Book Review 2-12: THE LONG ROAD

I read THE LONG ROAD. This is written about a man's background. He is a strong runner. However, his right leg gets impaired suddenly on his way home. Then, he has to have an artificial leg. He remembers a story about a man with one leg in a marathon. Then, he decides to run from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean for a purpose.

Terry Fox is a good student and a strong athlete in 1976. In March, 1997, he is running home, but he stops suddenly. His right leg gets impaired. His family takes him to the hospital, and the doctors operate. 3 weeks later, Terry has an artificial leg. He goes home in April, but he often thinks of the children with cancer in the hospital. 'Only money can stop the pain,' he thinks. He remembers a story about a man with one leg in the New York Marathon. Then, he decides to run from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean to earn money. Terry's marathon starts at St. John's, Newfoundland, on April 12, 1980. His friend, Doug Alward, is his driver. Terry runs in the day and sleeps in the car at night. He runs 550 miles in 23 days. In Port-Aux-Basques, the people of the town give 8000 dollars to him. On May 8, he is on the road to Halifax. He finishes his first 1000 miles. Terry is near Moncton, New Brunswick, and is in pain from his artificial leg on May 28. 'See a doctor,' Doug says, but Terry says no. On June 24, he arrives in Montreal. He meets Isadore Sharp there. Isadore gives 2 dollars for every mile of the marathon to Terry and has important massage for all Canadians: 'Give money.' After Tronto, Terry doesn't run well. However, he doesn't see a doctor. On September 1, he is running near Thunder Bay. Suddenly, there is a bad pain in his lungs. In the end, he can't run any more, and an airplane takes him back home. Then, he goes to the hospital in New Westminster. Terry runs a total of 3339 miles. He has 1400000 dollars for sick children. This is good, but he has cancer again. Sadly, the doctors can't stop his cancer. Terry dies on June 28, 1981. He becomes a Canadian hero and leaves a message 'Stop the pain.'

I didn't know about Terry Fox until I read THE LONG ROAD. He seems to be patient and brave. Talking about the reason why he seems to be patient, there is a scene which he continued to run in spite of being in pain from his artificial leg in this book. Then, talking about the reason why he seems to be brave, there is a scene which he decided to run from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in it. If I were Terry, I couldn't do these things probably. Personally, THE LONG ROAD is a book which encourages people who read it. [492 words]

SoundPark

A friend of mine I haven't seen for a long time asked me to go out to karaoke about 1 p.m. today. Fortunately, I was free then, so I went to his house first(^_^) When I arrived there, 'my friends who you know also come here. Therefore, 5 people including us are going to go to a karaoke bar. Is that OK!?' he said. That's all right for me, so I agreed his offer(^^)/ Then, about 3 p.m., we got to SoundPark, a karaoke bar. We sang songs for 5 hours（*^_^*） Interestingly, we sang only songs whose title are 3 letters while we were in a karaoke room because one of us proposed that to me and other friends(*^^)v It was hard for me to select the songs(>_<) However, I enjoyed singing them very much（＾◇＾）[135 words]

Book Review 2-11: MAISIE AND THE DOLPHIN

I read MAISIE AND THE DOLPHIN. A girl whose mother and father work at an animal hospital goes out in a boat with her grandfather to go swimming underwater. One day, they find an injured dolphin by an American. They take the dolphin home. Then, they take care of the dolphin very hard. Can the dolphin gets well and go to the sea again?

Maisie King lives in the Bahamas. Her mother and father work at the Freeport Animal Hospital next to their home. She and her grandfather often go out in his boat to go swimming underwater. One day, she sees a piece of wood. There are some letters on it: 'M..N...A.' Then, she swims back to the boat. He is watching a big, expensive American boat and a dolphin. Surprisingly, The American boat hits the dolphin and drives away! They take the dolphin home. They find the American boat. 'Why is it here?' Maisie asks her mother. Carl Flint, an American, and your father are in our house. I think it's his boat,' she answers. Maisie runs into the house and hears her father. 'You want to give me 200000 dollars for the hospital and this house!?' he says. 'Yes, I want to build a big hotel here. However, you don't need to decide to do it. 4 weeks later, I'll come here again,' Carl says. After that, Maisie names the dolphin Ben. Since she takes care of him with her family very hard, he gets strong and well again! Then, the time when he goes home comes. Maisie is very sad, but she takes Ben out to sea with her grandfather. A few minutes later, Ben swims away. However, she can see a dolphin beside them in the water. The dolphin is Ben, and he gets an old key in his mouth. She dives into the water. Under the water, Maisie sees a piece of wood with the letters 'M..N...A' on it. 'I remember this!' she thinks. He takes her to a box which has the word 'MONTOYA' on the top. She takes the key from his mouth and opens the box. There are lots of gold coins in it! Thanks to Ben, Maisie's father can decline Carl's offer. In addition, her mother and father can build a new hospital.

MAISIE AND THE DOLPHIN included an impressive scene for me. It is that Ben took Maisie to a treasure box under the water. If he hadn't found the treasure box, her family might have had to sell their hospital and house for a living. Therefore, I thought Ben did a very good job for them. After I read the scene, it seemed to be like a part of the scene in The Grateful Crane to me. Perhaps, he might think he wanted to give something back to them after they helped him. [474 words]

Joyfull

I went to Joyfull to have dinner with my friends today(^^♪ A lot of people came here, so we had to wait about for 10 minutes(-_-;) I ordered mixed grill for the first time. It was delicious than expected(^^)/ We met each other for a long time, and had various things which we wanted to talk. Therefore, we talked about 3 hours there!(^^)! I had a very good time(*^^)v [68 words]

Book review 2-10: Marcel and The White Star

I read Marcel and The White Star. The scene of this story is in France. 2 men cause a case. A detective is going to solve the case. He goes to several places alone. Then, he knows a fact. Can he solve the case?

