Have you been watching the Olympics? Japan has been performing well in various events such as softball, soccer, and table-tennis. I especially enjoyed the table-tennis mixed doubles final. Of course I was pleased that Japan got the gold medal. Have you ever been awarded a gold medal? I got one for swimming when I was in elementary school.
Grammar:
- Have you been ___ing = __していましたか
- Have you (ever) been + 過去分詞 = ___された事はありますか (受動態)
- WRONG: 'Have you been watched the Olympics?'
On Tuesday my keyboard started playing up (狂う), so I for the time being (とりあえず) I replaced it with an old one (20 years?) that I found in a storage room. Today a new keyboard arrived, so I returned the old one to the cupboard (戸棚 / 食器棚) in the storage room. It`s big, heavy, and the keys were hard to see & use, but it got me out of a tight spot.
Vocabulary
- 'be in a tight spot' = be in a difficult situation
- 'get + 誰か + out of a tight spot' = save someone from a difficult situation
Pronunciation
- 'cupboard' = カバッド (not カップボード)
Do you know SriRacha sauce? This factory was recently built near Hashima Costco, so on Monday, after shopping at Costco, I popped in to buy a bottle of sauce from a vending machine outside the factory.
So, what does 'Sri Racha' mean? Well, 'Sri Racha' is the name of a coastal town about 2 hours from Bangkok, in Thailand. This kind of sauce was first made there. When I lived in Thailand about 20 years ago, I visited Sri Racha several times to fish, swim, & explore.
Grammar:
OK: I`ve been there.
OK: When I was young/lived in Tokyo, I went there.
WRONG: When I was young/lived in Tokyo, I`ve been there.
In summer I catch crayfish (ザリガニ) near my house and feed them to my pet chicken. She loves them. In some countries such as Sweden, Finland, & France, people eat crayfish, but most Japanese aren`t prepared to eat them. Why not? もったいない! What a waste! How about you? Would you be prepared to eat one?
Grammar:
prepare + 名詞 (object) e.g. 'Prepare clothes'
prepare for + 名詞 (event) e.g. 'Prepare for an interview`
prepare to + 動詞 (future action) e.g. 'Prepare to meet the boss'
be prepared to + 動詞 (action you are willing to do) e.g. 'I`m prepared to give a discount'
I found this unusual pasta at a Liquor Mountain store. I`ve seen small shell-shaped pasta before, but not large ones like this. I asked my kids*, "Shall we try them?" and they said, "Yeh!!!"
As you can see, they are similar in size & appearance to golden apple snails (スクミリンゴガイ), which are common in waterways around here.
* Yes, I took my 3 kids to Liquor Mountain with me. Am I a bad father...?
Pronunciation:
- 'shell' と 'shall' は同じ発音です
I started picking* ripe black raspberries from my bush. Some had already fallen to the ground, but I didn`t pick up** those ones. I let the chicken eat them. It seems to like them.
While I was doing that, I saw a Mycalesis madjicosa butterfly (ヒメジャノメ in Japanese, I don`t know in English).
Later, I made jam. I will make more when the other berries have ripened.
Vocabulary:
* pick = 植物から取る
** pick up = 地表面/床面から取る
Ripe`n`Ready = Ripe and Ready
I like camping, so my wife bought this for me. At first I didn`t know what it was, but then it clicked (= I suddenly understood).
Hints: It`s hollow (くうどう 空洞) You can shorten & lengthen it.
The answer is in comments.
Grammar:
the suffix (接尾語) or prefix (接頭語) 'en' often means 'to make' e.g. enlarge = make larger, encourage (励ます) = make courageous/brave, strengthen = make stronger, sadden = make sad
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エメラルド 
KUMA 
TERAGOYA おとな 
田仲なお美 
yukio 
PSPINC JP 
birdy 
mokomoko 
内倉憲一 
bokushi