Ireland (audio review)

Hi, everyone, please check out my review of Ireland, an Oxford Bookworms Factfile!
Audio recording >>

Ireland (audio review)

Hi, everyone, please check out my review of the Oxford Bookworms Factfiles book, Ireland!

Ireland script

Hello. Today, I'm going to tell you a bit about Ireland, a book in the Oxford Bookworms Factfiles series.
The book consists of 10 chapters. I'm going to tell you about just one or two chapters that particularly interested me:
Chapter 5: Death from Hunger and Chapter 6: Fighting to be Free.

Chapter 5 begins at the end of the 18th century, and goes through the 19th century. It's about fights between the Irish and the English, the joining of Ireland and England into one country, and the potato blight that sent many Irish fleeing to the U.S.

Chapter 6 concerns the Irish fight for independence in the 20th century.

The other chapters are all interesting, and you can learn a lot about Ireland from this book. Check it out if you have time!

Exposed…and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for Exposed, a movie starring Keanu Reeves, Mira Sorvino, and Ana de Armas (a new actress from Cuba). It seems to be a very familiar story involving a murdered cop, a cover-up, and a partner who won't give up. Keanu Reeves is well-known for Speed, The Matrix, John Wick, Much Ado About Nothing, and many other movies. Mira Sorvino isn't seen so much these days, but she won an Oscar for her role in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite. Other movies of hers include Beautiful Girls, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, and Replacement Killers. Others that I haven't seen are Barcelona and Like Dandelion Dust, both rated very highly.

Ireland script

Hello. Today, I'd like to tell you about a book in the Oxford Bookworms Factfiles series, called Ireland. It's divided into 10 chapters, but I'd like to talk to you about two of them:
Chapter 5: Death from Hunger; and Chapter 6: Fighting to be Free.

Chapter 5 is about the end of the 18th century and the 19th century, when the Irish and English fought a lot. Most of the Irish were Catholics and poor, but the English were Protestant and rich. Many Irish farmers died from hunger and many others ran away to the United States.

Chapter 6 tells us about the Irish Republican Army and independence for Ireland.

The other chapters are all interesting, so please check out this book if you get the chance. Thank you.

Exposed…and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for Exposed, a move starring Keanu Reaves and Ana de Armas, and costarring Mira Sorvino. I'm not a great fan of Keanu Reeves, and I haven't seen Ana de Armas before, but I like Mira Sorvino. She was good in Mighty Aphrodite and Replacement Killers. The movie looks like many other cop movies, with the star's partner murdered and the star investigating his death, but his boss discouraging him from looking too deep. Will Keanu discover the dark secrets behind the death? And will he rescue Ana de Armas's character?

In the Premier League, Leicester are still top, followed by Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United. Liverpool lost to Newcastle, which gives Newcastle the chance to get out of the relegation zone next week. No-one thinks that Leicester will win the title, but no-one else is very convincing, either.

Notes on "Ireland" (Oxford Bookworms)

Contents

1. A strange and interesting country
2. Around the island
3. The Irish church and people
4. The English come to Ireland
5. Death from hunger
6. Fighting to be free
7. Northern Ireland
8. Dublin
9. Stories, music and dancing
10. A country for young people

Chapter 5: Death from hunger

1795–1798: Irish and English fight. French help Irish, but English win.

1801: "Act of Union": England and Ireland become one country. Protestants are happy; Catholics are not.

Most Catholics are small farmers and quite poor.

1840s: "Potato blight": the potatoes die, and thousands of farmers die. Many flee to America to make a living. Most of the Irish who arrived safely lived in New York and other big cities.

Chapter 6: Fighting to be free

1914: Ireland gets its own Parliament. Catholics happy, Protestants not.

1916: Patrick Pearse forms a group of Irishmen to demand independence from England.

1918: The political party Sinn Féin was formed to fight for independence. Its military wing was the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The IRA, with its leader Michael Collins, killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, and policemen and soldiers killed hundreds of IRA people.

1921: England agreed that Ireland could have its own government and president. But one part, Northern Ireland, remained part of the UK.

In 1968, the IRA started fighting for a better life for the Catholics in Northern Ireland, so I have many memories from my childhood of bombs in London and other cities in England. But during the Tony Blair administration, peace came.

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Spotlight, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for Spotlight, a movie starring Stanley Tucci, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and Michael Keaton, about a scandal in the Catholic Church in Boston. The movie focuses on the Spotlight team's investigation, starting from 2002, of the scandal. The Spotlight team is a real investigative team. The movie has a 97% positive rating.

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Spotlight, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer for Spotlight. It is based on a true story about the Catholic Church in Boston. The movie focuses on the work of a team of reporters at the Boston Globe, a well-respected newspaper in Boston, to uncover a conspiracy involving many priests in the church. It appears to be in the best tradition of movies based on true stories about newspaper reporting of real events, perhaps rather similar to All the President's Men. I recommend that you also see All the President's Men.

In the Premier League, both Arsenal and Manchester United are faltering, while Liverpool and Manchester City seem to be doing better. All the British teams in the Champions League are having problems. It looks like the Champions League is between Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

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Suffragette, and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for Suffragette, as well as a featurette about the film. There were interviews with Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, and Helena Bonham Carter, who play the main roles in the film. Meryl Streep plays Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the suffragette movement, Helena Bonham Carter plays an activist in the movement, and Carey Mulligan plays a laundry worker who is influenced by Helena Bonham Carter's character to start participating in the movement. The producer and director of the film are women and some of the people interviewed mentioned that the people making the movie felt like a sisterhood.

Some movies playing today are The Clouds of Sils Maria and A Most Violent Year. And The Assassin is playing until this Friday! It's a very unusual film, nominally a martial arts film but mainly about the feelings of the assassin and human relationships. The biggest martial arts scene is filmed from a distance.

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Suffragette, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer for Suffragette, a movie starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Meryl Streep, about the fight for women's equality in early-20th-century Britain. I haven't heard so many details about the movie but the argument about whether to argue peacefully for change or to fight for it seems to be at the centre of the movie. It looks like it's a powerful movie about an important event not too long ago, and I like all three actresses, so I hope it will come to Japan before too long. Ben Whishaw also features in the movie.

Talking of movies, the final Hunger Games movie is here! And American Dreamer has also started.

Barista, The Assassin, and other matters…

Today we saw two trailers, Barista and The Assassin. The Assassin is directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), the famous director from Taiwan, who was born in Guangdong. Some of his other films are A City of Sadness, The Puppetmaster, Daughter of the Nile, and Flowers of Shanghai. Some directors and critics consider him one of the greatest directors ever. Here is a picture of the poster from Flowers of Shanghai, which starred Tony Leung. He is well-known for the beauty of the images in his films.
One of his western films is Flight of the Red Balloon, made in France and starring Juliette Binoche.