Marcel is a French mouse and a secret detective. One day, he waits at the station in Louvre. He sees 2 men standing next to him. They talk about Opera Star, a diamond which Zaza has. Amazingly, they are going to steal it! Then, they go to her house to steal it. Marcel follows them to protect it. However, they steal it well! Then, they drive a car to run away from Zaza's house. He sees that, so he gets on the car. After half an hour, the car stops next to a cafe. In one corner in the cafe, a woman sits on a chair. They show her Opera Star. 'Oh! This is it,' she says. When they are about to give it to her, Marcel gets it well! Then, he can get away from them! After that, he walks back to Zaza's house. A problem happens to him there. It is that he can't take the ring off! There is a soap on a table, so he uses the soap to take it off. A few minutes later, he can do it fortunately! Marcel puts Opera Star on the table. Zaza finds it after he gets out of her house. She gets happy and feels mysterious.

The content of Marcel and The White Star ended up to be a happy ending finally. Fortunate things such as getting Opera Star on his first attempt, getting away from the thieves and taking it off by soap happened to Marcel, so I think he did a good job. In my opinion, Zaza may never know the truth in spite of his job because he may also never tell anyone the truth. [324 words]

A lot of mandarin oranges

When I went to one of my relatives' house with my family on December 26, she gave us a lot of mandarin oranges(^^)/ She and her husband have a mandarin orange grove, so they give us them every year. This is happy for us(#^.^#) They look delicious, so I wanna have them soon(^^♪ [53 words]

Book Review 2-09: THE TROY STONE

I read THE TROY STONE. There is a stone at Troy. A main character finds it. Then, something happens to him suddenly when he cleans it. Is he OK!? Well, I will introduce you to a summary of this book.

Mark and Fay, his sister, are visiting the city of Troy. They are getting on a bus. At Troy, they start to look at the old city. After an hour, Mark sits under a tree. 'I'm going to stop here for a moment,' he tells Fay. Then, Mark sees a flat and yellow stone on the ground. He picks it up and starts to clean it with his hands. Suddenly, there is a white strong light in his eyes! Mark closes them. 10 seconds later, he is standing on a beach. He can see hundreds of ships and men. Then, one of men says to him, 'Boy! Come here! Carry these woods.' 'I don't know your face,' Mark says. 'Oh, are you new here?' the man says. 'Yes, I'm new here,' he says. The man's name is Andros. At the top of a small hill, there is a big wooden horse. 'This horse is going to win the war for us Greeks. However, we can't find a yellow and flat stone for the second eye. Do you know anything about it?' he says. 'Wait! I have it,' Mark says. 'Oh, that's it! We must thank you. You can come with us in the horse tomorrow night,' Andros says. At that night, the war breaks out. Mark sees the cruelty of the war. After a few minutes, 2 Trojans with sword come in the horse. 'I may be killed by them,' Mark thinks. They are about to kill him with sword. 'Please don't kill me! Don't kill me! Please!' he says. After that, Mark is under the tree. 'Mark! The bus is leaving in a minute,' Fay says. He looks at the yellow stone in his hand. He thinks it has special powers.

There are 2 interesting points for me in THE TROY STONE. The one is that the flat and yellow stone which Mark finds has a power which can make people who clean it be in the other world. This can be a turning point in this book. The other is that Mark sees the cruelty of the war. I think he learned we must never break out the war because of that although it isn't written in THE TROY STONE. As a whole, I think the content of it is a little mysterious. [385 words]

A word

You may have heard this word, 'kin ga shin nen' at least once or twice(^.^) Do you know what it means(?_?) It means 'I am very happy to extend your pleasure for a Happy New Year.' Probably, when we become a member of society, we will use it, I think(^_^) Incidentally, I took the right picture in SunLiveCity Kumanan（*^_^*）

Pizzas

This picture shows a pizza delivered from Pizza Pockets, a pizza store. I sometimes order pizzas from it(^_^) Personally, I like a pizza topped with teriyaki chicken(^^)/ What pizzas do you like(?_?) In this connection, the pizza which the left picture shows is a pizza topped with tandoori chicken and salsa sauce. Does it look delicious(?_?) [56 words]

Book Review 2-08: Julia Roberts

I read Julia Roberts. This book is about an actress's background. She is a superstar and has a happy life now. However, she was in hard situations until she won an award. How did she get over her difficulties?

Julia Roberts is a smart and beautiful actress. She is happy and a superstar now. However, the process that she was so was very hard. Lulia is born in Atlanta in 1967. She has on older brother and sister, Eric and Lisa. Their parents, Walter and Betty, work all day and night at a school for young actors, but there's never much money. In 1972, they get a divorce. Lisa and Julia live with their mother. On the other hand, Eric lives with his father. Julia has her happy high school life. After she finishes school, her brother, sister and Julia move to New York and live together. Eric is an actor. One day, he asks her to have a role in a movie on which he appears because the director is looking for an actress. Thanks to that, Julia can make her debut on it as an actress! After that, she gets work in some movies. In addition, she has some boyfriends. Then, she has married and divorced a boyfriend once. Now Hollywood directors know her name. The year 1991 is difficult for Julia. Movies on which she appears aren't so popular among people. Therefore, she can't get much money. She stops work for about 2 years. From 1993 to 2003, she marries and divorces 2 new boyfriends. However, some movies on which she appears are big hits. Then, Julia won the night of the Academy Awards, which are awards for very good actors, at last in 2001!

