Blog
Idiom of the Week: Soldier On
"I know you're sick of studying, but just soldier on through one more week of classes, and then you'll have a vacation." Sometimes you have to keep going through difficult conditions or keep working at an unpleasant task. At a time like that, you must soldier on until...
Word of the Week: Sparkle
"We want to make a good impression, so polish the floor until it sparkles!" Something that sparkles gives off flashes of light. Of course, a clean floor is just reflecting light from another source. But small lights like stars can also sparkle....
Picture of the Week: Graduation
At a traditional graduation ceremony, the students wear special robes and special hats called "mortarboards". Then at the end of the ceremony, they all throw their hats into the air. This is a common image of graduation in popular culture....
Phrase of the Week: I Stubbed My Toe
"Ouch! I stubbed my toe on the table leg." It's easy to catch your toe on the leg of a table or chair. Sometimes it's very painful. We call this "stubbing your toe". 「痛！テーブルの脚で足の指を打ちつけてしまった。」 テーブルや椅子の脚に足の指をぶつけやすいですよね。ときにはすごく痛いです。これは「stub (your/my/her/his)...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
"When my roommate came home very late, I mistaked him for a robber and almost called the police." Find the mistake: A. my roommate B. came home very late C. mistaked him for D. almost called 「ルームメートが遅く帰ってきたとき、泥棒と間違えて警察を呼ぶところでした。」 間違いはどこでしょうか？ この文では過去形に注目して下さい。 take...
Trivia of the Week: Funny Bone
The funny bone isn't so much an actual bone as a way of hitting your elbow that feels strange. If you hit your elbow against a hard surface at the correct angle, it doesn't exactly hurt, but it also isn't pleasant. In English we say you "hit your funny bone". Funny...
Idiom of the Week: Strong Suit
"Argh! What's that awful yowling?" "Sorry. I guess singing isn't my strong suit." Your "strong suit" is your special talent, or something you're good at. It comes from playing cards, which have four suits. In some card games, you might have many or good cards in one...
Word of the Week: Stem
The long tall part at the center of a tree is a "trunk" but on a flower it is thinner, more flexible, and usually green. The "stick" part of a flower is a "stem". 木の中心にある高くて長い部分は trunk（幹）ですが、花の場合はもっと細くて曲がりやすく、通常緑色です。花の「棒」みたいな部分を...
Picture of the Week: Raindrops
Has it been rainy this month in your area? Rain can be annoying, but also beautiful. Rainwater falls from the sky drop by drop. These drops are called "raindrops". The droplets can look very pretty on an object such as a leaf or flower. These ones are on the stem of a...
Phrase of the Week: My Mind Went Blank
"I studied a lot, but when the teacher asked me a question in front of everyone, my mind went blank and I couldn't answer." Sometimes in a stressful situation, you can't think of what to do or say, even though you would normally know. In Japanese, you say your head...
