Blog
Picture of the Week: Avalanche
An avalanche is when a lot of snow slides down the mountainside. In movies, this usually happens when the characters make a noise that disturbs the snow, but in reality this is not common....
Phrase of the Week: In Spite Of
“In spite of the difficult conditions, she carried on and made it to the top of the mountain.” “In spite of” is followed by a noun phrase to show that something made it difficult or unlikely for the rest of the sentence to happen. “In spite of the bad weather, the...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“Please ___ the shirts before you put them in the drawer.” Fill in the blank. A. bend B. fold C. twist D. crumple 「引出しに入れる前にシャツをたたんでください。」 Dは「ぐちゃぐちゃにする」、Cは「ねじる」、Aは「折る、曲げる」なので違います。Bの fold は「折りたたむ」という意味ですので適切ですね。 Do more TOEIC practice here!...
Trivia of the Week: Walk the Dog
“It’s raining, but I still have to walk the dog.” When you take a walk with a friend or family member, you can say it in many ways: I’m going on a walk with my friend. I’m taking Grandma for a walk. Dad and I are taking a walk. You can take a walk with your dog, too,...
Idiom of the Week: Party Animal
“I can’t believe John was dancing on the table last night.” “Yeah, he’s a real party animal.” A party animal is someone who goes wild and has fun at parties. 「昨日の夜、ジョンがテーブルの上で踊っていたのがまだ信じられないよ。」 「ほんと、彼はパーティーが大好きだよね。」 Party animal...
Word of the Week: Describe
“Can you describe the man you saw?” “Yes. He was tall, with black hair, and he was wearing a red jacket.” To describe something is to give more details about it so that the listener can picture it more accurately. It doesn’t have to be its visual appearance, though....
Phrase of the Week: I Guess
“Hmm, no answer. I guess he’s not home.” “Did he get my email?” “I guess so. He didn’t say anything.” When you guess the answer to a question, you choose an answer even though you don’t know the correct answer. We also use “I guess” when we aren’t confident that...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“I’m sorry to imprint on your hospitality.” Find the mistake. A. I’m sorry B. imprint C. on your D. hospitality Hospitality は「おもてなし」という意味です。お客様を手厚くもてなす事ですね。他人の家にお邪魔してお世話になるとき、「あなたのhospitalityを上手く利用するようで悪い」という様なお詫びの言葉を口にします。ですから、ここでは「押しかける」や「強いる」というような意味の単語が必要になります。...
Trivia of the Week: New Year’s Kiss
It’s an old tradition to kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve. It can be traced back to ancient Rome. Later, in England and Germany, people kissed the first person they met in the new year. Now, people kiss their loved ones at midnight to celebrate the new year....
Idiom of the Week: Family Man
“Are you coming to the barbecue this weekend?” “No, I can’t. I’ve got to go to my kid’s baseball game.” “Oh, I didn’t know you were a family man!” A family man is basically a man who has a family, i.e. one or more children. But to be a real family man you must be a...
