TOEIC Practice Question of the Week

“When you move to a new house, you realize how much unnecessary clutter you ______ over the years. Fill in the blank. A. require B. accumulate C.acclimate D. respite 「引っ越しをするとき、これまでどれだけ不要なガラクタを集めていたのだろうと思い知らされる。」...

Trivia of the Week: Typhoon vs. Hurricane

Both typhoons and hurricanes are large, dangerous, spiral-shaped storms. Typhoons are common in Japan, while hurricanes often strike America. So what’s the difference? Actually, the only difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is where it was formed. Hurricanes...

Idiom of the Week: State of the Art

“My new phone is state of the art!” “Whatever. It’ll be outdated next week.” If something is “state of the art”, it has the latest technology and features. It reflects the current “state” of its field (e.g. the “art” of making cell phones). 「私の新しい携帯は最新型だ!」...

Word of the Week: Eureka!

“Eureka” is an exclamation that comes from Greek, meaning “I have found it!” You can say this when you find an answer or idea that you have been thinking about very hard. The story behind the word is that the Greek scholar Archimedes yelled, “Eureka!” when he realized...

Picture of the Week: Chestnuts

Chestnuts are actually associated with Christmastime in America. Perhaps you already know the French word for “chestnut”. It’s marron. It sounds like it could be English, and is more well-known in Japan, so some people mistake it for the English name....