I didn't know about Julia until I read Julia Roberts, so I benefited my interests. Eric seemed to be a key person on it because Julia could make her debut as an actress thanks to his offer. I thought she had a change of mind easily. The reason why I thought so is that she had gone out with or married boyfriends for only a short period of time many times. Julia worked very hard to get much money. However, she may seem to be a selfish woman in individuals because of scenes on Julia Roberts. In my opinion, I thought she was a hard worker. [394 words]

Brilliant illuminations

I watched illuminations at Q-NET which is a security company in Obiyama today(^.^) There is a famous place as a illuminated place in Kumamoto. I watch them every year（*^_^*） They were very beautiful, I thought(^^)/ Have you ever watched them(?_?) If you have never done them, I recommend you to go to watch them once!(^^)! By the way, Saisyunkan Pharmaceutical Company is also a famous illuminated place. I wanted to go there to watch illuminations(>_<) However, I couldn't do that this year unfortunately(T_T) Next year, I wanna go there to watch them with someone(^^♪ [94 words]

Christmas foods

Today's night, I had chickens and a chocolate cake with my family at home(^^♪ My mother bought the chickens at Kentucky Fried Chicken, and my father bought the chocolate cake at Ishimura, a cake shop. They were delicious, and it tasted sweet and a little bitter(*^^)v Personally, it looked like tiramisus(^_^) What did you have at today's night(?_?) [58 words]

Eve

Christmas Eve is coming soon, you know(^_^) What are you doing on the day(?_?) Maybe, I will stay at home with my family and have chickens at night. As my desire, by next Christmas Eve, I wanna make a girlfriend and watch Christmas illuminations and having dinner with her on the day!!! Anyway, I hope you have the great Christmas Eve＼(^o^)／ [61 words]

MONOPOLY

I played MONOPOLY, which is a board game, with my friends today(^.^) It was the first time for me to do it(^^) Well, I will explain the content of it to you a little. The players buy lands, companies and rails. Then, they increase money they have by charging tolls to other ones. Finally, the player who has most money of all them is a winner!! In spite of playing it for the first time, fortunately, I was the winner in this game!(^^)! I was happy about that and felt MONOPOLY very exciting♪ [93 words]

Learning with computers

http://hibi.hamazo.tv/e862447.html

Introduction

We can use various functions by computer. Among them, the Internet, 'powerpoint', 'excel', 'word' and so on especially are more useful. Then, it becomes taken as a matter of course for a member of society to be able to use them in recent years. Therefore, junior high school, high school and university students learn about computers in class. Well, I'll talk about my computer skill before, during and after Writing Ⅲ and Ⅳ.

Body

(Before Writing Ⅲ & Ⅳ)

I took the class of introduction to information processing at Kumamoto Gakuen University (KGU) when I was a freshman. However, I didn't learn about blogs in the class. Therefore, I couldn't understand what I had to do when a KGU's English teacher told me to start my blog in February, 2007. Then, I became anxious about blogs. However, I thought I would do my best then.

(During Writing Ⅲ)

I heard some words such as 'browse', 'label' and 'attachment' in Writing Ⅲ for the first time. At first, I couldn't understand them, so I couldn't keep up with the class. However, the more I took it, the more I got to keep up with it. Then, I learned how to write essays and book reviews in English. It was also the first time for me to learn about them. What was the most difficult for me in Writing Ⅲ was that I had to type more than 100 words in a test of typing. I practiced for the test many times, so I could pass it in July! Thanks to this, I could type faster than before.

(During Writing Ⅳ)

Although I had various experiences in Writing Ⅲ, I had new ones in Writing Ⅳ. One of them was that I wrote a movie review. A way of writing the movie review was different from the way of writing book reviews, so I had trouble with it. In Writing Ⅳ, I often browsed through some blogs to make a comment on them. Then, I learned the usefulness of links when I visited to them. Moreover, since I learned how to post videos on my blog, I posted some ones on it to please visitors. I also posted many pictures on it, so I thought it became more interesting for them than before.

(After Writing Ⅲ & Ⅳ)

Through Writing Ⅲ and Ⅳ, I could learn about advanced computer skills. In addition, I could type faster than before. However, I didn't study about 'powerpoint' in the classes, so I thought I had to study about it in person. Sometime, I want to start my blog in Japanese by using my experience about blogs to advantage. Of course, there are still a lot of things to learn to do it. Therefore, I'll take classes of information processing at KGU.

Conclusion

Well, I have talked about my computer skills before, during and after Writing Ⅲ and Ⅳ. Learning with computers isn't so easy for us. It becomes essential for a member of society to be able to use 'word', 'excel' and 'powerpoint' in recent years. Therefore, we have to learn about computers, especially the software. Anyway, it is important for us not to give up learning about computers. [522 words]

A new cellphone sold by NTT Docomo

New cell-phones are being sold by NTT Docomo now. The upper picture shows 'SH905i', which is one of '905i' series（*^_^*） I wanna buy this cell-phone now, so I feel people who have it envious when I see them(>_<) In order to buy it, I need to save money for it(^^♪ [50 words]

http://docomokeitai.blog95.fc2.com/blog-category-70.html

VIP

The third period was canceled, so I went to VIP, near KGU, with my friends（＾◇＾） We went to a karaoke bar in there. Then, we sang sons for 2 hours(^_^) After that, some friends of mine played a racing game, and other ones watched them play the racing game♪ We enjoyed singing songs and playing or watching it(*^。^*) In this connection, the game some friends of mine played is MARIO CART. [71 words]

Memorable experiences for me

I had various experiences until today. Among them, I will talk about 2 memorable ones.

