August 31, 2018 NO STANDING!

Miami 英会話

www.miamieikaiwa.jp

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9月　6日,7日、10日、17日、23日、24日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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NO STANDING!

Last night I went for a walk and I found this strange sign.  It says "No Standing". Does it mean I have to sit down here?  Why is standing not allowed? Is it ok to jump? I have no idea what the Japanese says, but maybe it should read "no parking".  Maybe I will make a sign for my class that reads, "No sitting while speaking Japanese". ha ha ha ha

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August 27, 2018 What to wear

Miami 英会話

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9月　6日,7日、10日、17日、23日、24日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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What to wear

How do you decide what to wear everyday? As for me, the first thing I do every morning is check the weather report.  If it is really hot, I will wear a short-sleeve shirt. Usually, I prefer to wear long-sleeve shirts because some places such as cafes or even the classroom can be a little chilly when the AC is set too low. Besides consideration for the weather, I just choose whatever is on the left side of my closet, and wear that.

When I was in high school, I had a lot of stress choosing what to wear every day because we didn't have school uniforms.  I took a long time to get ready in the morning. The most important thing was that I had to look cool.

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August 26, 2018 Beer Diet

Miami 英会話

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9月　6日,7日、10日、17日、23日、24日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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Beer Diet

You can do it!

Do you enjoy drinking?  I'm not too crazy about it, but I drink about once every two weeks or so.  I prefer wine to beer because I think too much beer makes you fat.  Beer contains a lot carbohydrates.  I once had a friend in the U.S. who was a little overweight. One day, my other friends and I noticed that he seemed to have lost a lot of weight.  He had lost his beer belly and started to look pretty good. We asked him why and he said that in addition to jogging 3 times a week, he gave up beer!  It seems like a beer diet is good for losing weight!

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August 24, 2018 Baseball

Miami 英会話

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8月　25日は休みです。
9月　6日,7日、10日、17日、23日、24日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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Baseball

Key words & Phrases

• in particular
• scouts
• unheard of

Easy part 簡単　You can do it!

I am impressed by how much Japanese people love baseball.  Everyone is so into following the high school baseball championships! From what I hear, there is one high school in particular that everyone is talking about now.  I didn't know that private high schools send scouts to the elementary schools to find players.  That is unheard of in the U.S.A.  In my country, scouts are sent to colleges only, I think.

When I was in high school, I didn't like playing baseball.  It was too much pressure standing in the batter's box.  I was so bad at catching too.  I hated wearing my glasses because I didn't want to look like a nerd, and so I always missed the balls when they came my way.  Everyone was angry at me.

How about you?  Do you have any experience playing baseball?  Are you into baseball?

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August 23, 2018 Complaints

Miami 英会話

www.miamieikaiwa.jp

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8月　25日は休みです。
9月　6日,7日、10日、17日、23日、24日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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Complaints

Key words & Phrases

• complain
• ridiculous
• your fault
• smelly

You can do it!

Do you complain a lot?  Usually I try to avoid people who complain, but sometimes complaints can be useful.  Complaints tell us where we can make improvements. Perhaps complaining also helps to reduce stress.  I think Japanese people complain about the weather a lot. As for me, here are my complaints:

1. Why is Trump still president?  He always says the most ridiculous things and tells so many lies. It is embarrassing for me as an American.

2. I have a pain in my ankle and it won't go away.  

3. I don't like paying NHK TV!!!!  I don't think it is fair that there is a law that says I have to pay money to a business!  Let's make a law that all Japanese people must study English at Miami! ha ha.

4. Sometimes students say to me, "I don't like grammar, listening, speaking, using a textbook, studying, or doing homework.....Why doesn't my English improve???? It's your fault, John!!"

5. I don't like smelly people on the train.

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August 22, 2018 Tounge Twisters - UPDATED!

Miami 英会話

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8月　25日は休みです。
9月　6日,7日、10日、17日、23日、24日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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Tounge Twisters

Tongue twisters are a great way to practice and improve pronunciation and fluency. They can also help to improve accents by using alliteration, which is the repetition of one sound. They’re not just for kids, but are also used by actors, politicians, and public speakers who want to sound clear when speaking. Below, you will find some of the most popular English tongue twisters. Say them as quickly as you can. If you can master them, you will be a much more confident speaker.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Betty Botter bought some butter
But she said the butter’s bitter
If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter
But a bit of better butter will make my batter better
So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood
As a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood

Sally sells seashells down by the seashore. How many shells could Sally sell if she sold seventy-seven shells?

How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

I saw Susie sitting in a shoeshine shop
Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he?

Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?

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August 21, 2018 The Lost Boy

Miami 英会話

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8月25日は休みです。
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The Lost Boy

Key words & Phrases

• Recently
• Luckily
• incredible
• scared to death

You can do it!

Recently, in the news, there has been a story about a boy who was missing for 3 days. Luckily, he was found alive and unharmed by a kind volunteer.  It is incredible that he was able to survive in the wilderness all alone.  He must have been scared to death at night.  Perhaps the animals came to take care of him.

How about you? Have you ever lost your child, or have you ever been a missing child?  Once, when I was little, I went down the street to my friend's house to play without telling my mother.  I remember sitting on the ground playing with my friend when suddenly my mother appeared out of nowhere yelling and screaming at me.  She was a little upset.

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August 10, 2018 Movie Review: VERTIGO

Miami 英会話

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8月11－15日、25日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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MOVIE REVIEW: VERTIGO

Key words & Phrases

• vertigo - dizziness and loss of balance
• dizzy - feeling like the world is spinning around you.
• spoiler - information about the plot of the movie.
• acrophobia - a fear of heights
• gratuitous violence scene - a scene in a movie that shows violence just to make the people watching the movie happy even though the scene is not necessary for the story of the movie.

Easy part 簡単　You can do it!

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The other day in the movie class we watched a movie called "Vertigo". Vertigo is a feeling of dizziness and loss of balance.  Usually people just say "I feel dizzy", but some people who have a disease that causes them to feel dizzy say "I have vertigo".

I was disappointed in the movie because spoilers were revealed in the middle of the movie and I didn't like the ending.

Hard part チャレンジ  Give it your best shot!

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The other day in the Miami Movie Class (every Wednesday from 2:15pm), we watched clips from an old movie titled, "Vertigo".  It was an old Hitchcock movie which I had never watched before. However, after watching parts of it in class, I thought I wanted to see the movie in its entirety. I like the old movies. The dialogue is much more interesting than modern movies, and without so many distractions, explosions, gratuitous sex and violence scenes, and of course, someone shouting, "OH, MY GOD!!!".

However....I was disappointed in the movie.  First of all, isn't it unrealistic that they fell in love so quickly?? I thought how could such a beautiful young girl fall in love with him anyway?  Secondly, I don't like the way Hitchcock spilled the beans and revealed everything in the middle of the movie. I am talking about when the girl was writing the letter, and she openly explained that it was all a planned murder. It would have been so much better if instead, she had revealed that on the stairs of the church at the end of the movie.  Finally, why did she jump???? I don't get it. I googled it and people had many different answers, but none of them are satisfying to me.

I give this movie a 7/10.

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August 9, 2018

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8月11－15日、25日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

August 8, 2018 The sleeping girl

Miami 英会話

www.miamieikaiwa.jp

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8月11－15日、25日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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The Sleeping Girl

Easy part 簡単　You can do it!

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Yesterday I was on the train. It was very crowded, so I had to stand.  A young girl in front of me fell asleep. She leaned onto the shoulder of an old lady beside her.  The old lady was not happy, but she kept a smile on her face. I was very surprised. The old lady pushed the young girl with her hand.  The young girl woke up, but fell asleep and leaned onto the old lady's shoulder again.  I thought it was very funny.

Hard part チャレンジ  Give it your best shot!

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So as I am standing on the train yesterday, I am watching this girl sitting in front of me.  She appears to be young, perhaps in her early 20's, and she is knocked out cold.  Her phone has fallen from her hand onto the seat next to her, and her body is like a lifeless sack of potatoes. I wonder what in the world could such a young girl have been doing to be so tired.  The train lurches forward, that's when she tilts over like the Leaning Tower of Pisa onto an old lady sitting beside her. She seems like someone who would be kind and let the young potato girl sleep, as she has such a soft, gentle smile on her face.  Then a twitch. Her shoulder gives a slight jolt to the young girl in an effort to wake her up. But, she doesn't budge. The old lady tries all sorts of maneuvers; rocking back and forth, coughing loudly, bouncing up and down, shaking, all while keeping that soft, gentle smile on her face, but the young girl is out like a light.  Not even Prince Charming could wake her up. It is so amusing for me to watch, and I think how lucky I am to have some free entertainment on my morning commute.  It starts to get a little scary when the old lady's lips start to tighten and her smile transforms into this strange grimace. What kind of person smiles in such a way when they are obviously ready to blow their top? I'll tell you what kind of person....an insane psychopath. I am just waiting for the old lady to jump out of from her seat and start choking little Snow White.  "Please don't start drooling on her!" I think to myself as the old lady coughed, jumped, bobbled, and rocked. Then it happens. She pushes the young girl's face off her shoulder and away from her with her hand.  OMG! Are they going to fight?  Everyone is silent, waiting on the edge of our seats for her next move. The young girl wakes up with a puzzled look on her face, oblivious as to what has just happened. She picks up her phone, glances at it, then nods back off into la-la-land.....and back on the shoulder of the old lady with the soft, gentle smile.