Barista, The Assassin, and other matters…

Today we saw two trailers: Barista and The Assassin. Barista is a documentary about a barista competition. The contestants have to make three rounds of drinks (four cups of each one) for seven judges. As far as I remember, in addition to a head judge there are four sensory judges and two technical judges. The three drinks are espresso, cappuccino, and an original drink of the contestant's creation. For the cappuccino, it is said that the main challenge is getting the balance right, making sure that the coffee taste is at the front rather than being overwhelmed by the milk.
The Assassin has now started playing at Denkikan. It plays twice a day, at 11:10 and 16:10. It is a movie directed by the famous Taiwanese director, Hou Hsiao-Hsien. The critics I listen to most often said that it is very "cinematic" and also "painterly" at the same time, and judges at the Cannes Film Festival said it was one of the most beautiful movies they had ever seen.
Changing subjects, did you hear about Aston Villa's most recent match? Under their new manager, they drew with Manchester City, the league leaders!

BR 2-06: Wagon Wheels

Mrs. Sadler and Mrs. Hickman said, "That Ed Muldie must be off his head to leave you poor babies all alone."
I told them, "I am no baby. I am eleven. And Willie is eight. We can take care of ourselves. Little Brother is only three, but we can take care of him, too."

Wagon Wheels is based on the true story of the Muldie family who traveled from Kentucky to Kansas in a wagon. After they had arrived in Kansas, the father left the boys alone to find better land to stay. Then he sent them a letter and a map, telling them to walk to join him.


Brenner, B. (1978). Wagon wheels (I Can Read, Level 3). New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Vocabulary

prairie: 大草原

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A Most Violent Year, Clouds of Sils Maria, and other matters…

Today, we saw two movie trailers: A Most Violent Year and Clouds of Sils Maria. In Japanese, they are called American Dreamer and Actress. Actually, what we saw for A Most Violent Year was not a real trailer but a short clip, and we used it to practice pronunciation.

Have you been following Premier League news recently? Chelsea lost again on Saturday, and many reporters are speculating that the manager, Jose Mourinho, may not be there much longer. The Aston Villa manager has already lost his job. Manchester United and Manchester City played a goalless draw yesterday. Liverpool drew with Southampton. Manchester City, Manchester United, and Arsenal are probably the favorites to win the title now.

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A Most Violent Year, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for A Most Violent Year. It's a movie starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. The Japanese title is "American Dreamer". It's coming to Denkikan on November 14th. Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain are considered two of the top American actors these days, so I'm very interested in seeing this movie. It costs 5,500 yen for a card for five movies at Denkikan, so it's not too expensive. Denkikan has lots of good movies. Currently, Nightcrawler is playing, and next week Clouds of Sils Maria ("Actress" in Japanese) will start. The following week, they will start showing "American Dreamer" and A Little Chaos (ヴェルサイユの宮廷庭師).

At the major cinemas, Insurgent (ダイバージェントＮＥＯ) is now playing. I recommend it!

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My common errors

Prepositions

I went Tokyo  >>  I went to Tokyo

Articles

I ate apple  >>  愛得他菜pple.
I stayed at Japanese-style hotel >>  I stay打他 Japanese-style hotel.

Using Kanji by mistake

愛得他菜pple.  >>  I ate an apple.

Using because incorrectly

I want to go to Mongolia. Because it is a beautiful place.  >>
I want to go to Mongolia, because it is a beautiful place.

Using know incorrectly

I knew about Jake Gyllenhaal today.  >>
I learned/found out about Jake Gyllenhaal today.

Mistakes with -ing and -ed adjectives

I was boring  >>  I was/felt bored; It was boring
I was fun  >>  I had a good time; It was fun

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Janis: Little Girl Blue, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for Janis: Little Girl Blue, a biopic about Janis Joplin, the famous blues star who died tragically at the very young age of 27. We couldn't really understand a great deal about her from the trailer, which seems to be aimed more at people who already know a lot about Janis and are waiting for the movie with great anticipation.

Last week, I saw Attack of the Titans Part 2. To be frank, it was a little disappointing after Attack of the Titans Part 1, but it was still kind of fun. I saw it at Toho Cinemas, which wasn't a good idea because tickets there are more expensive than at other cinemas. But I had a honey latte at Tully's before the movie, and a sandwich afterwards, so I had a good time.

Do you know what other movies are playing or coming soon? I haven't checked the latest listings, but I believe that Night Crawler and Al Pacino's latest movie are both playing now. I would like to see them, especially Night Crawler, which I heard features a great performance from Jake Gyllenhall.
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BR 2-05: The Drinking Gourd

"But right now the law says Jeff and Vinnie are another man's property—property same as a horse or a cow, property worth $2,500."
"But Jeff and Vinnie are people," said Tommy.

In this story, a family help slaves to run away to the northern states or Canada.

Monjo, F. N. (1993). The drinking gourd. South Burlington, VT: HarperTrophy.

Vocabulary

gourd: 

slavery: 奴隷制

abolish: 廃止する

58 words

Bone Tomahawk and other matters

Today we saw the trailer for Bone Tomahawk, a movie starring Kurt Russell. It's a western, and the story revolves around some men who go to look for a woman who's been abducted. It looks super-violent, but I want to see it, because I like Kurt Russell very much, and he rarely appears in movies these days. The movie tagline is, "Death waits for no man." I can't find a Japanese translation of that phrase.

In the English Premier League, Chelsea appear to be recovering from their malaise. Liverpool played their first match under Jürgen Klopp, and the result was a scoreless draw. Sunderland played their first match under Sam Allardyce and the result was a loss. But Newcastle won their first match in a very long time, so everyone is happy up there.

I saw the second and final part of Attack of the Titans last week. It was a bit ridiculous but kind of fun to watch. I want to see Library Wars Part 2 soon.
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The Iron Giant: Signature Edition, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for The Iron Giant: Signature Edition. It's a partial remake of the original Iron Giant from 1999. I'm not sure exactly what has changed; I'm guessing it's just been reedited. But it was fun to see some key scenes from the movie.

Have you heard any news about the Euro 2016 qualifiers? Northern Ireland, Wales, and England have all qualified. I'm particularly impressed by Northern Ireland, because their population is less than 2 million but they came top of their group. Scotland lost a key match and are out. Ireland have to play a play-off match to qualify.