The one is that I could get to be good at English by an English cram school teacher. Until I was a first-year junior high school student, I was poor at it. However, he taught me it very kindly many times, so, thanks to him, I didn’t realize I got to be good at English. If I hadn’t met him, I wouldn’t go to Kumamoto Gakuen University now.

The other is that I did a trial lesson. Of course, I had never done it till I was a freshman. I knew the difficulty of teaching students by doing it a little. In addition, I also knew I was very nervous when I taught them. I think I want to do it one more time.

These experiences were very precious for me. I want to have a lot of various experiences in the future. [158 words]

Hirose

I went to Hirose, a supermarket, near KGU with my friends yesterday（●＾o＾●） I went there for the first time. I was a little surprised when I entered Hirose because there was bigger than I anticipated(>_<) Hirose has a good range of goods, and they are relatively reasonable(^^)/ Therefore, there is especially convenient for people who live on their own, I think♪♪ [61 words]

Book Review 2-07: BROWN EYES

I read BROWN EYES. This book is written about a man and woman who stay at a hotel. One day, the man is spoken to by some people. 'Hello again,' they say. However, he feels strange about that because he meets them for the first time on the day. He gradually thinks someone is pretending to be him. The woman worries about him, so they decide to look for the person. They have only 1 clue. It is the person is like him. Can they know the truth?

Peter and Susan, a couple, arrived at The Hotel Vista, their hotel in Lea-on-Sea, on Saturday. Mrs Brown who works there brought 2 cups of coffee to them, and she talked with them a little. They met first 13 years ago in the hotel. In other words, the hotel was a memorable place for them! 'Hello again,' Mary who is Mrs Brown's daughter said to Peter. 'Again?' he said. 'Yes. Don't you remember? You said "hello" in the bank yesterday,' she said. 'Oh, y...yes!' he said and pretended to remember. After that, Peter and Susan walked down to the sea to swim. Then, they went to Connor's cafe. 'Hello again!' John Connor said to Peter. However, this wasn't the second time for Peter to meet him. Peter felt strange about that. 'Someone is pretending to be me,' he thought. They looked for the person, but they couldn't find the person. Suddenly, Susan moved back. It's him!' she said. They didn't want to lose him, but they lost him. After that, they went back to the hotel. A sound was heard from their room. They went into the room carefully. Then, they found a picture on the bed. Amazingly, the picture showed Peter and Susan! 'Who took it?' they thought. Suddenly, they heard a noise, and a man with Peter's face was there. He had a gun in his hand. 'Don't move. Or I'll shoot,' he said. Peter was afraid of his face, not his gun. He had Peter's nose, mouth, ears and hair. Susan knew him. His name was Stephen who worked with her 15 years ago. 'I love you,' he said. 'I do not love you,' she said. Susan persuaded him to surrender himself to the police desperately. However, Stephen shot her. Susan was dead!! Then, he hit Peter on the head. It all went black. After some time, Peter opened his eyes again. He tried to get up, but it was difficult. 'Do you plan to shoot me, too?' he said. 'No, I don't. You're going to prison,' Stephen said. Then, Mrs Brown came to the door. 'What are you doing in there?' she shouted. He put his hand over Peter's mouth. 'I shot Susan! I'm sorry,' he said. 'Now she'll phone the police, and they'll come for you,' he said. Then, he took the mask from his face. In belief, he shifted the crime to Peter! 'Now there's only 1 Peter again,' he said. A few hours later, some policemen came here. Eventually, they took Peter to prison.

BROWN EYES included a sad conclusion. I couldn't imagine the conclusion from the title of this book. Peter seemed to be pity because he lost Susan and was shifted the crime, which was the murder of her, by Stephen. Then, I thought Mrs Brown was a little stupid. The reason why I thought so is that she trusted Stephen's words and called the police soon. Were I her, I would look inside the room. [583 words]

Ikinari dango

The forth period was canceled today, so I went bowling with my friends(^o^) We had bowled for one and half an hour. After that, 'I'm a little hungry, so shall we have something(?_?)' a friend of mine said. I and other friend of mine were a little hungry too(>_<) Therefore, we decided to buy something. On the way home, we found an 'ikinari dango' shop(^_^) We bought one 'ikinari dango' individually the left picture shows(*^^)v It was tasty! In this connection, the bowling alley and the 'ikinari dango' shop which we went to are in Suizenji. [96 words]

Book Review 2-06: ISLAND FOR SALE

I read ISLAND FOR SALE. This story is about an island. There is a castle on the island. A man, a main character in ISLAND FOR SALE, lives in the castle with his dog. One day, 2 American people come to the island to see and buy it. What does the man do in this story?