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August 6, 2018 Hiroshima

Miami 英会話

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8月11－15日、25日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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Hiroshima

Today is the 73rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. I have never been to Hiroshima, but I have been to Nagasaki. When I visited the A-bomb museum, I was shocked.  I had never seen so many terrible photographs about it before. I felt so bad when I read the stories about it, too.  It was such a sad and terrible thing.  I think today is very important because Japan needs to remind the world of the reality of nuclear weapons.  I think many people outside of Japan can't imagine how terrible it really is. I hope someday, the world will decide to get rid of nuclear weapons.

August 5, 2018 The Japanese Windbell

Miami 英会話

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8月11－15日、25日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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THE JAPANESE WINDBELL

The other day in class, I learned about the Japanese windbell from my students in class. If you don't know what a windbell is, it is like a wind chime, but it is made of glass and is in the shape of a bell. They are unique in that they are painted on the inside. Did you know that it is said that nothing bad will happen to anyone within earshot of the windbell?  The samurai and noble families used to hang them in their homes. The sound of the windbell is very gentle.  I think it makes for a great souvenir, too. Perhaps I will get one for my father.

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August 4, 2018 Summertime

Miami 英会話

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8月11－15日、25日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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Summertime

Yesterday in class, we were discussing all the many things that people love about summer.  Among them were: watermelon, beer, the beach, fireworks, summer festivals, wind bells 風鈴, beer gardens, etc. I love summer in Japan because it is so exciting.  In my country, we don't have so many festivals or fireworks during the summer. They seem to be happening every weekend during the summer in Japan. By the way, I don't quite understand the meaning of "Beer Garden". Does the beer grow next to the cucumbers and sweet potato? lol

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August 3, 2018 Haneda

Miami 英会話

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8月11－15日、25日は休みです。
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Haneda Airport

Easy part 簡単　You can do it!

When I went to Hawaii, I flew on Hawaiian Air from Haneda Airport. I love Haneda.  It is my favorite airport in the world. It is so clean and so modern. Whenever I travel anywhere in the future, I hope it will be from Haneda Airport.

Hard part チャレンジ  Give it your best shot!

Upon my arrival in Japan from Hawaii, I was stunned by the service at Haneda airport.  My plane arrived a little before 10pm, and I was on the train no later than 10:30pm!  When going through customs and passport control, there were staff ther to usher me through. I felt as if I were a VIP, even though I was in the same line as everybody else. Than, when I got to baggage claim, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my baggage right away.  Usually, at other airports, I have to wait and wait and wait and wonder if my luggage is coming at all. Finally, the train lines are super close, and I could easily jump on the next train home. Haneda is the best! Good job, Haneda!

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August 2, 2018 Summer Heat

Miami 英会話

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8月11－15日、25日は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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THE SUMMER HEAT

Key words & Phrases

• Heat cramps
• Heat exhaustion
• Heat stroke
• liquid
• plenty

Easy part 簡単　You can do it!

August is here. It is the hottest time of year in Japan.  In Florida, it seems that July is the hottest.  Everyone should be careful of the summer heat.  There are 3 main types of heat-related illnesses: heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Please be careful, drink plenty of liquids, and keep cool!

Hard part チャレンジ  Give it your best shot!

(From The Mayo Clinic)

In hot weather, your body cools itself mainly by sweating. The evaporation of your sweat regulates your body temperature. However, when you exercise strenuously or otherwise overexert in hot, humid weather, your body is less able to cool itself efficiently.

As a result, your body may develop heat cramps, the mildest form of heat-related illness. Signs and symptoms of heat cramps usually include heavy sweating, fatigue, thirst and muscle cramps. Prompt treatment usually prevents heat cramps from progressing to heat exhaustion.

You usually can treat heat cramps by drinking fluids or sports drinks containing electrolytes (Gatorade, Powerade, others), getting into cooler temperatures, such as an air-conditioned or shaded place, and resting.

Untreated, heat exhaustion can lead to heatstroke, a life-threatening condition that occurs when your core body temperature reaches 104 F (40 C) or higher. Heatstroke requires immediate medical attention to prevent permanent damage to your brain and other vital organs that can result in death.

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