Have you seen any movies recently? I've heard from some students that they have seen the latest Library Wars movie and that it was very exciting. What else is playing?
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The Iron Giant: Signature Edition, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for The Iron Giant: Signature Edition. As the name suggests, this is a remake of the classic movie, The Iron Giant, which was made in 1999. As with the original, the director is Brad Bird, but the cast has changed a little. I read that the movie is based on a 1968 story. It won many awards. I'm not sure exactly how the signature edition is different apart from the voices.

Have you heard about the change at Liverpool FC? Jürgen Klopp has taken over as manager, and everyone in England is very excited about it, because he had great success at Dortmund in Germany. Let's hope he has some success in England.
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葉亞戸場 dog and other matters

Did you hear about Brendan Rodgers? He was the Liverpool manager, but he was fired yesterday. It is a pity because two years ago he almost won the Premier League with Liverpool but in the end Liverpool came second, and then after that their level dropped dramatically. Maybe the main reason was that Luis Suarez left for Barcelona.
We watched the trailer for Heart of a Dog today. It was "philosophically astute", according to a famous film critic. It looked rather interesting. ผมอยากดูหนัง
81 words

I'm hungry now!

ตอนนี้ผมหิวข้าว

Heart of a Dog, Good Kill, and other matters

Today we saw the trailer for Heart of a Dog, a film by Laurie Anderson. It was philosophically astute and beguiling! It was a very meditative experience. I wonder if it will come to Japan.
A few days ago, I saw Good Kill, a movie based on true events about drone warfare. It features a good performance from Ethan Hawke, whom you may remember from Boyhood or Before Midnight (or perhaps Predestination?). Other actors in the movie are Bruce Greenwood, Zoe Kravitz, and January Jones.
In football news, did you hear that the Liverpool manager has been fired?
96 words

My summer vacation and other matters

Let me tell you about a few interesting movies.

Wild is a movie starring Reese Witherspoon. It is based on the true story of a woman, Cheryl Strayed, who had many troubles in her life and decided to walk the Pacific Crest Trail to find peace with herself. The Pacific Crest Trail is more than 1000 miles long, and she took about three months to walk it. The walk includes a desert, mountains, and forests, and she came across rattlesnakes and other animals.

Attack on Titan is a Japanese action movie about people living in a city that has been walled off to protect the people against giants who eat them. I saw the first part, and I believe the second part is playing now.

Ant-Man is very funny and very exciting!
129 words

My summer vacation and other matters

The summer vacation began in the 2nd week of August and finished yesterday. It sounds like a long time, but there were many things to do. At my university, we had many meetings the first two weeks of the holiday, and we also had an English Camp for two weeks at the end of August and the beginning of September. There was also a conference at KGU and then I had another conference in Osaka. In the end, I only had two days of real holiday.

Anyway, I managed to see some movies and get a lot of work done, so I feel pretty good about the holiday overall. In particular, I enjoyed the conference in Osaka. It was held in the new Osaka-Ibaraki campus of Ritsumeikan University, which is very attractive and has good facilities. I also found time to see the first Attack on Titan movie in Osaka Station City. It was quite an interesting movie.
165 words

Welcome to the new semester!

Hi, everyone, and welcome to Writing IV! Writing IV will be similar in some ways to Writing III but different in another way. First, the similarities:

• We will continue to write on our blogs.
• In particular, we will continue doing Juppun ha Juubun.
• We will continue to do some reading and write book reviews.
• I'd like you to continue to write diary-type posts whenever possible.

It will be different in one major way:

• While continuing to emphasize writing fluently and in reasonably large quantity, we will focus more on accuracy. (That means that several people who got a high score in Writing III will get a much lower score in Writing IV, unless they make a great effort to improve their accuracy.) We will do this mainly through the use of writing models. You will use the models to find words, phrases, and sentences that you can use in your own short essays.

A general piece of advice:

• The 2nd semester has a few interruptions, especially the campus festival and the winter holiday. Every year, several students lose their way during those times, some getting a low passing score and some failing. Please be aware of those dangers. I suggest that you write a lot of diary posts and book reviews in September and October to cover any missed classes or assignments later in the semester!

218 words

Jack Strong, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Jack Strong, the story of a Polish spy and the CIA agent who worked with him. According to allcinema.net, it hasn't been shown in Japanese cinemas. In Poland, it was released in 2014, and it's coming to American cinemas soon, so maybe it will come to Japan one day.

Looking at the denkikan.com website, Selma (Glory, in Japanese) is coming on August 1st. That movie won some Academy awards, I believe. On August 8th, Turner, about the British painter, is coming. Those are movies that I would very much like to see. In addition, I believe that Mission: Impossible is coming soon, too, of course to the major cinemas. After that, I don't really know what's coming for a while, though in December, Spectre (the new 007 movie) and the new Star Wars movie are coming.
141 words

Jack Strong, and other matters

Today we saw the trailer for Jack Strong. It's about a spy in Poland, I think, and connected to the dissolution of the Soviet Empire. It stars Patrick Wilson as Jack Strong, a CIA agent working with a colonel in the Polish army. It looks pretty exciting and tense.

Talking of exciting, I saw The Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was entertaining, but a bit stupid sometimes, and nothing really remains in my memory from it. I wonder how long the series can continue. Two of the trailers shown were Spectre, the new James Bond movie, and also the trailer for the new Star Wars movie.

The transfer market in the Premier League is quite active. Manchester United have bought many players, including some midfielders, and Manchester City have bought Raheem Sterling from Liverpool. As they did last year, Liverpool have bought a lot of players who probably won't help them much.

End of semester

Just a few reminders about the end of the semester.

• Make sure you've written 25 book reviews, and make sure they all have the Book Reviews (or Books) tag.
• Tidy up your tags in general: make sure you don't have two similar tags for the same thing, and make sure that there aren't posts without an appropriate tag.
• Check the deadline (and any other important details) for the Midwestern US essay.

Rio (Scholastic Popcorn ELT Readers)

That night the door opens.
"Can I go home now?" I shout.
But someone puts me in a small cage with Jewel.
"Where are we going?" asks Jewel.
Suddenly a man and a white bird look into the cage.
"Look, Nigel," says the man. "Not one, but TWO blue Spix's Macaws!"

Blu and Jewel are trapped. How can they get out of their sticky predicament? Luckily, Blu has the skill of opening cages. But unfortunately he can't fly. Fortunately, Luiz the dog has strong teeth and can bite through chains. But Marcel and Nigel are persistent and keep coming after them.

Paulo Coelho's Best Story

Paulo Coelho's Best Story looks quite interesting. Hopefully, it will come to Denkikan sometime, though it isn't yet listed on allcinema.net. But, looking on allcinema.net, I found two movies called Veronika Decides to Die which are based on his book Veronika Decides to Die.

