Topical Notes / その時々の話題

A Japanese comedian passed away. We knew him from long time ago and we will remember him for some encouraging words, too.

In this post, we will listen a Japanese song. While you enjoy it, you will learn some grammar about “te” form of verbs. /
この投稿では、日本語で歌を聞きます。楽しみながら、「て」形についての文法を覚えていただけます。

Recently, people in the southeast US have found big spiders in large numbers in their yards.
Called Joro Spiders, they may have come from Japan.
最近、米国南東部で家々の庭にたくさんの大きな蜘蛛が見つかっています。このジョロウグモ、日本から来たのかもしれません。

A pioneer in international fashion business passed away. We would like to thank him for the beautiful things he left.
国際的なファッションビジネスを始めたデザイナーが亡くなりました。たくさんの美しい物を残してくれたことに感謝したいと思います。

We heard about physical distance and psychological distance, but “social distancing” was something new for us in 2020.
物理的距離や心理的距離については聞いていましたが、今年「社会的距離の確保」という言葉は新しく感じました。

Better Hygiene Helps Japan Control The Flu Contents “Precautions for the New Coronavirus Help Japan Control the Flu” Some extracts…

This is a collection of advice from NHK and other sources, in early February 2020 on how to protect ourselves from infectious diseases in general. We hoped these would work fo Covid-19.

We saw two Asian movies. The stories were very different, but both followed a familiar Asian storytelling pattern, “ki-sho-ten-ketsu”.
アジアの映画を二つ見ました。筋はずいぶん違うけれど、どちらもアジアの物語によくある「起承転結」だと思いました。

We read an interesting news article: A gangster studied in a jail to have a professional job and began to lead a serious life. He was not young.
面白いニュースがありました。もう若くないヤクザが服役中に勉強を始め、資格を得て普通の人生を始めたというのです。