Blog
Idiom of the Week: Play Your Cards Right
“I’m in the same group as Linda for the history project! If I play my cards right, I can ask her to the school dance.” In a card game, you are much more likely to win if you play your cards cleverly, to give yourself as much advantage as possible. We use cards as a...
Word of the Week: Dye
“Come on, kids! Let’s dye some Easter eggs!” We usually dye something by putting it in colored water, so that it takes on the color. We dye eggs at Easter, but dyeing makes them only one color, so we have to paint on more elaborate decorations with a brush. In...
Picture of the Week: Easter Candy
Kids eat a lot of candy on Easter Sunday. This year Easter is April 20. In the photo, you can see jelly beans on the right, and chocolate eggs with candy shells on the left. What kind of candy do you like?...
Phrase of the Week: For Your Information
Bob: “Hey Susie! Shouldn’t you be studying for finals?” Susie: “For your information, I finished my finals last week!” Tour guide: “Just FYI, there’s a steep cliff at the edge of the park, so watch your step.” We use “for your information” to tell someone we’re going...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“We must ______ the presenters’ scheduling conflicts before we can print the invitations.” Fill in the blank. A. recognize B. reduce C. realize D. reconcile 「招待状を印刷する前に司会者のスケジュールの矛盾を調整しないといけない」...
Trivia of the Week: Lip-syncing
“Wow! The concert was so amazing!” “Whatever. You know they’re just lip-syncing.” It’s hard to dance around on stage and sing at the same time, so many performers pretend to sing while playing a recording of themselves singing. They move their lips in sync to the...
Idiom of the Week: I want to have a word with you
Boss: “Step into my office, Jenkins. I want to have a word with you.” “Having a word” means having a short conversation, but it is usually an important conversation. In this example, the boss asks Jenkins to come into his office, so it is a private conversation that...
Word of the Week: Recognize
“I recognized the man because I’d seen him before.” “I thought I knew all of this author’s books, but I don’t recognize this one.” “Oh, it’s you! I didn’t recognize you with that wig on.” To recognize something is to know what it is because you have seen (or heard,...
Picture of the Week: Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon is a common falcon all over the world. It flies very fast when catching prey. It can reach a speed greater than 200 miles per hour....
Phrase of the Week: Take Advantage
“What a lovely day! We’d be foolish not to take advantage of this fine weather. Let’s go have a picnic.” We can take advantage of many things. Often we take advantage of a good situation or opportunity to do something. In battle, we can take advantage of our enemy’s...