The first one is a 2005 Japanese movie starring Yoko Maki, and directed by Kei Horie. I remember seeing the poster for that movie but I don't know anything about it. The second one is an American movie directed by Emily Young and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. That movie was released in 2009 in the US but has never been released in Japan.

Rango (Scholastic Popcorn ELT Readers)

The Mojave Desert is in California, in the south west of the United States.… The Sierra Nevada mountains are on the west of the desert. The rain from the sea does not come to the desert because of the mountains. The desert has only a few centimeters of rain every year.…It is very hot in the Mojave Desert. In July and August, it is sometimes 50 degrees Celsius in the day and 38 degrees at night.

Rango the chameleon becomes sheriff of a town with no water. He begins to suspect the mayor (a tortoise) of being responsible for the lack of water. But the mayor is backed by Rattlesnake Jake, so how can Rango fight him? And his ally Beans is being pressured by the sheriff and Rattlesnake Jake to sell her land. As the people of Dirt become more and more desperate, can Roadkill the armadillo help Rango defeat his enemies?

Paulo Coelho's Best Story, and other matters…

Today we saw the trailer for Paulo Coelho's Best Story, a movie about the life of the famous author, who, according to Wikipedia, has 25 million followers on Facebook.

To tell you the truth, I've never read any of his books, though I have wanted to do so for some time. I know about the book The Alchemist, which I believe is his bestseller.

Today's books are from the Scholastic Popcorn ELT Readers series. They are all based on movies. Some of the ones I have brought today are from Mr Bean, Tintin, Kung Fu Panda, Shrek, Rio, Rango, and Ice Age. Actually, I haven't seen Rio or Rango.

She's Funny That Way, and Other Matters…

Today we watched the trailer for She's Funny Like That. It has an all-star cast of Imogen Potts, Owen Wilson, Rhys Ifans, and Jennifer Aniston. I couldn't really understand all the ins and outs, but it seems that Owen Wilson is having affairs with several women.

I haven't been keeping up with movie news recently, so I'm not sure what else is coming soon. But I really want to get to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron. I hope to go quite soon, while it's still playing in the subtitled version.

At Wimbledon, Andy Murray did pretty well, but he couldn't overcome Federer. And Federer, in turn, did pretty well in the final but couldn't overcome Djokovic, who won his third title. Serena Williams won for the 6th time.

He Named Me Malala, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for I Am Malala, a movie based on a true story about an Indian girl who won the Nobel Peace prize and campaigned for education for girls. She said that one girl, one teacher, one book can change the world.

The Wimbledon tennis tournament has finished. Djokovic won again, beating Federer in the final in four sets. I think last year's final was the same match-up. In the mixed doubles, Martina Hingis's pair won. It was great to see her still playing so long after she was the world number one in the singles.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron is playing now. Several students I know have already gone to see it. Even those who don't usually like action movies say it is really good. I hope to go and see it after next week's Open Campus and Summer College.

The end of the semester is fast approaching. Lots of things to do! I hope you're all coping with exam prep and so on. Good luck!

Think, Daniela!

Daniela goes to the door of the cabin. Then she sees a bear! She is very surprised. It is behind her friend, Faye. But Faye can't see it.
"Oh, no!" thinks Daniela. "A bear! it's going to hurt Faye!"
"I must do something," thinks Daniela. "What can I do? Think, Daniela!"

I chose this book because I saw a bear on the cover, but luckily I found it's a continuation of the book I read earlier, Boys vs. Girls. Unfortunately, Daniela has made a mistake: it's not a real bear. But she manages to frighten Faye and make her drop her camera. So she's in trouble with her friends.

This is not quite as exciting as Boys vs. Girls but very good nonetheless!

Waring, Rob, and Jamall, Maurice. (2006). Think Daniela! (Foundations Reading Library, Level 5). Boston, MA: Thomson ELT.

The Martian, the Women's World Cup, and other matters…

Today, we watched the trailer for The Martian, a movie starring Matt Damon. It also stars lots of famous actors such as Jessica Chastain. It's scheduled to come to Japan in February 2016, so let's try not to forget it before then. The Japanese title is オデッセイ.
The Avengers has just begun in Japan. I have heard lots of good things about it, so I hope to get the time to go and see it. The new Terminator movie is also coming soon. From what I've heard, it isn't very good, so maybe I won't go.
The Women's World Cup is all over now. It finished 5–2 to the USA. In yesterday's 3rd-place playoff, England beat Germany.

Boys vs. Girls

"Bees like honey," says Mike. "So let's put this honey near the girls' cabin, then the bees will come. The girls are frightened of bees."
"Of course, what a great idea!" says Ryan. They put the honey all over the cabin. "Put some on the door, too," he says.
"And here," says Eric. "The bees will go in the window."
"Quick! Let's go. Let's watch from our cabin," says Ryan.

Boys vs. Girls is a Level 5 book in Rob Waring and Maurice Jamall's Foundations Reading Library. Level 5 is described as Elementary level, with a vocabulary level of 250 headwords and a length of 1,120–1,710 words.

It describes a camping trip that John, Daniela, Faye, Gemma, Mike, and the other children take to Bear Mountain Camp. Mr. Woods is in charge of the trip. At the beginning, he tells them the rules, which are quite strict. But the children soon forget about the rules and start playing tricks on each other. The tricks escalate until the honey trick causes a problem they hadn't anticipated!

Vocabulary

cabin 山小屋

171 words

The Martian and other matters

We watched the trailer for The Martian today. It's a movie starring Matt Damon as an astronaut who is trapped on Mars but believed dead. "Help is only 140 million miles away" is the tagline. The trailer doesn't make it clear, but it appears that the crew of another spaceship engages in some dangerous mission to try to rescue him. Further, it seems that NASA doesn't approve of what they're doing, but they do it anyway. I would like to see it because of the cast, which includes Jessica Chastain.

The women's World Cup final is happening right now. The USA is winning 5–2! That must be a big surprise for everyone and a shock to Japan. In other football news, German striker Podolski has left Arsenal for Galatasaray in Turkey. I hope he has more success there; he hasn't been used much at Arsenal despite his great record with the national team.

Steve Jobs, the Women's World Cup, and other matters…

Today, we watched the teaser trailer for Steve Jobs, the new Aaron Sorkin movie starring Michael Fassbender, Seth Rogen, and Kate Winslet. The trailer shows almost nothing of the movie, just Steve Jobs (Fassbender) standing on stage, while some people are heard talking in unrelated scenes. I'm interested in it because I like the actors, and because Aaron Sorkin has a good reputation.

