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Picture of the Day: Apricots
These are dried apricots. They are often treated with sulfur for a more orange color. Many come from California or Turkey. They are also delicious raw....
Phrase of the Week: Stay Up
"You look tired. Did you not sleep well?" "I slept okay, but I stayed up late last night doing homework." When you stop sleeping in the morning, you wake up. Then, when you're not asleep at night, you are staying up. Children usually have a fixed bedtime, but they...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"It takes time to ____ up a strong customer base." Fill in the blank. A. set B. build C. take D. put 出店やブースならば「set up」（設置する）や「put up」（建てる、飾る）を使います。寄付なら「take up」（募集する、あつめる）です。毎回買ってくれるお客さんは徐々に増えるものです。自分の意思で顧客を増やすことは出来ません。いい商品を売っているとそのうち勝手にお客さんは増えますね。答えはBです。 Do more...
Trivia of the Week: Recessive Genes
A certain plant can have purple or white flowers. Most of the plants have purple flowers, because the white flowers are a recessive trait. Each plant receives one copy of the gene that controls flower color from each of two parent plants. One version creates purple...
Idiom of the Week: It Came Off the Ark
"Wow, that typewriter is pretty old. Is it an antique?" "Yeah, I think it came off the ark." The ark is the boat that Noah made to survive a big flood in a story in the Bible. The flood was a long, long time ago, so if something was on the ark it must be very old!...
Word of the Week: Poisonous
"These mushrooms look very similar, but this one is poisonous and this one is okay to eat." Something that contains poison is "poisonous". For example, some mushrooms are poisonous, so it's dangerous to eat mushrooms you found growing wild unless you are an expert....
Picture of the Week: Cauliflower
Cauliflower looks kind of like white broccoli. The English name actually comes from "cabbage flower". It also comes in the colors orange, green and purple! カリフラワーは白いブロッコリーみたいな野菜です。名前の由来は cabbage...
Phrase of the Week: Watch Out!
"Watch out! That truck is out of control!" "When you're hiking, watch out for snakes." "Watch out" can means to be careful of some danger, to look around in case the danger is there. However, it can also be used as a quick warning of danger that we have noticed....
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"Mr. Johnson just had a bad haircut and he's very sensitive about it, so please don't say his hair." Find the mistake: A. just had B. very sensitive C. about it D. don't say 「ジョンソンさんは、カットで失敗して変な髪形にされたのですごく気にしています。髪形のことは口にしないでください。」 間違いはどこでしょうか？ Aの just had...
Trivia of the Week: Tabby Cat
If you read books or watch movies in English you might encounter the phrase "tabby cat". People who don't know much about cats sometimes mistakenly use it to mean any cat, but a tabby is a striped cat. You can see the letter M on these cats' foreheads....
4月18日まで スプリング キャンペーン！入会金無料！
3月1日～4月18日まで スプリング キャンペーン実施中！入会金が無料です！ 入会金、通常大人・高校生10,000円、中学生9,000円、キッズは8,000円ですが、4月18日まで無料です！ 今すぐ無料体験レッスンをご予約下さい。少人数制なので早めの体験レッスン、早めのご入会をおすすめします。 （注）提携校の小千谷校はご入会で2レッスンプレゼント。料金は税別価格です。...
Idiom of the Week: A Household Name
"Don't tell me you've never heard of him. He's a household name! He's on TV all the time." A "household name" is a person so famous that everyone knows who he or she is. Just like a common brand of soap or candy might be found in almost every household, this person's...
Word of the Week: Cooperate
"We can get this done quickly if we all cooperate!" "This assignment teaches the students the value of cooperation." "Cooperate" means "work together". Look at the parts of the word. "Co-" means "together" and "operate" can mean "work". "Cooperation" is the noun form...
Picture of the Week: Miniature Horse
A miniature horse is less than one meter tall at the withers (shoulders). This miniature horse has a gold-colored coat and white mane and tail. She is a palomino....
Phrase of the Week: I Could Use a Nap
"I made tea. Would you like some?" "Thanks. I could use something to drink." "I could really use a nap, but I have to finish my homework before dinner." We say we "could use" something that would be nice to have. It might be an unexpected favor, like the tea above, or...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"Unfortunately, I do not ____ your services any longer." Fill in the blank. A. requisite B. desire C. deride D. retain 「もうあなたの提供するサービスを必要としない」というフレーズはたまに聞きますが、Aの「必要な」は形容詞なので「do...
Trivia of the Week: Joe Bloggs
Joe Bloggs is a placeholder name commonly used in the U.K. and other countries. It’s different from John Doe in that John Doe is a real person with no name, while Joe Bloggs is a name with no corresponding real person. For example, you can use it as a fake account to...
Idiom of the Week: Sure-Fire
“This is a sure-fire plan. There’s no way it could fail!” We don’t really “fire” a plan, but we do fire guns. So imagine you are a soldier, and you have been marching through a swamp or hiding in a forest. Your gun is dirty and it got wet. Will it still fire? It will...
Word of the Week: Fib
“I fought a bear during summer break.” “No, you didn’t. You’re fibbing.” A fib is a lie. To fib is to tell a lie. A fib is usually a childish or unimportant kind of lie, rather than a serious lie with grave consequences. 「夏休みに熊と戦ったんだ。」 「やってないよ、うそだろ。」 Fib...
Picture of the Week: Bay
Horses have been important to humans for a long time, so there are many special words to describe them. This horse's coloring is called "bay". It means a reddish brown horse with black mane, tail, and legs. 馬はずっと人間にとって大事な動物なので、馬に関する特別な言葉がたくさんあります。この馬の色を bay と呼びます。bay...
