Blog
Phrase of the Week: Tuckered Out
Dad: “Look, Jimmy fell asleep while playing with blocks.” Mom: “Aww, he’s all tuckered out.” “Tuckered out” means “tired” or “exhausted”. It is sort of a cute word, so it is often used to talk about children or animals. パパ：「見て、ジミーが積み木で遊んでる途中で寝ちゃった。」 ママ：「あら、つかれちゃったね。」...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
The shoppers were ______ to the bright colors and cheerful music. Fill in the blank. A. drawn B. attract C. lead D. repelled 買い物している人々は鮮やかな色と楽しい音楽によって引き寄せられました。Ｄだったら、色と音楽が客を遠ざけてしまうので違います。Ａ～Ｃは全部意味的にはふさわしいですが、受け身の形が正しいのはＡだけです。 Do more TOEIC practice here!...
Trivia of the Week: Take Your Dog to Work Day
June 24 is Take Your Dog to Work Day in the U.S. and U.K. It was started in the 1990s to convince more people to adopt homeless dogs. But having dogs at work can also help relieve stress and make the workplace more fun....
Idiom of the Week: Jam-Packed or Nuts
“Let’s go to the movie on Monday. The theater will be jam-packed on the weekend.” “Jam-packed” means very full or crowded. “To jam” means to force something into something else, so it makes sense to think that something would be jam-packed after someone jammed a lot...
Word of the Week: Accordion
An accordion is a musical instrument. It has keys to change the note, and a long folded section that can be expanded and compressed. This makes the air flow, which produces sound....
Picture of the Week: Sewing Machine
A sewing machine is a machine that sews. It has a "foot" that holds the cloth while the needle makes a stitch. But a human must guide the cloth so that it sews in the right direction and at the right speed. Have you ever used a sewing machine?...
Phrase of the Week: Free Rein
Jenkins: “What system should we use for—” Boss: “Whatever you want, Jenkins. I’m giving you free rein on this project.” Reins are the long strips of leather or rope that we use to control a horse while riding. In this conversation, Jenkins is the horse, and his boss...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
The meeting started late, but that gave me time to retrieve the papers I had forgetting in my office. Where is the mistake? A. started late B. gave me time C. retrieve D. forgetting...
Trivia of the Week: Rocky Road
Rocky road is an ice cream flavor in the U.S. It is chocolate ice cream with nuts and marshmallows. The nuts and marshmallows must be the rocks on the chocolate road. You might also see vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips, nuts, and marshmallows. There is also a...
Idiom of the Week: Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill
“Look at this giant hole in my car! It will cost thousands to fix!” “It’s just a tiny scratch. You’re really making a mountain out of a molehill.” A molehill is a tiny pile of dirt that gets pushed up when a mole digs a hole. A mountain is many thousands of times as...