I think the reigning world champions are about to lose their crown! Let's enjoy the World Cup semi-final on July 1st/2nd!

We had a symposium at PUK on Saturday. I was the MC. I was very nervous even though I didn't have so much to do. The symposium was about literature and performance, and it featured teachers from PUK and from Sangmyung University in Korea.

The Flintstones, the Women's World Cup, and other matters…

The Women's World Cup is going well for both England and Japan. But, since they meet in the semi-finals, one of them will be knocked out soon. Let's all cheer on England!

Today we saw one of the earliest episodes of the Flintstones. It's a cartoon set in the Stone Age, but there are cars and other features of modern life. It's famous for the cry, "Yabadabadoo!"

Kung Fu Panda 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, and other matters…

Today we watched the movie trailers for Kung Fu Panda 2, and Kung Fu Panda 3. It was nice to be reminded of Kung Fu Panda 2, which was released in 2011. I'm very much looking forward to the release of Kung Fu Panda 3, which is slated for January next year. It isn't yet listed on allcinema.net.

As you know, Kung Fu Panda is voiced by Jack Black. Jack Black has appeared in movies such as Tropic Thunder and School of Rock. Angelina Jolie as Tiger is also very good. I do hope that the subtitled version of the movie comes in addition to the dubbed version.

Kung Fu Panda 2, Kung Fu Panda 3, and other matters

Today we watched two movie trailers: Kung Fu Panda 2 and Kung Fu Panda 3. (The Apple trailers site didn't have Kung Fu Panda 1.) Kung Fu Panda 3 has all the same characters as the first two movies, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It begins in the States in January, and I'm guessing it will begin in Japan at about the same time, though I'm worried it will come only in the dubbed version. I may have to wait for the DVD to see it in English.

I just took a look on Rotten Tomatoes for info on Kung Fu Panda. The first movie was made in 2008. Kung Fu Panda 2 was released in 2011. I thought maybe Kung Fu Panda 2 was the end of the series, but I'm very glad it's coming back.

Where will Raheem Sterling be playing next year? Many think it will be at Manchester City, who had their second bid rejected last week. There are lots of midfielders and goalkeepers rumored to be transferring this summer, so many teams will look very different next season.

Grammar Questions

1)  少数の人の手に富が集中することはアメリカにおける大きな問題となっている。

　　The ( a small / become / concentration / has / in / number / of / of / people / the hands / wealth ) a major issue in the U.S.

The concentration of wealth in the hands of a small number of people has become a major issue in the U.S.

2)  日本でこの数年の酪農家の数の急激な減少が最近のバターの不足の原因となっている。

　　A ( dairy / decline / farmers / has / in / in / in / Japan / led / of / rapid / recent / the number / to / years ) butter shortages.

A rapid decline in the number of dairy farmers in Japan in recent years has led to butter shortages.

阿部神田遍

合間年次煮阿

The Man from UNCLE and other matters

Today we saw the trailer for The Man from UNCLE. It looks quite exciting. It features the Russians and Americans working together to fight some evil or other. It seems to be emulating the old James Bond movies in a tongue-and-cheek way, rather like Kingsman.

I would have liked to see England's Euro qualifying match against Slovenia yesterday. Jack Wilshire scored a great goal, I hear. Rooney also scored a goal and is now close to the all-time goalscoring record for England. In other football news, it looks like Ireland will probably not qualify. But Scotland may do so!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2…and other matters

Today we watched the trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2, the final movie in the Hunger Games movie series. I was surprised to see that it doesn't begin until November in the US, although it has already started in Japan. (I think it's already finished in Thailand?) It looks pretty exciting, although I doubt that there will be any real surprises. I'm worried that I might not have time to go and see it, though I'd really like to see it on the big screen.

If you follow international football, you may know that England had a boring friendly match with Ireland, followed yesterday by an exciting qualifying match for Euro 2016. England won 3–2, and Wayne Rooney scored a goal to approach the all-time goalscoring record for England.

Some FUN!!! Grammar Questions

1)  少数の人の手に富が集中することはアメリカにおける大きな問題となっている。

　　The ( a small / become / concentration / has / in / number / of / of / people / the hands / wealth ) a major issue in the U.S.

2)  日本で酪農家の数の急激な減少が最近のバターの不足の原因となっている。

　　A ( dairy / decline / farmers / has / in / in / in / Japan / led / of / rapid / recent / the number / to / years ) butter shortages.

3)  1950年代以降のNASA（アメリカ航空宇宙局）の月ミッションは世界中の人々の想像力を捕えた。

　　NASA’s ( captured / from / imagination / lunar / missions / of / onwards / over / people / the / the 1950s / the world ).

4)  若者の数の急激な減少は労働者がもっと生産性を高めるようにすることが最も重要であることを意味する。

　　The ( decrease / essential / in / is / making / means / more / number / of / people / productive / rapid / that / the / workers / young ).

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Mission: Impossible…and other matters

This morning we saw the trailer for Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation. I guess that's the fifth (?) movie in the series. Originally, of course, Mission: Impossible was a TV series, starting in 1966. Then, in 1996, the first movie, starring Tom Cruise, was made. Since then, Tom Cruise has continued to play the starring role of Ethan Hunt, and every few years a new instalment is made. Here is a loist of the movies:

1. Mission: Impossible
2. Mission: Impossible 2
3. Mission: Impossible III
4. Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
5. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation

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Wild…the Champions League final…and other matters

As you may (or may not) know, the Champions League final was held on Saturday. It was between Barcelona (Spain) and Juventus (Italy). Everyone was a little surprised that Juventus had got to the final, because Italian football has had many problems the last few years, and it is many years since Juventus got to the final. Because Barcelona has a very strong front three, of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez, almost everyone thought that Barcelona would win, too. But some people pointed out the experience of players like Pirlo, Tevez, and Buffon, and Barcelona's weaknesses in defence.

In the end, Barcelona won 3–1. It was a wonderful season for them, because they also won La Liga and the Spanish Cup. It was not such a happy season for Real Madrid, because they came second in La Liga and were knocked out of the Champions League on the semi-finals. Their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, was fired.

We saw the trailer for Wild this morning. It's a movie starring Reese Witherspoon. I believe she was nominated for an Oscar for her role, and I think she also produced the movie.

The Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, known as the Appalachian Trail, is a hiking course in the USA. It stretches through many states: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. It is 3,500 kilometers long. Construction began in 1923 and it was completed in 1937. The hiking season is from March or April to late summer. There are many wild animals and plants to be seen on the trail.