There is an island near Scotland. The name of the island is Lana. Lana isn't big, but it's very beautiful and quiet. Then, there is a castle on Lana. A young man, Duncan McTavish, lives in the castle with his dog, Jock. In Duncan's castle, there are many big rooms. The castle is very cold and dark in winter. One Monday morning in April, Duncan gets a letter. It is from the electricity company. 'Electricity from October to March: 5000 pounds,' it says. He doesn't have 5000 pounds, so he decides to sell his island and castle. He telephones Mr Moneybags who sells houses and castles in London. 2 days later, Mr Moneybags telephones Duncan. 'Leaping Larry, a famous American rock star, wants to buy your island for his girlfriend. He wants to see the island tomorrow afternoon,' Mr Moneybags says. On the day, Larry and his girlfriend, Roxanne, come to the island by helicopter. She is with her dog, Bobo. They go into Duncan's castle. It's very dark, so Larry falls down. 'Where are the lights?' he asks. 'I'm sorry, there isn't any light. The company stopped my electricity this morning. Therefore, there aren't hot food and hot water either,' Duncan says. 'I do not like this place,' Roxanne says. In the morning, a fact is uncovered. Larry will build a big new house on Lana! Duncan doesn't think he wants to sell his island. They see the island by his boat. 'We can make the island interesting. I know people with film companies. They can come here and make films,' Larry says on the way. When Duncan hears about that, his thought he doesn't want to sell the island gets hardened. Suddenly, Jock jumps into the sea to catch a rabbit on the island. Then, Bobo jumps in, too. 'Larry! Get Bobo!' Roxanne screams. However, he can't swim, so he doesn't move. Because of that, Larry and Roxanne quarrels. She moves a lot on the boat, so she falls into the water. Duncan helps her. 'Take me back to California!' she says. After that, Larry and Roxanne go back there. 'Larry isn't going to buy my island,' Dancan says. However, he can't get 5000 pounds. A day later, he sees a woman who is painting a picture. She is Jean Stewart, a teacher. He takes her to his castle. 'I have no money. I love my island, but I can't make money from it!' he says. 'People can come here for holidays. They can paint pictures of your island. We can make a lot of money!' she says. 'You're right,' he says. Now McTavish Painting Holidays are very famous. Every year, many visitors come to the island. The rooms in the castle aren't cold and dark now because they can get a lot of money. Then, Duncan and Jean married now. They have 2 children. Ultimately, Duncan gets happy!!

I thought Duncan had a deep affection for Lana because he didn't think he wanted to sell his island when he heard Larry's axe. Then, Jean seemed to be a savior of Duncan and the woman for him when I read ISLAND FOR SALE. The reasons why I thought so are that he got a lot of money thanks to her idea and married her! By the way, the content of it may be easy for you to understand, so how about reading it if you haven't read it? [626 words]

The King Of Grilled Chicken

This picture shows The King Of Grilled Chicken, a grilled chicken stand which comes to near my house on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The grilled chicken stand is in front of Marushoku, a supermarket, on the days（*^_^*） I sometimes go there and buy several grilled chickens♪ In my opinion, 'negima' and wings are my favorite ones(^^)/ What grilled chickens do you like!?!? [62 words]

TOEFL

I took the TOEFL test today(^_^) This was the second time for me to take it. The tempo of conversations recorded on a tape was very fast(>_<) Then, questions about long sentences were very difficult, so I hadn't enough time to answer all questions about them(T_T) Personally, the TOEFL test is more difficult than the TOEIC one. Anyway, I think I have to make more efforts such as listening to English conversations and reading long sentences than before!! [78 words]

http://www.cieej.or.jp/toefl/index.html

Tomonori Jinnai

Do you know Tomonori Jinnai(?_?) He is a famous comedian. He sometimes appears on The God Of Entertainments, which is a comic dialogue TV program. Personally, his materials are very funny, I think(^_^)v One of them, about a car navigation system, is my favorite material(^^♪ I posted a video about it below(^_^) If you have time, please watch the video!! [60 words]

What are they?????

Two stones which the upper picture shows are smiling＼(◎o◎)／！ What are they(?_?) When I found them at Yamae rest area in Hitoyoshi, I was surprised(>_<) Have you ever seen them there(?_?) By the way, I am curious about the following, 'When were the two stones made, and who made them!?', now. In some ways, I might be lucky to be able to see such the stones(*^^)v [74 words]

SHIDAX

SHIDAX is one of karaoke bars. I often go there with my friends after I went to a drinking party in Shimo Street.(^_^)v The fee for a karaoke room per hour is a little expensive compared with common karaoke bars(>_<) However, SHIDAX gives us great service(^.^) Now is such as the Christmas and year-end party season, so there is convenient for now, I think♪ [64 words]

http://www.shidax.co.jp/sc/

Learning with computers

I am learning about such as Gmail and blog now. I post assignments such as essays and book reviews on my blog. When the class of Writing Ⅲ began, I couldn't keep up with the class because I didn't know about the usage of Gmail and blog very well. Therefore, I asked my friends and teachers many times. The more I took it, the more I got used to using them. However, there is a problem. It is that I can't type fast, so I can't type more than 150 words in 5 minutes. Now, I am keeping in practice of typing. [102 words]

*I typed about learning with computers as free typing on today's class of Writing IV for 10 minutes because Mr.B told us to do so.

For the first time...

31

I went to 31, an ice cream shop, with my family yesterday(^^ゞ When I entered the shop and looked at the menu, I was a little surprised because there are more kinds of ice creams than before! I ordered 'cappuccino and espresso concert', which is an ice cream released in November, 2007(^_^) It tasted slightly bitter and delicious(^^♪ In the case of tastes of ice creams, I don't like too sweet ones, so I thought I found a great ice cream when I had 'cappuccino and espresso concert'♪ If you like slightly bitter taste of ice creams, I recommend you to have it once☆ [105 words]


The website of 31 is here（*^_^*）

TV in Japan

http://www.sharp.co.jp/aquos/lineup/gx3_52/index.html

Introduction

TV is one of major sources of knowledge for us now. Then, we can get lot of information about such as news, education, sports and music on TV. In Japan, there is a variety of television stations. The broadcasting system has started to switch in recent years. Well, I'll talk about digital broadcasting, NHK and commercial messages.

