執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月09日 | Trivia
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...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月08日 | Idioms
“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 It’ll be outdated next week.”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！」...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月07日 | Words
“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...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月06日 | Pictures
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....
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月04日 | Phrases
“I dare you to touch this worm!” “Ewww! No way!” To “dare” someone is to challenge them to do something. Children often dare each other to do things that are scary or unpleasant. Many children have gotten in trouble for doing something they were dared to! “Billy dared...