Appalachian Trail notes

1. Full name: Appalachian National Scenic Trail
2. Length: 3,500 km
3. States: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine
4. Beginning and end: Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine
5. One of the Triple Crown hiking trails in the US. Others are the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail
6. Construction began in 1923.
7. Completed in 1937.
8. Can see many wild animals and plants
9. Hiking season: March/April to late summer

A Walk in the Woods and other matters

Bill Bryson is a well-known American writer. He has written many books that have been translated into many languages, including Japanese. One of his books is Notes from a Small Island. It is about England, where he lived for some time. In Japanese, it is called イギリス見て歩き. I think it's a good introduction to England for Japanese students. Another well-known book is A Walk in the Woods. This recounts the true story of Bill Bryson's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. He gave up after walking about a third of the way.

Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail, or, as it is also known, the Appalachian national Scenic Trail, is a hiking course that stretches from Mt. Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. On the way, it passes through many states: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Viginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Construction of the trail began in 1923, and it was completed in 1937.

Appalachian Trail notes

1. Full name: Appalachian National Scenic Trail
2. Length: 3,500 km
3. Place: from Mt. Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia
4. States: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Viginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine
5. Started in 1923
6. Completed in 1937.

A Walk in the Woods, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for A Walk in the Woods. You may have heard that name before. It's the title of a book by Bill Bryson, which recounts the tale of his experience hiking the Appalachian Trail in the United States. When he decided to walk it, his wife was opposed to the idea because he was already quite old and not very fit. But he was determined to go. So his wife insisted that he go with a friend. In the movie adaptation, Bill Bryson is played by Robert Redford (who is now nearly 80), and his friend is played by Nick Nolte. Unfortunately, the date of release in Japan has not yet been decided; I guess it may be next year.

There has been some big football-related news this past week. The happy news is that Arsenal won the FA Cup again, after winning it last year. The less happy news is that some FIFA officials were arrested for corruption by the FBI, but that Sepp Blatter was reelected to his post as FIFA president. Some officials are talking about boycotting the next World Cup, due to be held in Russia in 2018.

Introduction

New Hampshire is a very famous state overseas. It features in many movies and is named after a county on England. In this essay, I will tell you thee important things about New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Outline

1. Introduction: Located in New England area of northeastern region of US. Named after English county of Hampshire. Size: 5th smallest state in USA, 9th least populous state.
2. Geography: lakes, mountains, forests, leaves in autumn. White Mountains: includes Mount Washington. Lakes: most famous one is Lake Winnipesaukee.
3. Colleges and universities: (a) Dartmouth College: Ivy League research university; (b) Saint Anselm College: a Benedictine liberal arts college influential in national politics
4. New Hampshire in film and literature: Hotel New Hampshire, The World According to Garp, Jumanji, On Golden Pond.
5. Conclusion

Pan…Shaun the Sheep: The Movie…and other matters

Today we watched two movie trailers. The first one was for anyone who was hungry. It was called Pan but it had nothing to do with bread. The second was Shaun the Sheep: The Movie. Pan stars Hugh Jackman and Rooney Mara, and it looks like quite an exciting special-effects extravaganza. It's directed by Joe Wright, who I believe is Keira Knightley's husband and who has previously directed Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Anna Karenina, Hanna, and Locke. The first three of those star Keira Knightley. Shaun the Sheep looks really funny, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. The Japanese title is 映画ひつじのショーン ～バック・トゥ・ザ・ホーム～ and apparently it's due to come to Japan in June.

Vermont: Outline

1. Introduction: state in 乳 England; second-least populous state in the US (after Wyoming); sixth-smallest state in US. Famous overseas for dairy farming and maple syrup (second only to Canada) and beautiful scenery.
2. History: originally inhabited by two Native American tribes, the Iroquois and Abenaki. From 1609, it was a French colony. Then, in 1763 it was taken over by Britain. Became independent in 1777 in the American Revolutionary War.
3. Geography: mountains and National Parks, agriculture
4. Higher education: list the main colleges and their fields of study, with info about foreign students
5. Conclusion

Shaun the Sheep: The Movie…and other matters

Today we watched a trailer for Shaun the Sheep: The Movie. I haven't watched the TV programme so many times but it's always been fun. The movie looks hilarious! It's coming out in the US in August, which means it will probably come out in winter in Japan, maybe as a New Year movie?

Oh, actually, I've just checked on all cinema.net, and they say it's coming out in Japan in July! So I guess it will be a summer movie here. It's nice to watch a trailer and to find that the actual movie will come before we forget the trailer!

The Premier League finished yesterday. As expected, Hull were unable to beat Manchester United, so they are relegated. Newcastle played surprisingly well and finished the season with a win, as did Arsenal and Manchester City. The biggest surprise was Liverpool, who lost 6–1! That was a sad result for Steven Gerrard, whose last game it was. Some people are speculating that such a poor result at the end of the season may lead to a change of manager, too.

Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers

This series has lots of interesting stories, written quite simply. It's possible to buy a large set. The set has 15 different stories, with maybe 5 copies of each one.

[30/2099]

My word total

TOTAL WORDS: 1899

The Nightingale

The Nightingale

By and by, the king seemed to forget all about the real nightingale. Feeling unwanted, he flew back to the forest.
"No matter. The toy bird is better," said the servant.

A king in China likes hearing a nightingale sing, but when he receives a toy nightingale from the King of Japan he forgets about the real nightingale. But then the toy nightingale breaks!

This story is a searing indictment of the modern tendency to revere human invention over nature.

When the king falls ill, is there anything that can help him come recover?

Findlay, Violet. (2006). The nightingale (Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers). New York, NY: Scholastic.

Vocabulary

nightingale ナイチンゲール、ソウシチョウ、ナンヨウヨシキリ

[104 words]

American Heist, the Premier League, and other matters

Today we watched a trailer for American Heist. It looks rather interesting. It stars Adrien Brody and Hayden Christensen. I don't know when it's coming to Japan, though.

This weekend, I went to see my daughter at her junior high sports day. Her class did well, but not her house. The rest of the time, I was working hard, as usual these days!

Do you like listening to podcasts? These few years, I have been listening to quite a lot of podcasts. Here are some of my favorites:

• The Slate Political Gabfest: a weekly look at three political topics; usually about 50 minutes
• The Slate Culture Gabfest: a weekly look at three cultural topics; usually about 50 minutes
• Football Weekly (The Guardian): a bi-weekly look at Premier League and other European football; usually about 45 minutes
• The Game (The Times): a weekly look at the Premier League and other football; usually about 40 minutes
• The 5 Live Football Daily (BBC): notwithstanding the name, a show about football that is on air about 4 or 5 times a week. Sometimes it's very long, perhaps 90 minutes, other times just 5 or 10 minutes
• What the Papers Say (BBC): a short, weekly programme about the news stories of the week
• Accidental Tech Podcast:
• Core Intuition:

[203 words]

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks found three beds. She found the big one. It was too hard. She tried the middle one. It was too soft.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Finally, she tried the little bed. It was just right, so she lay down and went to sleep. Zzzzzz! (pp. 8–9)

What will happen when Goldilocks wakes up? Will she wake up before the bears come back? If not, what will they do when they find her? Will they be angry about the chair she broke and the porridge she ate? Will she escape with her life? 

