Have you ever been to the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology in Nagoya? I went there on Sunday. I was surprised to learn that Toyota started out as a textile (織物? 繊維? ) production company. I didn`t know that. The museum was interesting & there was a great area for kids called "Technoland". My kids played there happily for a couple of hours.
There were some cool old cars (and an ugly white one - see above) on display, but not many. To see lots of old cars, it`s better to visit The Toyota Automobile Museum. I want to go there next. I`ve never been there. Have you ever been there?
Grammar:
`Ever` is used in questions, but not usually in sentences:
- Have you ever + 過去分詞...? OK
- I`ve + 過去分詞... OK
- I`ve ever + 過去分詞... NO
Did you watch the AFC final between Australia & South Korea on Saturday night? I wanted to watch it live on TV, but I had a party to go to, so I recorded it & watched it when I got home. Of course I was pleased that Australia won. Even though I live in Japan, I always support Australia, even if it`s versus Japan ...actually, especially if it`s versus Japan! I was disappointed we didn`t meet this tournament.
Congratulations Australia!
Vocabulary:
- live ("ライブ") = いきえ なま ライブ live ("リブ") = 住む
- Be careful: "I went to a live concert." is OK, "I went to a live." is WRONG
I was disappointed that UAE beat Japan in their AFC quarter-final match. I really wanted Japan to win. If Japan had won, they would have played Australia next.
I really wanted Australia (not UAE) to beat Japan!
Grammar:
- ...want 誰か to 動詞 = 誰かに ___ してほしい
As you know (did you know?), me & Tera, our school mascot, are on Youtube now. We released a second video this week. Have you seen it yet? Please take a look! Learn English!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-fJxZRkrGw
To promote the book & Youtube series, on Jan 12th me, Gifu Teragoya staff & teachers, & even Tera-chan (can you see his little bow-tie?) dressed up `Red Carpet` style. This is a photo we took outside our school. It was embarrassing (はずかしい) but fun.
Vocabulary:
- be ON Youtube/Twitter/Facebook/Skype, so "Are you on Facebook?" "She spends all her free time on Skype" "Lots of celebrities are on Twitter"
If you`re reading this blog, you`re probably interested in learning English, right?
Or you`re my mum.
Well, I`m proud to announce (はっぴょうする) the launch (発売 ) of Teragoya`s Business English Phrases series on Youtube. The first video was released today & we will release a new one every week. Please check it out! I hope it will help you learn English!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4vMIJ7X0vw&feature=youtu.be
Pronunciation:
`au` is usually pronounced `オー` in English (not `アウ`), so
launch = ローンチ
sauna = ソーナ
Braun = ブローン
daughter = ドータ
Kids toys can be pretty expensive. For Christmas, my son wanted a `Kamen Rider` belt, but it costs 10,000 yen - too much! However you don`t need to spend a lot of money on toys - all you need is some wood, paint, basic tools, a good idea, & some time. I had all these things recently, so I made this small wooden puzzle.
Did you make a present for anyone for Christmas?
Grammar:
- You need to... = ...しないといけません
- You don`t need to... = ...しなくてもいい
- You need... = ...ひつよう
- You don`t need... = ...いらないい
- All you need is... (love) = ...(愛)...だけあればいい
Christmas is coming soon, so I made this wreath with my sons. I also asked them to write letters to Santa, so I know what they want – I don`t want to buy the wrong things.
I quite (結構) like Christmas shopping, but wrapping presents is a hassle (hassle = troublesome/めんどくさい). How about you?
Pronunciation
- In “wr-” words, don`t pronounce the “w”, so wreath = リース write = ライト wrap = ラップ etc
Last year when I went to the Gifu Air Show, it took about 2 hours to walk to the base from the train station. It was a nightmare. This year the organisers changed the route from the station to the base. It was a big improvement. I could walk there quickly & easily.
Even though the Blue Impulse formation flying team weren`t at this year`s show, I was happy because there were seven F-4 Phantoms. These planes are even older than me. I feel really lucky to have seen so many operational (= working) examples together in one place.
Pronunciation:
- Route: ルウト (Aus/UK pronunciation) ルウト or ラウト (US)
- Computer Router: ルウタ (Aus/UK) ルウタ or ラウタ (US)
Today I heard that Ken Takakura passed away (passed away = died). I`ve mentioned him on my blog a couple of times:
http://jp.bloguru.com/otto/220666/hashima-movie-museum
http://jp.bloguru.com/otto/194806/movie-yasei-no-shmei
He`s my favourite Japanese actor, so I`m sad, but I`m glad he made so many entertaining movies. I think I`ll watch one this weekend.
Rest in Peace, Ken-san.
Pronunciation:
- hear [ヒーア], heard [ハード] [NOT ヒーアド]
What are you doing this Sunday? I`m going to the Kakamigahara airshow. This poster says the Blue Impulse formation flying team won`t be there this year. Hopefully that means there will be fewer people - last year it was so crowded it took about 2 hours just to get from the train station to the air base. What a nightmare! Anyway, I`ll go there early this year & hopefully beat the crowds. If you go, maybe I`ll see you there!
Grammar:
There are various ways to ask about future plans:
- What are you doing/Are you doing anything tomorrow? *BEST*
- What are you going to do/Are you going to do anything...? OK
- What will you do/Will you do anything...? OK
- What do you do/Do you do anything...? NO
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