–You can read the article below and use it in your lessons to discuss with your teacher.
この記事を読んで先生とレッスンで話し合おう!
Summary — Widespread rioting, looting and arson occurred in parts of England from August 6th to 10th, 2011. Disorder spread across London and to other areas of England, with the worst disturbances centred on several major cities.
It all started on 6 August 2011 when about 200 people marched in Tottenham to publicly protest their grievances of injustice. Disturbances started the same evening, and over the following days spread to other areas of London. As of August 13th, 2,275 people had been arrested, of whom more than 1,000 have been charged. The association of British Insurers estimated that the riots had caused more than £200 million worth of damage .
(James 26y.o. male US): The police shot and killed a man (who happened to be black) while he was working. The police said they thought the man was shooting back since one of the officers caught a bullet in his radio. Investigation showed that the man was unarmed and the only shots fired were from police guns. It happens here in America all the time.
The peple are rioting because they’re tired of that type of
inexcusableinjustice, along with other issues like unemployment and other things that are going on. That’s how the riots started. Now as more people have gotten involved its just become chaos.
And by the way, its not just poor blacks, rioting. There are people of all ages, races, and even members of rich families and reputable occupations have been caught rioting.
(Sarah 22y.o. female UK): Some black individual got shot for merely possessing a weapon he didn’t resist arrest or anything, later his family were made to wait outside the police station for 5 hours straight without a single answer, this sparked the riots… what escalated it: well black youths were stopped and searched by police 10 times more than white youths in the past year and most searches were unsuccessful in finding anything illegal. Add to that the fact 75% of youth services were cut by the government recently due to the economic recession, hence you can understand the youth are genuinely bored, thus you’ll find it interesting to see youths of all backgrounds were involved in this chaos.
Business English Expression and Phrases <ビジネス英会話フレーズ>
-Learn expressions such as idioms and slang that is unique to culture, age, and business!
新しい英語表現: 文化・時代・ビジネスで使う特有なイディオム表現や俗語を覚えよう!
–Hiroshi, Kazuma, and Susan are having dinner at Carl’s home. Carl’s wife, Kathy, is also present as she wants to meet his coworkers to better understand the people her husband works with —
Susan:
Kathy, everything looks so delicious! Where did you learn to whip up something like this?
Carl:
It’s all through trial and error. I really like to cook, and Kathy indulges my whims.
Kathy:
Carl has been getting better by the day. Actually, I am his guinea pig. When we have guests over, though, he only uses the tried and true recipes.
Hiroshi:
You really need to drop me a line when you need a taster Carl. This is awesome.
Carl:
Hiroshi, you are always welcome. That goes for you too Kazuma and Susan. I need more lab rats.
Kathy:
Kazuma, this wine you brought is absolutely out of this world. Where did you get it?
Kazuma:
I purchased it on my last business trip to San Francisco. Luckily, I had one day to relax so I was able to visit Napa Valley. I have extra bottles so I would be more than happy to bring some over next time Carl cooks!
–This section will cover a broad range of different grammar rules and explanations to help you understand sentence structure and improve awareness of English grammar.
このコーナーでは文法の規則や英文の構成についてわかりやすく学べるように解説しています。
What is the difference between "much" vs " a lot" ?
Read some of the sentences below and try to understand in which situations they are used correctly or incorrectly.
Examples of how "much" and "a lot" are used:
Ex:①
The man driving that very nice car has a lot of money.
(とても素敵な車を運転しているその男は、お金をいっぱい持っている。)
The man driving that very nice car has much money.
Ex:②
Please do not bother me. I do not have much time.
(お願いだから邪魔しないでください。時間がそんなに(多く)ないんです。
Please do not bother me. I do not have a lot of time.
(お願いだから邪魔しないでください。時間がいっぱいないんです。
Ex:③
Does Hiromi go out drinking much?
(ひろみは飲みに行くことが多いですか?)
Does Hiromi go out drinking a lot?
Note: "much" is usually not used in positive sentences. Instead, we us " a lot (of) ".
注)「much」は通常肯定文では使われないので注意!代わりに「a lot 」を使う。
Note: In negative sentences and in questions, either "much" or "a lot" can be used.