Body

(Digital broadcasting)

From 2003, the broadcasting system in Japan began to switch from analog to digital broadcasting. One of advantages of the digital broadcasting is that images on TV are more vivid than before. Incidentally, analog broadcasting will be terminated by 2011. Therefore, people who have TV sets which aren't had tuners for the digital broadcasting built-in will have to buy the tuners by the year if they want to watch TV. Now, they ate more than 500 yen at least, so it's one of disadvantages of the digital broadcasting.

http://www.dpa.or.jp/

(NHK)

NHK is a television station in Japan. It means Japan Broadcasting Corporation in English. As features of it, there are many TV language programs on it. An English TV program, 'can you speak English?' is famous among them. Anyway, we can learn not only English but also French, German, Chinese and so on on NHK. Personally, TV language programs on it are very useful and valuable.

http://www.nhk.or.jp/

(Commercial messages)

Now, a lot of commercial messages are broadcasted on TV. Usually, each of them is broadcasted for 15 to 30 seconds. They can affect us more or less. For example, when a person watches a good commercial message about something to drink, the person can get to feel like having it. Recently, commercial messages are also delivered on the Internet. Therefore, we can watch them anytime we like.

http://www.cmjapan.com/

Conclusion

Well, we are benefiting from TV before we know it. Watching TV moderately is very good for us. We can get information anytime now. However, it is important for us to choose the right information. In other words, it's up to us how we make use of information from TV. [330 words]

Shrimps

When I came home after school on last Thursday, my mother was boiling shrimps which my uncle who lives in Aichi prefecture sent to my family at the kitchen(^_^) I was surprised to see the shrimps because they were bigger than ordinary ones!! I had them with my family, and they were tasty(^_^)v I wanna have them by other cooking methods if possible next time♪ [65 words]

CoCo ichibanya

CoCo ichibanya is a curry restaurant. I like curry rice very much, so there is one of my favorite restaurants. When I go there, I often order vegetable curry or fried chicken curry. They are relatively reasonable. Then, we can choose hotness of curry rice when we order. It is a good service, I think. What do you think about that!? Anyway, if you wanna get more information about CoCo ichibanya, please click the website below!! [76 words]

http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/

A lunch of fried chicken

Since I was doing many assignments in KGU until 10 p.m., so I decided to stop at Hokkahokka Tei to buy a lunch(^_^)v I bought a lunch of fried chicken. Fortunately, the discount campaign on it is running there now, so I could buy it cheaper than usual(#^.^#) When I came home from there, I had it（*^_^*） It was tasty(^^♪ In this connection, we can buy the lunch of fried chicken at 440 yen there. [78 words]

Book Review 2-05: The Call of the Wild

I read The Call of the Wild. This book is a story in 7 chapters. Then, there is also a chapter head in each chapter in it. The scenes of it are in California, Alaska, San Francisco and so on. It is written about a dog. The dog meets various people and other dogs. His life changes gradually by having various experiences.


Buck was a strong dog with a thick coat. He was 4 years old. He lived in Mr. Miller's house in California. There were also other dogs there. Among them, Buck was the boss. One day, Manuel who worked for Mr. Miller put a rope around Buck's neck. Of course, Buck resisted him many times, but he pulled the rope around Buck's neck, so Buck fell to the ground, and his eyes closed! While he closed his eyes, Manuel sold a man who wanted a strong dog for finding gold him. The man put him in a box and went to a bar in San Francisco. After he opened his eyes, he attacked the man some times. However, the man hit him with a club and said 'Be a good dog, and I kill bad dogs. Do you understand?' After that, the man brought Buck some food and water. He ate and drank quickly. Then, one day, Perrault, a small French-Canadian man, looked at him and bought him and other dog. He took the two dogs to a boat which Spitz and Dave, two other dogs, and Francois, another French-Canadian man were on. They arrived in Alaska, and Francois took the dogs off the boat.

Buck's first day in this new and cold country was very bad because there were a lot of dangerous men and dogs everywhere. Francois put a harness on him. 'You have to wear it. Then you can pull the sledge', Francois said. When he shouted 'Mush!', Buck had to run quickly. He then shouted 'Ho!', Buck had to stop. In this way, Buck learned to pull the sledge. After many days, he got bigger and stronger than other dogs except for Spitz.

Spitz was the strongest dog of all dogs Perrault and Francois had. He wanted to fight with Buck because Buck got stronger every day. He thought he had to kill Buck. One day, they started to fight, and other dogs began to fight with them. As soon as Francois saw this fight, he made them stop desperately. He thought Spitz will kill Buck, and Buck will eat Spitz for dinner someday. Going through rocks and rivers, they arrived in Dawson. Seven days later, they left there. One day, Buck and Spitz had a big fight at last although they were tired each other! They attacked each other many times. Then, Buck bit Spitz's leg very hard. It was the criminal attack to Spitz, and Buck won the fight! He became the most important dog Perrault and Francois had!

