Blog
Word of the Week: Aunt
An ant is an insect that lives in a hill of dirt and sometimes bites. An aunt is your parent’s sister. Sometimes children call older women who are their friends or their parents’ friends “aunt”. But it is not as common as the use of “aunt” in Japanese to mean any...
Picture of the Week: Water Lily
Water lilies are flowers that bloom on the surface of the water. They also have big flat leaves called lily pads. スイレンは水の上で咲く花です。大きくて平たい葉は「lily pad」と呼ばれます。
Phrase of the Week: That really hits the spot
“That pizza was delicious!” “Yeah, I’ve been craving pizza all week. That really hits the spot!” When a food is very satisfying, we say it “hits the spot”. 「ピザ美味しかった！」 「うん、今週ずっとピザが食べたかった。満足した！」 食べ物がとても満足させるときに、それを「hits the spot」と言います。...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
The client’s request was very exactly, so we must be careful to meet their specifications. Find the mistake. A. client’s request B. very exactly C. be careful to D. their specifications ヒントは、形容詞である単語が副詞になってしまっています。...
Trivia of the Week: Tapioca
Have you tried “bubble tea”? The bubbles are not really bubbles, but round balls of tapioca. Tapioca comes from the cassava root, which is originally from Brazil. In the U.S. tapioca is usually made into a milky pudding, but recently bubble tea has become popular....
Idiom of the Week: Break the Ice
Host: “Thanks for coming! Let me introduce you. This is Ida. Ida, this is Jeff. I’ll go get the drinks.” Ida: “…” Jeff: “…” Ida: “Well, someone has to break the ice. So, how about that weather?” Breaking the ice means starting a conversation. If no one breaks the ice,...
Word of the Week: Married
July is a popular month for weddings. What happens at a wedding? Someone gets married! Afterward, they are married. If you want to date an adult, first you must find out if he or she is married or single. 7月は結婚式に人気の月です。結婚式では何が起こりますか？誰かが結婚するのです（gets...
Phrase of the Week: He stood me up.
Paul: “How was your date with George?” Cynthia: “I can’t believe it. He stood me up! I waited for hours.” Paul: “That’s terrible!” If you make a promise to meet someone somewhere and then never show up at the meeting spot, you have stood the person up. This is a mean...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
I want you to _______ the two departments and get this done efficiently. Fill in the blank. A. cooperate B. check C. compound D. coordinate AとBは、「with」が入っていたらOKです。「Cooperate with～」は「～と協力する」で「check with～」は「～にきいて確かめる」です。「With」なしで使えるのはDの「coordinate」です。 Do more TOEIC...
Trivia of the Week: Sunburns and Suntans
Why do people like to lie in the sun at the beach? Some people do it to get a tan. They like the brown color that the sun gives to their skin. But what happens if you get too much sun? Then your skin turns red and painful. Then you are not tanned, but sunburned!...
