*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 wife and I had a good row last week (as we sometimes do) and that got me thinking about this week’s question! I love my wife with all my heart but even though that is true, she and I sometimes drive each other crazy! I think that having an honest discussion is always helpful but sometimes, we let our anger take over and that is never a good idea. The American humorist, Robert Quillen famously once said that “discussion is an exchange of knowledge; argument is an exchange of ignorance” and as much as I agree with that idea, I do occasionally act ignorantly...
So, this week’s question focuses on your closest relationship in your life, whether that is a spouse, significant other, a best friend, a brother or sister or a parent. What are some positive and negatives within the relationship. For example, what do they do that makes you happy and what, if anything, do they do that drives you crazy?
I look forward to speaking to you this week and hearing what drives you crazy.
Be well,
Keith//
row
けんか
that got me thinking
そのことで考えさせられた
with all my heart
心の底から
drive someone crazy
誰かをいらいらさせる
honest discussion
本音の話し合い
we let our anger take over
怒りの感情を優先させる
humorist
ユーモア作家
exchange of knowledge
互いの知識をやりとりする
argument
そうぞうしい口論
exchange of ignorance
互いの無知さをやりとりする
act ignorantly
無知な態度を取る
significant other
大切な相手（恋人など）
2010/04/19
2010/04/12
今現在の住まいの近隣について、何が好き、嫌い？
Hello everyone—sorry for the delay!
This week’s question focuses on what you like and dislike about your neighborhood.
I have a friend who is unhappy that her company recently decided to relocate her. She said she likes her apartment and her neighborhood and she is really happy where she currently lives and she would rather not start over again in a new city. She said she likes the people, the parks, the restaurants, the stores, the nightlife, and the safety of her current neighborhood but she will try to get used to her new neighborhood as soon as she can. She said she is looking forward to the challenge but she will be sad to leave.
So, that brings us to this week’s questions:
What are some favorable or some unfavorable things about your neighborhood? And, is there anyplace else you would like to live?
I will look forward to hearing your thoughts when we speak this week.
Be well,
Keith//
This week’s vocabularies:
focus(es)
焦点をあてる
recently
最近
relocate
転勤
rather not
むしろ〜でない
start over again
最初からやり直し
nightlife
夜に楽しむこと
safety
安全
current
現在の
get used to
慣れる
favorable
好ましい
unfavorable
好ましくない
anyplace else
他のどこか
This week’s question focuses on what you like and dislike about your neighborhood.
I have a friend who is unhappy that her company recently decided to relocate her. She said she likes her apartment and her neighborhood and she is really happy where she currently lives and she would rather not start over again in a new city. She said she likes the people, the parks, the restaurants, the stores, the nightlife, and the safety of her current neighborhood but she will try to get used to her new neighborhood as soon as she can. She said she is looking forward to the challenge but she will be sad to leave.
So, that brings us to this week’s questions:
What are some favorable or some unfavorable things about your neighborhood? And, is there anyplace else you would like to live?
I will look forward to hearing your thoughts when we speak this week.
Be well,
Keith//
This week’s vocabularies:
focus(es)
焦点をあてる
recently
最近
relocate
転勤
rather not
むしろ〜でない
start over again
最初からやり直し
nightlife
夜に楽しむこと
safety
安全
current
現在の
get used to
慣れる
favorable
好ましい
unfavorable
好ましくない
anyplace else
他のどこか
2010/04/05
「描写する」ことをもっと練習してみましょう。
*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。
For this week’s question, I want to focus on describing something familiar to you. In English, Japanese or any language, the ability to describe something is very important. Last week, I asked students to recommend a good place in Japan to visit and I got a lot of wonderful answers, for example, Sapporo snow festival, Tokyo Tower, Himeji Castle, Kyoto, Yakushima, etc., but when I asked the questions, “why should I go there?” or “what can I see there?”, it was very difficult for students to explain why I should go or to describe where it is, why it is famous, what I could do there, etc.
So this week, let’s try talking about something familiar to you and see how much you can describe it. Most people have a favorite place they like to eat or get a cup of coffee or piece of cake so this week, let’s describe your favorite restaurant, cafe, pub, etc. And when you describe that place, remember to include things like:
Where is it?
Why do you like it?