The Goldilocks and the Three Bears story is well-known and beloved in many countries. If you haven't read it yet, give it a try!

Findley, Violet. (2006). Goldilocks and the three bears (Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers). New York, NY: Scholastic.

Vocabulary

porridge: 水または牛乳でオートミール（oatmeal）などを煮た粥状のもの

[117 words]

Time Lapse…and other matters

Today we watched a movie trailer. It was called Time Lapse. It's about a group of friends who find a way to see into the future. They use this power to bet on dog races and make lots of money. But someone gets suspicious when they win all their bets. It looks interesting, but it's also very similar to a movie I saw last year. I think it was called Project Chronicle.

I enjoyed my daughter's sports day this weekend. But the rest of the weekend was spent working. I made some good progress, but I would like to have some more free time.

In the Premier League, most teams only have one match to go. For Burnley and QPR, relegation is already decided. Hull lost their match, and it looks unlikely that they will escape relegation now, although it is still possible. The other two teams still in danger are Newcastle and Sunderland. I think Hull will be relegated, but Newcastle and Sunderland are probably going to have some problems next year.

I haven't been following the Championship news so closely, but I think Middlesborough will be promoted to the Premier League. Overseas, Barcelona have won the Spanish Liga. I hope they also win the Champions League.

[205 words]

5th session (May 18th)

Hi, everyone, we’re now entering the last week of the first section of Writing III. As you remember, the focus of this first section is writing quantity and fluency. Have you written lots of book reviews and other posts, such as Diary or Kaigai Kenshuu posts?
Next week (May 25th), we will have a kind of “test” to check your progress. Things to do before the test:

1. Make sure you’ve written at least 15 book reviews. Make sure that the book reviews are all marked with Books or Book reviews or a similar tag.
2. Make sure that any Juppun ha Juubun posts that you wrote at the beginning of class are correctly tagged.
3. Make sure that you’ve written some other posts, tagged if appropriate with tags such as Diary, Kaigai Kenshuu, etc.
4. Make sure that your blog has a Word Count widget at the bottom of the blog.
5. Make sure your blog has a Tags widget in the sidebar. The number of posts with each tag should be listed.
6. Make sure you’ve mastered the APA reference format and put a reference at the bottom of your book reviews.
7. Post your total word count as of May 24th.

APA Reference Format: Revision

Remember that an APA reference has four main elements:

Author. (Date). Book title. Publication Information.

Notice that the parts are separated by a period and one space. The date is usually written as just the year, inside (  ).
When there are several references, they are arranged in alphabetical order of the family name. To make this order clear, it is necessary to put the author’s family name first.
For example, if the author of a book is John Carter, you should write:

Carter, John.

[272 words]

BR 1-10: Who wants to be a star?

"Look at the lambs!" Mrs White says.
"Yes, I love them. I want to be a lamb. They can jump and run and be happy."
"You can jump and run and be happy too, Tina."
"No, I can't…"

What is wrong with Tina? Could she be the famous star Curls? And does she perhaps dislike being a star? What will happen when kind Mrs White finds out the secret identity of the innocent-seeming girl staying in her house? And what wicked scheme is the postman hatching?

This book is a Penguin Readers Easystart. It is only about 900 words long, and most of each page is a picture. But the stories are all quite interesting. Try reading them all!

Iggulden, Margaret, and Allen, Julia. (1989). Who wants to be a star? (Penguin Readers Easystarts). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.

Vocabulary

curly hair: 縮毛、縮れっ毛

[134 words]

Exciting Font Story!

They walked slowly down the avenue.

“Hello,” she said. “What font are you using?”

“I’m not sure,” he replied. “I don’t know much about fonts: they’re against my parents’ religion.”

“Really? That’s unusual,” she said. “But I think I know what it is: ‘Zapfino’!”
[41 words]

BR 1-10: Newspaper Chase

Harry chases after the truck. "Wait! Wait" he says.
Janey watches him. "What is he doing?" she thinks.
Harry jumps into the back of the truck.
"I want my newspaper!" he says. "Where's my newspaper?"

Harry lives in an apartment upstairs in Janey's house. One day, he gets strangely excited about a recycled newspaper. Janey gets suspicious. What has Harry been doing? And why is there blue glass in his shoe?

Newspaper Chase is a Penguin Readers Easystart. It's only about 900 words long, but it's quite exciting! Give it a try!

Escott, John. (2002). Newspaper chase (Penguin Readers Easystarts). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education.

Vocabulary

報奨金  reward


[89 words]

My Golden Week…and other matters

The Golden Week holiday lasted for five days, including the weekend. I had a lot of work to do, so I worked most days. But I had a nice trip to Aso on Sunday with my family. We went to a "dengaku" restaurant in Takamori. I had eaten dengaku only once before, many years ago, so I was very happy to have the chance to eat it again. We ate many different kinds of dengaku, and my favorite was Aso beef.

Those of you who follow Premier League football in the UK will know that Chelsea have now won the league, and Burnley's relegation is also decided. Queens Park Rangers will also almost certainly be relegated. The third team to be relegated will be Hull, Newcastle, Sunderland, or Leicester, so the last two or three matches will be very nervous.

The final Hunger Games film and the second Maze Runner film are coming soon! Let's check them out!

156 words

BR1-07

Mudge hated it. Mudge knew when he was going to get a bath. (p. 24)

Today, I read Henry and Mudge in the Green Time. It is the third book in the Henry & Mudge series. There are more than 30 books in the Henry & Mudge and Annie & Snowball series. I know 13 books in H & M. I think this one, about summer days, and Henry and Mudge in the Sparkle Days, about winter, are the best. This book actually consists of three short stories. The quotation above is from the second one, The Bath. Henry likes baths but Mudge doesn't. I think Suçie Stevenson's illustrations are charming.



Rylant, Cynthia. (1998). Henry and Mudge in the green time (Ready-to-Read Level 2). New York, NY: Simon Spotlight.