注)「much」と「a lot 」は否定文や疑問文ではどちらを使っても良い。
What is the difference between "few" and "little"?
Non Countable (不可算名詞)
Countable (可算名詞)
Little =
not much
Few =
not many
A Little =
some, a small amount
A Few =
some, a small amount
Ex:①
I enjoy my life in Japan. I have a few friends and we get together often.
(日本での生活が楽しい。私は何人かの友達とよく一緒にいる。)
I enjoy my life in Japan. I have a little friends and we get together often.
* The above mistake is due to countable vs non countable noun usage.
Ex:②
I can not take a vacation now as I have little money.
(私は少ししかお金がないので休暇をとることができない。)
I can not take a vacation now as I have few money.
* The above mistake is due to countable vs non countable noun usage.
Ex:③
I am not nervous going to Japan. I speak a little Japanese.
(日本に行くのに緊張はしていない。私は少し日本語が話せる。)
I am not nervous going to Japan. I speak little Japanese.
* The above mistake is due to either countable or non countable. Rather, it is in reference to how much of a language a person speaks. 上記のエラー例文は「可算か不可算」のどちらであるかにより決まる。言うなれば下の例文の言語がどれだけ自信をもって話せるかを表現するとわかりやすい。
–"I speak a little Japanese" has a positive meaning which is explaining that a person is confident in knowing the language enough to be able to get around. もし"I speaka littleJapanese" と言った場合、肯定的な意味となり、その人は日本語に自信があり十分渡り歩けるほどの日本語が話せる。ということを意味する。
–"I speak little Japanese" has a negative meaning which is explaining that a person is NOT confident in knowing the language enough to be able to get around.もし"I speak little Japanese"と言った場合は、否定的な意味となり、その人は日本語に自信がないことを表す。
Note: "Few" and "a few" are used to refer countable nouns
注)「few と a few」は可算名詞(=数えられる名詞)と一緒に使われる。
Note: "Little" and "a little" are used to refer to non countable nouns
注)「little と a little」は不可算名詞(=数えられない名詞)とともに使われる。
Answers to last months grammar questions:
Check back next month for the answers to the above questions. (回答は次月号で掲載します)
Last Month’s Answers: 1. so 2. such 3. so 4. such a 5. such a 6. so 7. such a 8. enough money 9. qualified enough 10. too hot 11. too quickly 12. too big 13. well enough 14. enough cups
NEW! – What was your most difficult "Japan" experience?
(Michael 28y.o. male Canadian): " How difficult is it really to get a phone in Japan? I thought it was pretty straighforward. I buy a phone, add money, and use it. right?.. That was what I thought until they said I could not get a phone unless I had registered with the city government office of my residence and update my visa information. Supposedly, this "security" procedure is to prevent terrorists and crime syndicates from getting phones to use for illegal purposes. Let’s just be honest as this rule does little to reduce illegal uses of prepaid phones or curb crime. It is more troublesome than anything. "
(Anthony 36y.o. male UK): "I found it very troublesome to find an apartment in Japan with all the rules of having to get a guarantor, pay obscene amounts of money upfront, and worst of all be limited by which apartments I could rent. When I visited some real estate agencies, several of them told me that since I was a "gaijin", many owners did not want to rent to me. This type of discrimination would lead to lawsuits of discrimination based on racial bias in my country. Personally, if I were an owner, I would not care where you came from. I would rent to any person who had a stable income ensuring that they could pay their rent. I would only require first and last months rent with a security deposit. "
(Amy 24y.o.female US): "Dating in Japan would have to be at the top of my list of things I find most difficult to adapt to. Why is it so easy for foreign guys to find Japanese girlfriends but so difficult for us foreign girls to find nice Japanese guys? I find it extremely frustating how shy guys are here. I mean come on! Is there something so difficult or intimidating about talking to a white girl? I saw this cute guy at the supermarket and tried to let him know I was interested in him by asking him if he knew how much an apple was. He just looked at me and said 100yen and walked away. Of course I knew the price as there is a gigantic sign displaying it. Did he not realize I was trying to give him an opportunity to talk to me more? Rather than continue talking to me, he walked away and kept watching me as I continued shopping. I wish guys would just understand that most of us girls would like it more if they were just brave enough to just come up and talk to us. We girls don’t bite. "