Buck was the new boss and could work harder than Spitz, so Francois was very happy to have dogs like him. Other dogs were afraid of him and listened to him. When they arrived at Skaguay, a Scottish man met them and bought the sledge dogs including Buck. He and his friend worked for the Canadian Mail Company and carried people's letters to them. The next day, they took the sledge back to Dawson. After some days, Dave had the worst pain of all the sledge dogs. He could no longer work as hard as other sledge dogs. The Scottish man didn't want him to die in the snow, so his friend shot him to death.

They arrived in Skaguay. The sledge dogs were very tired, and their feet had cuts on them. Therefore, they needed a long rest. However, the Scottish men had to leave soon, so they bought new dogs to leave here, and Charles and Hal, American men, bought the tired dogs. They bought more dogs and had 14 animals. It was regrettable that they didn't have any plans and bring much food for them. Therefore, the dogs began to die. In one week, six dogs died, and other dogs were almost dead. They arrived at John Thornton's camp. John helped Buck because Hal was going to kill him here! After that, Charles, Hal and other dogs went across the river. Suddenly, the ice broke, and they fell into the cold water! Buck never saw them again.

John Thornton had bad feet from an accident before Buck came, so his friends made a camp for him. In the camp, Buck, Thornton and his other dogs waited for them. Then, Hans and Pete, Thornton's friends, arrived there with their boat. One day, on the way to going down the river to Dawson, the boat turned over, and Thornton fell into the clod river! Hans, Pete and Buck helped him desperately. However, Buck was in a lot of pain, so they waited for many weeks.

They went down some rivers and through some mountains. At the end of their trip, they found a wonderful place between 2 small mountains. There was a river near there. Then, at the bottom of this river, they could see gold! As soon as they found the gold, they took the gold very hard. Every day they got richer and richer! Suddenly, Buck started to dislike Hans, Pete and Thornton strangely. Then, he began to kill them. After that, he felt a very bad pain inside, and it didn't go away.


Reading The Call of the Wild, I thought Buck was a pitiful dog because he couldn't take a rest by selfish people even when he did need to do so. Personally, Dave was the most pitiful dog of all sledge dogs in it. The reason why I thought so is that he was shot to death by Scottish men when he couldn't get to work hard. As I read this scene, he seemed to be like a disposal thing. Anyway, altogether, I feel The Call of the Wild was a sad story. [1006 words]

Gingko trees

This picture shows gingko trees near '14 goukan' in KGU(^_^) I took it after the third period today. Recently, since I go near here every day, I often see them（＾◇＾） They are beautiful, I think(^^♪ What do you think when you see the upper picture(?_?) [45 words]

A TV program

I like watching TV very much. My favorite TV program is Wakattoland, which is broadcasted on Saturdays. 5 hosts appear on it. Among them, Kohei Takamura and Yumi Ogata are more famous. As its programs, there are such as ‘cineland’, an introduction of some movies, ‘gachi one fight’, battles of quarrel, and ‘must buy’, an introduction about clothes which university students wear. They are all interesting for me. [68 words]

The class of SpeakingⅣ(B)

The upper picture shows handouts which we use in the class of SpeakingⅣ(B)(^_^;) In it, we are practicing job interviews in English now♪ In the case of me, since even I have never had them in Japanese, it is very difficult for me to practice them in it(>_<) However, this activity makes me who I will be in the future, I think, so I need to make efforts for them☆★ [74 words]

TOEIC

I took the TOEIC test last Saturday(^_^) This was the third time for me to take it. Since I had a lot of assignments to finish recently, I could hardly spend time studying for it(T_T) It was very difficult for me to solve this time's TOEIC problems(>_<) I won't score high marks in it probably(-_-;) Next time, I do have to make efforts for it more than before(^^)v [68 words]

The website of TOEIC
　　　　 ↓
http://www.toeic.or.jp/

Book Review 2-04: Karen and the ARTIST

I read Karen and the ARTIST. This book is written about a woman a poor artist. The woman meets the artist at a cafe in Rome. He isn't famous as an artist. Moreover, no one buys his pictures. Therefore, she helps him and sells them in behalf of him in her country.

Karen is a flight attendant. Anderson, her father, is a professor. When she went back to her house, he told her to come into his study. Then, he showed her a picture. She said to him that the picture was beautiful. 'You understand art, Karen. I'm proud of you', Anderson said. On Monday, Karen worked again and brought passengers drinks and food. The flight to Rome was quite short. She had no work in the afternoon. She was going to fly out of Rome tomorrow morning. She walked for a long time. It was hot, and Karen was thirsty, so she went to a cafe. In the cafe, there were pictures everywhere. They were beautiful, and their colors were also great. 'Who is the artist?' Karen said to the barman. 'Don't talk to me about that artist', he said. The artist was coming here every day and a young man with dark brown hair. He was thin, and looked tired with his pictures when she saw him there. Then, 'can I see them?' she said. 'Of course', he said. His name is Antonio Brunetti. They were beautiful and she heard that no one bought them, so she asked him to sell them in behalf of him. He was glad to hear that, so he gave her them. 'I'm coming to Rome again next week', Karen said. The next day, she was at home again. She showed Anderson his pictures. He was surprised to look at them because they were very extraordinary and beautiful. After that, Karen took some of Antonio's pictures and went to an expensive art gallery in Bond Street. Most people who work there didn't deal with them because his name wasn't famous. However, a curator looked at them. Then, 'I want them, so I'll buy them for 1000 pounds', he said to Karen. She took 1000 pounds for them. a week later, Karen was in Rome again. She went to the cafe. In the cafe, she asked many people Antonio's whereabouts. Only a man knew it because he was a friend of Antonio! He was Giorgio. Giorgio took Karen to Antonio's house. When they arrived there, and she saw Antonio, he seemed to get the flu. 'Oh, Karen! You're here! I can't believe!', he said when he saw her. He wanted to paint her, but he couldn't stand up. She gave him money for sales of his pictures. He was very happy about that! A few days later, Antonio recovered from his flu, and Karen became his agent. Then, at last, painting her, his desire, came true!!

