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TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“It is ______ to assume that we will sell more during the sale.” Fill in the blank. A. illogical B. logical C. irrational D. illusion 「セール期間中、売り上げが上がると想定するのが当然だ」 AとCは一緒で非論理的という意味です。Dは幻影という意味で形容詞でもありません。「論理にかなった」や「当然な」という意味のBが正解です。 Do more TOEIC practice here!...
Trivia of the Week: Augustus
The month of August is named after the Roman emperor Augustus. Its name was changed in the year 8 BC from “Sextilis”, a name it received because it was originally the sixth in a ten-month calendar....
Idiom of the Week: A Madhouse
“Look at this place! Children making mud pies in the kitchen, dogs running through the hall, loud music playing in the living room and the adults are starting a fire in the yard. It’s a madhouse!” A madhouse is actually an insane asylum, but we sometimes use it to...
Word of the Week: Overcome
“He overcame his fear of heights to become a professional pilot.” “Overcome” means to get over a difficulty or problem, or defeat an enemy. It ends with “come” and is conjugated in the same way. The past is “overcame”, not “overcomed”. 「彼は高所恐怖症を乗り越えてプロのパイロットになりました」...
Picture of the Week: Backstroke
This swimmer is doing the backstroke. It is a style of swimming where you swim while floating on your back. Can you do the backstroke?...
Phrase of the Week: Short For
“Hi, I’m Sam.” “Isn’t that a boy’s name?” “It’s short for Samantha.” When a word or phrase is too long, we can abbreviate it or make it shorter. Then we say the shortened version is “short for” the longer version. Do you know what “DNA” is short for? What is short for...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“The customers won’t mind filling out this burdensome form to place an order.” Find the mistake. A. won’t mind B. filling out C. burdensome D. to place 「お客様はこの面倒なフォームに記入する事を気にしないでしょう」...
Trivia of the Week: Qwerty Keyboard
Look at the keyboard on your computer. The letters across the top left say Q-W-E-R-T-Y. That’s why we call this keyboard layout “Qwerty”. This layout dates back to the days of manual typewriters. Some people say the keys are actually positioned to slow down your...
Idiom of the Week: Hot Water
“Here come the police!” “Oh no! We’re in hot water now!” “I’ll be in hot water with my boss if I don’t finish this report today.” “Hot water” means “trouble”. If you are in boiling hot water, you are in trouble, aren’t you? Imagine you have been captured by cannibals,...
Word of the Week: Shiny
“The first place winner will receive a shiny gold medal.” Something that is “shiny” reflects light. Something made of smooth, polished metal is usually shiny. It’s similar to the word “shine”, but something that shines often emits its own light instead of reflecting...