What does it look like?
What is the capacity?
How expensive is it?
What kind of food does it serve?
What is your favorite dish or what are your favorite dishes?
What are the ingredients?
Is it popular?
Is it famous?
Is it new?
What is their specialty?
What is the staff like?
My answer:
My favorite restaurant is a small authentic mexican restaurant in my hometown called, La Cucaracha. It is kind of small and the staff isn’t ALWAYS friendly, but that doesn’t matter because their food is REALLY good. I love Mexican food and I like simple meals and that is one of the reasons I like La Cucaracha. They have great home-made tortilla chips and salsas, margaritas, a large variety of beer and tequila and their main dishes are full of flavor and usually too big to finish. I think their prices are cheap, in fact, when Hiroe and I visit, we usually have an appetizer, a few beers or margaritas and dinner for about $50 (¥4,500).
My favorite meal at La Cucaracha is called, “Los Cabos Tacos” which are fish tacos served with black beans, rice, red cabbage and a chile yogurt sauce. Wow, I am hungry!
I will look forward to hearing about your favorite restaurant, cafe, pub, etc., when we speak this week.
Be well,
Keith//
This week's vocabularies:
describe
詳しく説明する／描写する
familiar
親しみのある
recommend
推薦する
pub
パブ
capacity
容量／大きさ
serve
提供する
ingredients
材料
popular
人気がある
famous
有名な
specialty
そこでしか提供されない特別なもの
authentic
本物／本場の
hometown
故郷
simple meals
飾り気のないシンプルな食事
home-made
手作り
tortilla
トルティーヤ
margarita
マルガリータ
tequila
テキーラ
full of flavor
豊富な風味
appetizer
前菜
cheap
安い
For this week’s question, I want to focus on describing something familiar to you. In English, Japanese or any language, the ability to describe something is very important. Last week, I asked students to recommend a good place in Japan to visit and I got a lot of wonderful answers, for example, Sapporo snow festival, Tokyo Tower, Himeji Castle, Kyoto, Yakushima, etc., but when I asked the questions, “why should I go there?” or “what can I see there?”, it was very difficult for students to explain why I should go or to describe where it is, why it is famous, what I could do there, etc.
So this week, let’s try talking about something familiar to you and see how much you can describe it. Most people have a favorite place they like to eat or get a cup of coffee or piece of cake so this week, let’s describe your favorite restaurant, cafe, pub, etc. And when you describe that place, remember to include things like:
Where is it?
Why do you like it?
What does it look like?
What is the capacity?
How expensive is it?
What kind of food does it serve?
What is your favorite dish or what are your favorite dishes?
What are the ingredients?
Is it popular?
Is it famous?
Is it new?
What is their specialty?
What is the staff like?
My answer:
My favorite restaurant is a small authentic mexican restaurant in my hometown called, La Cucaracha. It is kind of small and the staff isn’t ALWAYS friendly, but that doesn’t matter because their food is REALLY good. I love Mexican food and I like simple meals and that is one of the reasons I like La Cucaracha. They have great home-made tortilla chips and salsas, margaritas, a large variety of beer and tequila and their main dishes are full of flavor and usually too big to finish. I think their prices are cheap, in fact, when Hiroe and I visit, we usually have an appetizer, a few beers or margaritas and dinner for about $50 (¥4,500).
My favorite meal at La Cucaracha is called, “Los Cabos Tacos” which are fish tacos served with black beans, rice, red cabbage and a chile yogurt sauce. Wow, I am hungry!
I will look forward to hearing about your favorite restaurant, cafe, pub, etc., when we speak this week.
Be well,
Keith//
This week's vocabularies:
describe
詳しく説明する／描写する
familiar
親しみのある
recommend
推薦する
pub
パブ
capacity
容量／大きさ
serve
提供する
ingredients
材料
popular
人気がある
famous
有名な
specialty
そこでしか提供されない特別なもの
authentic
本物／本場の
hometown
故郷
simple meals
飾り気のないシンプルな食事
home-made
手作り
tortilla
トルティーヤ
margarita
マルガリータ
tequila
テキーラ
full of flavor
豊富な風味
appetizer
前菜
cheap
安い
2010/03/21
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）
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）
2010/03/15
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
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
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