Personal Shopper, 20th Century Women, and other matters…

Today we watched two movie trailers. One of them was for a movie that is playing now (but will end its run this Friday) and the other was for a movie that will start its run at the end of July. 20th Century Women stars Annette Bening and Elle Fanning, and Personal Shopper stars Kristen Stewart.

The Grenfell Tower fire has led to inspections of many other tower blocks in the UK. They have found that 60 blocks use the same flammable material as Grenfell Tower, so probably the cladding will have to be removed and replaced with safer material.

In the European Under-21 tournament, England will play Germany in the semifinals.

[111 words]

Personal Shopper, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Personal Shopper, with Kristen Stewart. I like Kristen Stewart very much. I thought she did a great job in Snow White and the Huntsman, and I really liked her in Clouds of Sils Maria. (I haven't seen the Twilight movies.)  In Personal Shopper, she appears to be employed by a famous actress just to buy clothes and other things for the actress. But one day she decides to become less self-effacing and she dresses in the actress's clothes. It looks like she commits a crime. The movie starts playing at the end of July at Denkikan.

In the UK, the Conservative Party has still not made a deal with the DUP to form a government, but it looks like that could happen very soon.

In the Confederations Cup, Germany, Portugal, and Chile have got through to the semifinals.

143 words

Land of the Dinosaurs (ORT)

Another dinosaur was coming and it looked very fierce.
"Let's get out of here," yelled Chip.
Biff took a photograph.
"Come on," yelled Chip, "don't stop for that. This one could eat us!" They began to run away. Wilf's other shoe came off in the mud. Suddenly, the key began to glow.
"Just in time!" said Chip.
(pp. 19-21)

The children go through a magic door into the land of the dinosaurs. They see dinosaurs' eggs and an apatosaurus, then they are chased by a very dangerous dinosaur. They take many photos so that they can show their parents where they have been…but unfortunately there is no film in the camera!

Hunt, R. (2011). Land of the dinosaurs. Oxford University Press.

[113 words]

Juppun ha Juubun update

My Cousin Rachel, and other matters…

Daphne du Maurier
Cornwall, southwest England, Cornish pasty
Rachel Weisz
Sam Claflin

Today we watched the trailer for My Cousin Rachel, a new movie based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier. The story is set in du Maurier's home county of Cornwall, and it seems to have been filmed there, too, so we can see Cornwall's beautiful scenery.

Did you hear about the Grenfell Tower disaster in London? A tower block of flats caught fire, and the fire spread in just a few minutes, leading to many, many deaths. Now, about 58 people are missing. The Prime Minister and the Queen have visited the site. They are trying to decide what to do to house all the people who have lost their homes.

Did you hear the England won the Under-20 championship? Yeah!

[120 words]

Robin Hood (ORT)

Biff and Wilma went to the pantomime. They went with Wilma's mum. They had a friend called Anneena. Anneena went to the pantomime with them.

Today I read Robin Hood, a Stage 6/7 book in the Oxford Reading Tree series. As shown in the quotation above, the story starts with the children going to the pantomime to see a play about Robin Hood. The next day, they make a song
about Robin Hood, and while they are singing it the magic key begins to glow and they are taken back to the Nottinghamshire woods in the 12th century, where they meet Robin Hood and his men. Unfortunately, they are captured by the sheriff and his men—except for Biff, who has gone off to explore. He manages to free Robin Hood and his men, and the children, and they move to a different part of the forest. Then the magic key begins to glow, and the children go back home.

Juppun ha Juubun update

My Cousin Rachel, and other matters…

Daphne du Maurier
My Cousin Rachel, written in 1951
Rachel Weisz
Sam Claflin
Roger Michell (director)

Today, we watched the trailer for My Cousin Rachel, a new movie starring Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin, who plays Philip. Philip learns from letters from his guardian that Rachel, his guardian's wife, is controlling him and causing his death. After he dies, Philip decides to get revenge on Rachel. When she comes to visit, however, he finds her very attractive and begins to change his mind about her. What is the truth about Rachel? Daphne du Maurier is from Cornwall in England, and she also wrote The Birds and Rebecca, both of which have been made into movies.

