一番好きな季節は？

*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。

Happy first day of spring—日本の祝祭日.

Growing up in the northern part of America's midwest, I am used to much different weather than what I find in southeast Mie Prefecture. The seasons in my home state of Minnesota are very distinct and each one is particularly beautiful. Summer days are long, hot and humid. Autumn is cool and the trees are filled with fall colors—reds, yellows, oranges all mixed with the dark green of the evergreen trees. Winter is unbelievably cold and on most days, everything seems gray and lifeless. But as depressing and cold as every winter usually is, everything comes alive again in Spring. Now in Minnesota, the snow is melting and the frozen lakes and rivers are becoming liquid again. The plants and flowers and wildlife are awakening and the temperatures have become bearable again. And with the start of professional baseball in the next few weeks, spring is officially here and the winter blues are over! I also love spring in Japan and if you ask me this week, I will tell you why...

The question this week is: What is your favorite season and why?

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

Be well,

Keith//

This week’s vocabularies:

grow up
成長する（大人になる）
use to (used to)
慣れる
season
季節
distinct
はっきりと違う
particularly
特別に
humid
湿気のある
evergreen tree
常緑樹
gray and lifeless
暗く、活気がない
depressing
気がめいる
come alive
生き生きとする.
melt
溶ける
liquid
溶けた状態（液体）
wildlife
野生生物
awaken
目覚める
bearable
がまんできる
officially
本格的に
winter blues
ウィンターブルー／冬季うつ病（冬であることが気を滅入らせる）

長寿の秘訣は？

After I talked to students last week about their birthdays, I was a little surprised to hear that almost everyone said they didn’t enjoy their birthdays and of course, they were not very happy about getting older. However, we can't stop our birthdays from coming, so what is the best way to deal with getting older?

So this week’s question is:
What are some things you can do to live a longer, healthier and happier life?

I have read many news stories and websites that focus on ways to help people live longer. Of course many health experts disagree on what is the best solution for everyone, so I have listed some of the most common advice from different doctors, hospitals, dietitians and research centers.

When we speak this week, let’s discuss if you agree with some of the things on the list and some of the other ways you can think of to live happier and healthier lives. Here is the list:

Reduce the amount of food you eat everyday.

Change your diet. For example:

The Mediterranean diet.
A diet that with a lot of oils, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and fish. Also, eat a moderate amount of dairy products and a low amount of meat.

Switch to a Paleolithic diet:
A diet like that is like what cavemen ate, for example, non-fatty meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and nuts. And try to avoid cereals, dairy products, salt or processed foods.

A vegetarian diet
There are three kinds of vegetarian diets, semi-vegetarians (plants, dairy products, eggs and fish), lacto-ovo vegetarians (plant food, dairy products and eggs) and vegans (plant food only).

Get enough sleep!
Many experts agree that at least 8 hours of sleep every night is best.

Be more positive because a positive attitude reduces your stress levels.

Don’t smoke

Wear sunblock

Socialize.
Make new friends or get together with your friends as much as you can

Drink red wine and or eat red grapes

Go to church
Over 1,000 research studies say that people usually go to church, synagogue or mosque live about 7 years longer than people who don’t.

Eat what many health experts call, SUPER FOODS:
Almonds
Apples
Blueberries
Broccoli
Red beans
Salmon
Spinach
Sweet potatoes
Vegetable juice
Wheat germ

Meditate and or do Yoga

Exercise regularly

What else can you add to the list? I will look forward to talking about long life when we speak this week.

Be well and happy.

Keith//

This week’s vocabularies:

deal with
（その事実）とどうつき合うか

health experts
健康に関する専門家（エキスパート）

disagree
反対意見を持つ

advice
アドバイス

dietitians
栄養士

research center
研究所

reduce
減らす

diet
食事

moderate

極点でなく、緩やかな

dairy products
乳製品

paleolithic
旧石器

caveman
（石器時代の）穴居人

processed foods
加工食品

experts
（ある分野の） 専門家

positive attitude
ポジティブな考え方

stress levels
ストレス度

sunblock
日焼け止め(sunscreen).

church
教会

synagogue
ユダヤ教の礼拝堂.

mosque
モスク, イスラム教寺院.

wheat germ
麦芽

meditate
瞑想する

regularly
定期的に, 規則正しく

誕生日にまつわる質問

*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。

My birthday was a few weeks ago and around that time, someone asked me how it felt to become 41 years old. I said it didn’t feel any different than when I became 40 years old. And for that matter, it didn’t feel any different than when I was 39 or 38 or 37 years old.

I DON'T care about my age, I ONLY care whether I am happy or not. I am indifferent about birthday cakes, birthday cards, birthday presents and the “birthday song” (Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...). I don’t have a negative feeling about these things and I know they are important to many people, they just aren’t very important to me. How about you?

So this week’s questions are:
Is your birthday a happy or unhappy occasion?
What do you usually do on your birthday?
What do you like about your birthday?
What do you dislike about your birthday?
When you were younger, what did you do for your birthday?
In Japan, what do people usually do for their birthdays?
What is a typical gift for kids on their birthdays?
What was the best birthday gift you ever got?

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

Keith//

This week’s vocabularies:

around that time...
その辺の時期に

for that matter
その件については、

indifferent
無関心な、どっちでも構わない

occasion
時、機会

typical
典型的な、代表的な

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.