There are interesting points for me in Karen and the ARTIST. The first is Antonio gave Karen his picture easily. If I were him, I wouldn't do that. The second is she became his agent after he recovered from his flu. Probably, she might love him since when she met him. The final is Karen had a keen eye for good art. She might develop a sense of art thanks to Anderson. Karen and the ARTIST is a book only 15 pages long. In addition, the words used in it is easy. Therefore, if you haven't read it yet, How about reading it!? [585 words]

A kimuchi pot

A friend of mine invited me and my friends to have a kimuchi pot, a type of one-pot cooking, in his home yesterday, so we went there about 9 p.m.(^^♪ The kimuchi pot tasted a little spicy and very good!(^^)! It warmed us up. Kimuchi pots are a favorable food for winter, aren't they(?_?) [54 words]

A preventive shot against the flu

I got a preventive shot against the flu the day before yesterday（*^_^*） Have you had that yet!? Shortly after I got it, my left arm hurt a little(-_-;) However, the pain lifted soon(^_^)v In my opinion, if you don't wanna catch the flu, I do suggest that you give the preventive shot!! [52 words]

A dice

What's the thing which the left picture shows when you see it!? It is a dice used in a TV program, Gokigenyo(^_^) Do you know the TV program? If you wanna know about Gokigenyo, please click here♪ By the way, it is not the real, of course. I bought it as a souvenir for my family in Tokyo when I went there as a school trip(*^。^*) We put it on the table now. [73 words]

British Jacket: Book Review 2-6 Marcel and the Mona Lisa

British Jacket: Book Review 2-6 Marcel and the Mona Lisa

I have heard of Mona Lisa, but I have never read Marcel. When I read your book review, I knew about him a little. it is colorful, so it is easy to read. I suggest that you write 'introduction' on your book reviews from now. [45 words]

Hi-Ho's blog room: Book Review 2-04

Hi-Ho's blog room: Book Review 2-04 "Robin Hood"

Your book review includes the brief summary of it, so when I read it, it was easy for me to understand the content of it. Then, introduction and conclusion of it is also very good. In addition, the length of your book review is moderate. I think I want to write my book reviews like it!! [56 words]

American money

This picture shows American money which a friend of mine gave me(*^^)v I saw quarters for the first time when he gave me them♪ I can't use them in Japan, of course, so I will save them as a souvenir（*^_^*） In this connection, four quarters are worth less than 110 yen. [51 words]

A little happy thing for me☆

A native English teacher who teaches at KGU gave me a QUO card because I won the second prize of TOEIC summer challenge +40 which is held there during summer vacation every year in November♪♪ I was very glad to get it(>_<) I think I will buy some clothes by it now(^^) [52 words]

♪Community life♪

Introduction

As you know, we can't live alone, and have to help each other. Therefore, it is very important for us to have contact with people in communities and get along with them. What we start and continue to do is difficult, and can be one of lifelong problems though it has a weighty meaning. By the way, there are various places where we can meet them. Well, I will talk about part-time jobs, clubs and schools.

Body

(Part-time jobs)

There are a lot of various part-time jobs now. Did you have practical work experience when you were a junior high school student? If you had it, it might be great for you when you took on part-time jobs. By the way, among students, taking on a part-time job in a Japanese-style bar, restaurant and convenience store seems to be popular. In any workplaces, we can meet various people. Then, we can learn something about the world through communicating with them well and doing jobs. This is essential for the community life.

(Clubs)

You may imagine clubs or circles of school at first that you hear a word, 'clubs'. As you know, however, there are also clubs for the public. Talking about a personal affair, I belonged to Ludens Tennis Club, one of tennis clubs, when I was a high school student for a few months. In this tennis lessons, I communicated with seniors and juniors who I hadn't known. Thus, although this isn't always true in all people's case, you may be able to contact with various people if you belong to any clubs.

(Schools)

It may be easy to imagine schools as places of the community life. Students have to observe the school regulations. Of course, they aren't permitted to infringe them or take selfish actions. This is a typical example of the community life in schools. By the way, they can make friends through school events, club activities and so on. In addition, if they play with their friends on holidays, they can deepen exchanges. Probably, you may have experienced these things. They can make you who you are in the future, so it is essential for us to have gone through them.

Conclusion

Well, I have talked about part-time jobs, clubs and schools. I think there is another topic except for them about the community life. The thing which is common to part-time jobs, clubs and schools is the importance of making friends or communicating with other people. This is inevitable for us even if we want to avoid it. Therefore, we have to make efforts to have contact with people in communities and get along with them!!! [435 words]

After school...

Last Thursday, I went to FESTA, where is a game arcade on the first basement level of TSUTAYA in Shimo Street, with my friends after school(^_^) We played such as beat-'em-up games, quiz games and shoot-'em-up games♪ About 2 hours later, we went to McDonald's to have dinner. A friend of mine ordered a QUATER POUNDER which the upper picture shows. When I saw it, it's a big hamburger, I think(>_<) We enjoyed having dinner and talking each other there(^_^)v [75 words]