Last Wednesday, England played a friendly match against France. France won 3–2. In general, the England midfield was overrun. People feel rather dissatisfied with how the game went and are looking for more progress from the team.

[135 words]

The 4 Elements of a Reference

 

 

1. The author. 
2. The year of publication.
3. The title of the book.
4. The location and name of the publisher.

Each of the 4 elements is ended with a period and one space. (After the last one, you don't need a space, but you DO need a period.

1. To make sure a reference is findable in a list, write the surname (family name) first. In this case, the author is Violet Findley, so we write:
   Findley, V.
2. The year of publication is 2006. Write:
   (2006). 
3. Write the title. Sometimes titles are written in ALL CAPS on book covers, but that is just a design matter, so don't copy it. Ideally, you should use italics for the title.
4. The location is New York, NY and the publisher is Scholastic, so write:
   New York, NY: Scholastic.

So this book is written:

 

Findley, V. (2006). The Gingerbread Man. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Hansel & Gretel (We Both Read)

Hansel and Gretel woke the next morning to the sound of a pretty white bird singing sweetly on the bough of a tree. The bird seemed to tell them to follow him.
When the bird had finished his song, he spread his wings and flew away.
Hansel and Gretel followed the bird. They followed the bird through the woods. They followed the bird to a little house.

Hansel and Gretel are clever children. When they go into the woods, they take some bread and leave a trail of breadcrumbs so that they can find their way back.
Unfortunately, the birds eat the breadcrumbs, so they lose their way. When a bird wakes them and leads them to a house in the woods, they feel very lucky, as if they have been saved. But little do they know how dangerous the house is! Can Hansel and Gretel escape the witch and find their way back home? Will their father be there waiting for them?

Vocabulary

plump 丸々太った
withered しわしわ
yank ～をグイッと引っ張る

McKay, S. (1999). Hansel & Gretel (We Both Read). San Anselmo, CA. Treasure Bay.

Megan Leavey, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Megan Leavey, an Iraq War movie starring Kate Mara. She plays a woman who doesn't know how to communicate with other people, but she is placed in a K9 unit, where her job is to train a dog and then work with the dog to find landmines and other explosives. Her dog is called Rex. She says that Rex taught her how to love.

In the UK, Theresa May of the Conservative Party is trying to form a government again, after a rather unsuccessful general election. It is probable that the Conservative Party will work with the DUP, a party from Northern Ireland. Brexit negotiations will start very soon, and many people worry about that.

[120 words]

The Frog Prince (We Both Read)

The next evening, while dining with the King, the Princess heard an odd noise — plitch, plotch, plitch, plotch.
Something was climbing up the palace stairs.
Reaching the top, the "something" called out in a raspy voice, "Excuse me, Princess! Please open the door! You promised to be my friend!"

The Frog Prince is a well-known tale, so you probably know the background. The Princess drops her golden ball in the pond. A frog offers to get it for her if she will be his friend and let him eat from her plate and sleep in her bed. She
promises, but then runs away, seeking to break the promise.  But the frog comes looking for her. She tries to send him away, but the King says: "A promise is a promise. And this one you must keep."

So the princess keeps her promise, even though she hates letting a frog eat from her plate and sleep in her bed. But she comes to hate it less and less, and after a few days…

Vocabulary

webbed feet: 水かきのある足
hop: ピョンピョン跳ぶ
raspy voice: 耳障りな声、かすれ気味の声、しゃがれ声、ガラガラ声


McKay, S. (1997). The Frog Prince (We Both Read). San Anselmo, CA: Treasure Bay.

Megan Leavey, and other matters…

Kate Mara

Megan Leavey is an Iraq War movie starring Kate Mara. Her co-star is a dog called Rex. He is very sensitive to danger, including explosives in cars and landmines. Megan is not very sociable, and doesn't know how to speak to people, but she forms a bond with Rex. The movie is based on a true story.

