Following the Go-To Campaign that started months ago, there is an increasing number of travel agencies that are planning to add more to accommodate the rise in demand. I heard from a friend that even in central Tokyo, people choose to book hotels and restaurants to have a sort of “staycation”, where people stay in hotels as a vacation. I think as long as people observe proper hygiene and social distancing, there wouldn’t be any issues, however, what’s your opinion about this?
ー初めにー
Today’s Rebus:
Here’s a brief explanation of the hint:
Well, the letters go from H to O, and the word “to” can be pronounced as “two”, as well, which means it could be written as “H2O”. In chemistry, that would be “water”!
Were you able to figure out the answer?
Here’s for this week’s rebus:
540SAFETY319
HINT: This is a little trickier than the last one. As you can see, there are numbers on both sides of the word “safety”. Don’t think too much about what the numbers could mean, instead, focus on how they are positioned and where they are.
This will be the last rebus and from next week, we’ll have a new activity!
Also, I’ll reveal the answer next week!
ー続いてー
Today’s ESL Recommendation:
https://www.instagram.com/
For the past few months, I have given a lot of recommendations on how to study English on your free time, even if it’s just a 5-minute break time or a commute from home to work. The last one would be, as what you may have seen above, Instagram! I recently discovered that this social media platform offers a lot of accounts and videos about learning English that are explained in Japanese. Most of them are casual phrases, but I think learning how to speak in those situations would be a good foundation before heading to speaking formally. Simply type “英語” in the search box and you’ll see a lot of learning resources!
From next week, we’ll start a new segment here!
I hope this helps!
Perfect for when you’re commuting or driving, here’s my weekly playlist recommendation:
Following my last recommendation, namely Instagram, the social platform is now enforcing influencers to clearly state if they got paid for the products they are advertising. The article was a bit vague regarding the reason, however, in my opinion, it is for the sake of being transparent and honest with consumers. This way, consumers would be more wary and cautious when it comes to what they spend their money on.
と紹介されている通り、「こんにちは Hello」や「調子はどうですか？ How are you?」「ありがとう Thank you」であったり、「好き I like you and I like it」「嬉しい happy」「おいしい It tastes good」などの言い換え表現が掲載されています。
Something alarming for this week’s domestic article. As many of you are aware, there have been problems with where the permanent disposal site of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima would be. Two small towns in Hokkaido have said that they will host and in return, they would receive subsidies from the government. This is concerning for the people living in those areas, but personally speaking, are you for or against this?
ー初めにー
Today’s Rebus:
Here’s a brief explanation of the hint:
The word in the middle is underlined, which would mean that it is being emphasized or focused on. This answer to this puzzle would be “middled aged”, meaning people between 45 to 65 years old. Were you able to get it right?
Here’s for this week’s rebus:
HIJKLMNO
HINT: This one is a little tricky! If you’re interested in science and chemistry, this one would be easy for you!
This would be most beneficial for those who want to expand their skill set in English. This website offers hundreds of MOOCS, which are basically online courses. They have business courses, as well as liberal arts, social sciences, and medicine. Perhaps this would be best paired with linguee, DeepL, and vocabulary.com. I know that I recommend it every week, but I can’t stress enough how helpful these resources are.
I hope this helps!
I’ve been in a K-Pop mood lately, so here’s this week’s playlist inspired from that:
This article piqued my interest as it tackles screen time and children. It talks about the benefits and drawbacks of being exposed to screens at a young age. I think the most important thing I was able to take out of this article was that it’s not that children using tablets is harmful, as long as the content they’re watching/being exposed to is kid-friendly and adults are supervising/monitoring how much time they spend.
1. 主人公・炭治郎が考えながら成長し続けるところ。それでいて、弱音も吐くところ。
The main character Tanjiro is struggling to become a better version of himself. On the other side, I like he sometimes feels like whining.
—
「気合いだけではどうにもならない。頭だ。気合いとともに頭も使うんだ！ Getting psyched up is not enough. I have to rack my brain while getting psyched up!」
「俺はもうホントにずっと我慢してた！善逸を女の子から引き剥がしたときも、声を張ったときも、すごい痛いのを我慢してた！ 俺は長男だから我慢できたけど、次男だったら我慢できなかった I’d been very patient! When I separated Zenitsu and a girl and spoke in a forceful voice, I’d put up with the pain! I could bear the pain because I’m the oldest son. I couldn’t stand it if I was the younger one」
—
2. 家族愛が描かれている。家族や兄妹愛というのに弱いです。
I like the story telling family ties.
3. 善逸を見ると、一芸に秀でることは素晴らしいと思える。善逸のヘタレぶりがたまにくどいと感じちゃうけど、その分、敵を一撃で倒す姿が素晴らしい
When I see Zenitsu, I sometimes get annoyed with him. However I see him defeating an enemy with one stroke, I think it’s great to excel in an art.
4. 禰豆子が強くて&かわいい
Nezuko is so strong and cute.
5. 胡蝶しのぶ演じる早見沙織さんの声が素敵すぎる
I really like Shinobu Kocho and regarding the anime series, the voice actress “Saori Hayami” of “Shinobu Kocho.”
6. 主人公・炭次郎に励まされると勇気をもらえる
使い古されたフレーズであろうと、炭次郎に言われると、言葉がストンと胸に入ってきます。
The main character Tanjiro’s words encourage me even if they’re trite expressions.
「自分の終わりを自分で決めたらだめだ Don’t place limits on yourself」
「頑張れ！ 人は心が原動力だから心はどこまでも強くなれる！ Hang in there! Heart makes a driving force so your heart can get stronger」
「人のためにすることは巡り巡って自分のためになる。そして人は自分ではない誰かのために信じられないような力を出せる生き物なんだよ One good turn deserves another. And helping others makes you create unbelievable power for them」
(Driving to the University), Isawa friend of mine [walking down the street]. ・・・・・・・・・・..//.(S)(V) (O)
「学校へ車で向かっていると、友達が道を歩いているのが見えました」
これは、学校へ向かっている最中の出来事なので、While節と言い換え可能です。
Driving to the University, I saw a friend of mine walking down the street.
=While I was driving to the University, I saw a friend of mine walking down the street.
下の文を見てもらえれば分かりますが、下の文の”While I was”の部分は後ろの主節をみれば分かるので省略しているわけですね。
ちなみに主節の[walking down the street]は、前の名詞句”a friend of mine”を修飾しています。分詞の形容詞的な用法ですね。
