Good day!

The PM has not lifted the state of emergency and has extended it until the end of May.

Remember to stay indoors and try to limit your time outside.

ー初めにー

Today’s Riddle:

If your answer was “a piano”, then you got it right!

Why?

In English, and I’m guessing also in Japanese, what you press to make a sound on a piano is called “a key”, so a piano would have a lot of keys, but wouldn’t be able to open anything!

For this week, here’s the riddle:

“Mice are famous for their ability to multiply fast. Baby mice mature and can give birth two months after they are born. You recently went to a pet shop and brought home one of the cutest mice you saw the day after it was born. In 10 months from now, how many mice will you have?”

 *Hint

Don’t overthink it! It’s a puzzle, not a math question!

ー続いてー

Today’s Conversational Point:

For today, we will try to cover the difference between American and British humor! This is something even I find difficult to explain, but I found a short, good video that explains briefly what it is. Personally, I think American humor relies more on the situations the characters are in and what the consequences of their actions are. However, British humor depends on the characters, what they’re saying and how they react to different situations.

For a good comparison, try to watch “The Office”, both the original UK show and its US adaptation. Only the UK version is available on Amazon Prime Japan and for the US one, you’d have to rent it somewhere.

For reference, here’s the video I mentioned earlier:

ー最後にー

Today’s Column:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52548703

I apologize in advance for talking about something unrelated to Europe, the US, or Japan. But, I think this is something that we can all think about.

In the Philippines, one of the biggest entertainment and media group, ABS-CBN, was forced to go off air due to its contract expiring. The government refused to renew its contract due to a previous issue between the said company and the current president. Given the current pandemic the world is currently facing, the Philippine government still refused to reconsider its decision. This is now a moral and social issue, aside from the fact that it is a political one. If you have time, try to ponder and come up with your opinion about this.

If you have time, give the article a read and for those difficult words, I suggest referring to dictionary.com for simplified explanation.

Remember to take care of yourself!

Ryo