Vocabulary

droop: 垂れる、うなだれる

[127 words]

My weekend…and other matters

This weekend was similar to most other recent weekends, in that I had lots of work to do, but I also had to attend the annual general meeting of my neighborhood association. The meeting was 10 minutes long but, fortunately, even though I'm an officer, I didn't have to speak. It lasted just over two hours. I went to work before the meeting and afterwards. Then, on Sunday, I went to work again but went home early to do some gardening. It was tiring but fun.
You may have heard that a general election is coming soon in the UK. It looks like there won't be much difference between the main parties in terms of support, so whichever party can make an alliance with other parties is likely to form a government. As you probably know, the
two main parties are the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. [146 words]

My weekend, and other matters…

My weekend was nothing a special, a bit like all my recent weekends. I went to work on Saturday. But before that, I had to attend the annual general meeting of our neighborhood association, because I am an officer of the association. The meeting took about two hours, so I was a bit late to start work and had to continue working until quite late.
On Sunday, I had more work to do, so I went to my office quite early. In the afternoon, I did some gardening, cutting trees with a small saw. It was quite tiring. In the evening, I checked the football Premier League news. It seems that Chelsea are certain to become champions this year. Arsenal were unable to beat them, but didn't lose, and third-placed Manchester United lost, so Arsenal look likely to come second. Better than usual!
Does anyone know when the new Avengers movie is coming to Japan? Oh, look, it's not coming until July!

160 words

Improving book reviews

Today, let's take a look at some ways to improve book reviews.

First of all, remember a few formatting basics:

1. When you quote directly, be sure to quote accurately. Make sure the quotation is formatted differently, so that readers can see what is a quotation and what is your own writing. Add the page number (but not the other reference information) after the quotation.
2. Don't forget to add an APA-style reference at the end of your book review. Remember that there are basically 4 parts to a reference: Author, Year, Title, Publication information. The author's name should start with the family name. 

Now, a couple of grammar points:

1. Think whether a noun should be singular (1) or plural (2 or more). Try to make sure any verb agrees with the noun.
2. If a noun is singular, usually it needs an article (a/an, the). Think about the rules for using articles.

[145 words]

BR 1-04: Land of the Dinosaurs

Wilf ran on and climbed a hill. He wanted to look for an apatosaurus.
"Come up here, Biff," he called. "You can take a photograph."
Wilf had not climbed on a hill. He had climbed on a dinosaur and it was enormous. It looked round at Wilf. (pp. 13-14)

Will Wilf get away from the dinosaur in time? Will the magic key come to his rescue? Like most of the Oxford Reading Tree books, this one is lots of fun and also contains educational content (this time some information about dinosaurs). A level 6 book, it's also very short and quick to read. The illustrations, especially of the dangerous dinosaurs, are cute and entertaining. I recommend the book very highly to everyone.

Hunt, Roderick, and Brychta, Alex. (2011). Land of the Dinosaurs. Oxford University Press.

Vocabulary

apatosaurus: アパトサウルス◆ジュラ紀後期の北アメリカに生息した大型の草食恐竜

[132 words]

My weekend

This weekend was very busy for me. I had to do gardening on both Saturday and Sunday. I also had to go to Bear Big to do some work with a teacher there.
I enjoyed eating Burgundy Cherry ice cream, too. It is one of my favorite flavors of ice cream. I only have it about once a year, because it is on sale usually in April only.
Do you like ice cream? What are your favorite flavors?
[76 words]

BR 1-03: The Willow Pattern Plot

"We know you want to run away," said Biff.
"But how can we?" asked Kim. "There are guards all round the garden."
Nadim had a good idea. He told them what it was.
"It's a brilliant idea!" said Chip. (pp. 19-20)

Nadim, Chip, and Biff go back in time with the magic key to ancient China (?). They meet Chang and Kim Shee, who love each other, but Chang is too poor to marry the rich Kim Shee, whose father keeps her locked up in the garden. What is Nadim's idea? And will it work? Find out in the thrilling Willow Pattern Plot!

Vocabulary

willow  柳
cruel  残酷な、非情な

Hunt, Roderick, and Brychta, Alex. (2011). The Willow Pattern Plot. Oxford University Press.

(115 words)

My weekend

This past weekend was very busy for me. I had to go to Bear Big on both Saturday and Sunday to do some work with a teacher there, and I also had to do some gardening at home. The gardening involved trimming the hedge, cutting some trees that had grown too big, and generally clearing up any mess. These days, I haven't been getting enough physical activity, so I found the work quite tiring. But it was raining yesterday so it wasn't hot.
Even though I was busy, I found some time to go to Baskin-Robbins ice cream. I rarely go there but I like to go in April every year because they have Burgundy Cherry, and that is one of my favourites. My other favourite is Love Potion 31; that used to be a seasonal special, but a few years ago they made it a year-round flavour.
By the way, have you heard the big world table tennis news? Last month, Ma Long took the world number 1 spot off Xu Xin (my favourite player) for the first time in a year, and he looks like holding on to that position for some time. These days, Xu Xin usually loses when he meets Ma Long directly, as often happens in finals and semi-finals around the world.
In other sports news, the UEFA Champions League is starting again on Wednesday.
[227 words]

Mulan

Today I read Mulan, in the Penguin Kids series. It's a level 6 book, so much longer than most of the other books in the series. It tells the story of Mulan, a Chinese girl who dresses up like a man in order to be a soldier in the Chinese army in place of her father, who is old and sick. She has many adventures with the other soldiers, and finally has to try to save the Emperor. Do you think she succeeds?

[83 words]

Writing 3 First Class

Hi, everyone, I'm Rick. I'm happy to meet you here at this first session of the Writing 3 class. I'm from the UK, but I have lived in Japan for a long time. I recently came back from 6 months in Bangkok, so I can speak Thai a little. I can also speak Chinese and French. I like watching movies and playing table tennis. I'm looking forward to helping you improve your writing this year.
[75 words]

WALL÷E

Today I read WALL÷E, in the Penguin Kids series. It's a Level 5 book so a little long compared to most books in the series. It tells the story of WALL÷E, a robot left alone on Earth to clean the trash after the planet became uninhabitable. One day, he comes across Eve, another robot, and their adventures lead to humans discovering that Earth is safe to live on again!
[69 words]

Writing 3 First Class

Hi, everyone, I'm Rick. I'm glad to meet you all at this first session of Writing 3. I'm a professor in the English department at PUK. I teach second language acquisition and applied linguistics, and also English. My favorite of the 4 skills is writing. In my free time, I like watching movies, playing the koto, and playing table tennis. But I don't have any free time these days. A couple of weeks ago, I came back from 6 months in Thailand, where I learnt to speak a little Thai. I can also speak French, German, Mandarin Chinese, and Cantonese.
[100 words]