The Woody Allen movie Café Society has just ended. The next film I'm looking forward to at Denkikan is Manchester by the Sea.

Do you know the TV drama Scandal? It's a White House drama centered around electoral fraud. It seems rather interesting.

The Premier League season (and that of other European leagues) is over, so now there is time for international games, particularly World Cup qualifiers. Last week, England played Scotland in Scotland. The match ended in a draw, with 2 goals scored after 90 minutes. It wasn't a great game, but the late goals made it very exciting.

154 words

Read to Write Practice Plus!

1. I was born in Devon in the UK.
2. I am teaching applied linguistics and English at PUK.
3. I live with my wife and daughter.
4. My blood type is A (because I am an 英国人!) and my birthday is January 2nd.
5. I went to Osaka by myself a few weeks ago to attend a lecture.
6. I played the koto for the first time when I was 25. I got my teacher's licence when I was about 35.
7. I have been playing tennis and table tennis since I was at secondary school. I also played badminton for some time.
8. Devon is in the south-west of England and is quite near France.
9. I used to have a friend called Chris when I was in primary school.
10. I have never been to Universal Studios but I would like to go there sometime.

Victoria & Abdul, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Victoria & Abdul, a movie starring Judi Dench and directed by Stephen Frears. Judi Dench has acting credits in 120 movies, spanning six decades. When younger, she played several Shakespearean roles and also appeared in movies such A Room With a View. Some of her best roles have come in the later years of her life, in movies such as Shakespeare in Love, Iris, Hamlet, Philomena, and then several of the 007 movies. Her last Bond movie was Skyfall. She has an OBE and many other awards.
[93 words]

Read to Write Practice

1. I was born in Devon in the UK.
2. I am teaching applied linguistics and English at PUK.
3. I live with my wife and daughter.
4. My blood type is A (because I am an 英国人!) and my birthday is January 2nd.
5. I went to Osaka by myself a few weeks ago to attend a lecture.
6. I played the koto for the first time when I was 25.
7. I have been playing tennis and table tennis since I was at secondary school.
8. Devon is in the south-west of England and is quite near France.
9. I used to have a friend called Chris when I was in primary school.
10. I have never been to Universal Studios but I would like to go there sometime.

My 1st blog check

Blog Layout

Comments section: Yes
Tags section: Yes

Post Categories

Book Reviews: 6
Juppun ha Juubun: 14
Typing/Diary: 0
Dictogloss: 0
Typing homeworks to Mr Tomei: 0

Juppun ha Juubun
145 - 95 - 204 - 119 - 169 - 164 - 93 - 88 - 110 - 147 - 80 - 183 - 158 - 146

1st Blog Check

Blog Layout

1. Do you have a Comments section on your blog?
2. Do you have a Tags ("Labels") section?

Post Categories

3. How many posts do you have with the tag Book Reviews?
4. How many posts do you have with the tag Juppun ha Juubun (or not Juppun ha Juubun)?
5. How many posts do you have with the Typing or Diary (or similar) tag?
6. How many posts do you have with the tag Dictogloss?
7. How many typing homeworks have you sent to Mr Tomei?

Juppun ha Juubun

How many words in each of your Juppun ha Juubun posts?


Please use the tag Blog Check for this post.

Victoria & Abdul, and other matters…

Today we watched the trailer for Victoria & Abdul, a new movie starring Judi Dench. She plays Queen Victoria. In the movie, a young man from India is sent to London to present the Queen (also Empress of India) with a commemorative coin. His name is Abdul. The Queen takes a liking to Abdul, and he tells her lots of things about life in India. At first, he is her servant, but later he becomes her teacher, and she learns Urdu and the Quran from her.

Did you hear about the attack in London over the weekend? That makes three recent attacks in the UK.

The Champions League final was held over the weekend, in Cardiff in the UK. Real

Madrid beat Juventus very easily. It was the first time for a team to win in two consecutive years. Christiano Ronaldo scored two of Real Madrid's four goals.

[146 words]