings. What kinds of things do you have in common with your siblings or how are you different? Or, if you don’t have any brothers or sisters, what is it like to not have any—would you like to have a brother or sister or are you happy without?Let’s also talk about what it was like to grow up in your family. I know there is a lot to talk about so let’s keep it simple. Let’s practice speaking about the basics!

For me, I will give you a little bit of information about my brothers and sisters and then, if you want, you can ask me any questions you might have when we speak this week. This is great English practice so think of some questions to ask me!

About me and my family—in brief:

I am the youngest of 8 children. I have four sisters and three brothers and they all live in my home state of Minnesota (America). We are in some ways COMPLETELY different but on the other hand, in some ways, we are EXTREMELY similar. Everyone in my family is married, which means I have four brothers-in-law, three sisters-in-law and so many nieces and nephews that I sometimes lose count. Because there were always so many people around my house, I never really remember having any space or time for myself. I sometimes remember thinking that I would like to have my own space but honestly, couldn’t imagine what life would have been like without my brothers or sisters. I have a feeling it would have been very lonely but I don’t know. There is SO much more to share, but I will stop here and let you ask any questions you might have when we speak next.

I will look forward to hearing about your family situation when we speak this week.

Be well and healthy,

Keith//

This week’s vocabulary:

intense
極度の, 猛烈な, 強烈な, 激しい
intense pain｜激痛

c'est la vie
それが人生.

turn one's attention to ...
…に注意を向ける

sibling
｟形式的｠（男女の別なく）きょうだい.

in common
共同（使用）の；共通の［に］
have much ［nothing］ in common｜共通点が多い［ない］.

in brief
手短に, 要約して；要するに.

extremely
極端［極度］に；非常に, 大いに(exceedingly)；｟略式｠とても(very, very much).

similar
（…と）似ている, 類似した；（…と）同種の, 同類の｟to ...｠. ⇒LIKE1[類語]
two similar paintings｜類似した2枚の絵

brother-in-law
義理の兄弟.

sister-in-law
義理の姉［妹］.

niece
姪（めい）（⇔nephew）
Mary, niece to Mr. James｜ジェームズ氏の姪に当たるメアリー.

nephew
甥（おい）（⇔niece）
John, nephew to Mr. James｜ジェームズ氏の甥に当たるジョン.

lose count (of ...)
（…が）数えきれなくなる, （数えているうちに）数がわからなくなる

lonely
〈人が〉ひとり（ぼっち）の；寂しい, 心細い
feel lonely｜心細く思う.

あなたは何恐怖症？

*太字の単語やフレーズは、今週のボキャブラリーです。この記事の最後に詳しい説明を載せています。

In last week, I wrote about “life’s little pleasures” or the little things in life that make you smile. This week, I am going to ask you something very different and that is: What phobias, if any, do you have? Phobias are things that give you GREAT FEAR. I ask this question since last weekend, I read a news story about some uncommon phobias that people have been diagnosed with. Some are things I had heard of but many others phobias were very surprising to me. For example if someone has “lutraphobia”, they have a fear of other people. While some people suffer from “alektorophobia”, which is a fear of chickens. And there are even some people who suffer from “pentheraphobia”, which is a fear of mother-in-laws.

The story estimates that perhaps more than 10 million people in England suffer from at least one kind of phobia. Here are just a FEW of phobias that people have been diagnosed with.

Agyrophobia - streets or crossing the street

Anuptaphobia - staying single

Blennophobia - slime

Bogyphobia - the bogeyman (monsters)

Caligynephobia - beautiful women

Cometophobia - comets

Decidophobia - making decisions

Ephebiphobia - teenagers

Epistemophobia - knowledge

Euphobia - hearing good news

Hellenologophobia - difficult scientific words

Hypegiaphobia - responsibility

Linonophobia - string

Melanophobia - the color black

Nephophobia - clouds

Octophobia - the figure 8

Ouranophobia - heaven

Philosophobia - philosophy

Phronemophobia - thinking

Pupaphobia - puppets

Sciaphobia - shadows

Scriptophobia - writing in public

Symbolophobia - symbology

Tremophobia - trembling or shaking

Zoophobia - animals


I have a type of “entomophobia” which is a fear of insects. But my fear is not of ALL insects, just one. I have a serious fear of COCKROACHES. I never saw my first cockroach until I was 27. I was living in Tokyo and one day, I went to the kitchen to get a fork and when I opened the kitchen drawer, there was a VERY large and ugly cockroach looking back at me. I remember being SO afraid I didn’t know what to do. I actually went outside to think. I ultimately went back inside wearing a pair of gloves and a can of bug spray. After spraying EVERYTHING in my kitchen, I threw away all of my food in my cupboard and CLEANED EVERYTHING with hot soapy water and bleach. I didn’t sleep very well for a long time after that...I don’t know exactly why I am so afraid of cockroaches, but without a doubt, I AM!

How about you? Do you have any great fears and if so, how do you deal with them?

I will look forward to speaking to you about them when we speak this week.

Be well and healthy,

Keith//

This week’s vocabulary:

phobia: 名詞病的恐怖［嫌悪］；Ｕ恐怖症

diagnose: 動詞•他動詞〈病気を〉（…であると）診断する｟as ...｠；〈人を〉（…と）診断する｟as, with ...｠

mother-in-law: 義母, しゅうとめ.

estimate: 動詞 他動詞 ［III名　詞］…を見積もる；［III名　詞•副　詞/that節/wh-節/V名　詞to be名　詞］…を（…であると）見積もる｟at ...｠；〈…であると〉概算する. ▼thatは省略可

suffer: 動詞•自動詞［I（副　詞）］（…に）苦しむ, 悩む｟from, for, under ...｠

slime: 名詞•Ｕ　1 ねば土, 軟泥；ヘドロ.

bogymen: 名詞（複-men）ブーギーマン（怪奇な人）：悪い子供をさらっていく小鬼.

comets: 名詞〘天文・星〙彗星（すいせい）, ほうき星.

scientific words: 形容詞 （▼比較変化なし）｟限定｠科学（上）の；自然科学（上）の；理科の

responsibility: 名詞（複 -ties）（…に対する）責任, 責務, 義務｟for, to, of ..., of doing｠

puppet: 名詞 操り人形.

symbology: 名詞•Ｕ 1 象徴［表象］学；記号論. 2 象徴［記号, 符号］の使用.

without a doubt: ｟形式的｠疑いもなく, 確かに.