執筆者 Modern English | 2015年02月05日 | Trivia
In English, a person’s given name comes before their family name. But when writing a list of names, for example the list of students in a class, we often put the family name first, followed by a comma and the given name. We use the family name to put people in...
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年02月04日 | Idioms
“My aunts showed us a slideshow of their vacation. It was like Chinese water torture.” We describe something long and painfully boring by comparing it to “Chinese water torture”. Chinese water torture is a method of torture in which the victim is immobilized and water...
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年02月03日 | Words
“We’re going to be walking a lot. Wear sensible shoes.” “No, you can’t learn to juggle while skydiving. Be sensible.” Something or someone that is “sensible” is practical and realistic. It’s basically a good thing, but maybe a bit boring and not very exciting....
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年02月02日 | Pictures
Do you know this flower? It’s called “calla”. In addition to the unusual shape of the flower, it has heart-shaped leaves....
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年01月31日 | Phrases
“I know you like motorcycles, but your hobby is getting out of hand. I can barely fit the car in the garage with all these motorcycle parts.” If something is “well in hand” it’s under control. If it’s out of hand, it is out of...
