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2006-11-30 Thu 08:00
 I spent last evening at a shabu-shabu restaurant to entertain my German client. He had never had shabu- shabu before. There are a lot of Japanese restaurants in his hometown in Germany, but all are Sushi restaurants. He said that the reason why German people do not eat meat in the way of shabu-shabu was that there is no machine to slice meat so thinly in Germany. Speaking of Germany, when I visited a German company’s office in Japan, I noticed that all the office equipments like tables and chairs were imported from Germany. They are all huge for Japanese people. When I sit on the chair at the meeting room, I found my heels could not reach the floor, though I am more than 180cm tall. (^_^;)   [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-29 Wed 08:00
According to a survey, people only use English-Japanese, Japanese-English and Japanese dictionary with a portable electronic dictionary containing many kinds of dictionaries and additional functions.
First of all, most people use online dictionaries such as Yahoo dictionary on PC, but some people carry a portable electronic dictionary because it can be used anywhere without PC. The most popular portable electronic dictionary is Casio's. I also have a Casio. But I seldom need to look up the words outside of my office and home. I usually use software of dictionary on my PC. When I need to check the word outside, I can access Yahoo dictionary with my mobile phone. The only purpose of my using a portable electronic dictionary is to explain Japanese food (especially fish) and Japanese culture to my foreign clients at dinner. Therefore, I only use Japanese-English dictionary. Although you may be happy when you buy a portable electronic dictionary with various dictionaries, the use is actually limited, I think. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-28 Tue 08:00
According to a survey by the British aviation related research company, the rank of the Vietnam airline is 3 stars (the highest is 5 stars). Especially the evaluations of flight attendants' English language ability was very low.
Currently the following three conditions are determined as employment criteria. They are a high school graduate, 18 years old or more, and 225 or more TOEIC scores. The new flight attendants immediately start to crew by only a three months training after the employment. I think even if you roll a pencil for the answers of TOEIC, you could get 225 or more. That is because the test is done by a choice between only four things. That means that the right answer has a probability of 0.25. So everyone can obtain at least 250 points in theory. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-27 Mon 08:00
 I used to be an American football player. Today the Kansai College American football championship game was held in Kobe Stadium. The champion for 2006 is Kwansei Gakuin Univ.! It is for the first time in two years, and the team has got their 48th league championship. On December 3, the Kanto College American football championship game will be held between Keio Univ. and Hosei Univ. Kwansei Gakuin team will fight with the winner for the Japan College American football championship in Koshien Stadium on December 17. I am a big fan of KG Fighters, but I am not living in the Kansai region now, so I could not watch the game in the stadium. However, fortunately I can watch the game on the CATV this evening. I cannot wait! [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-26 Sun 16:31
I made a reservation for a resort condominium in Osaka on New Year's Eve, and an Onsen-Ryokan in Kyoto on New Year's Day for my family reunion.
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2006-11-25 Sat 23:58
 I went to a steak restaurant, "RAWRY'S THE PRIME RIB TOKYO" near Akasaka. It is a chain restaurant which is originally from the US, and there are a lot of restaurants all over the world. In 1938 the first restaurant opened in Beverly Hills in LA.  There was a waiting bar on the first floor and I saw many foreign people drinking there. When I wend down to the basement floor, I watched breathlessly the open space. It seemed there were more than 100 seats.  The meat was carried to my seat on a cart, and cut in front of me. The meat was like a roast beef. The beef seemed soaked in the gravy source. It was very delicious. I ordered the tasting course. It was not so expensive. Only 4,500 yen. (^^) [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-24 Fri 17:58
I am now making plans for New Year's holidays.
But it is not a plan for travel, but for how I should spend the holidays with my mother and brother's family. As my mother is old, it is a little difficult for her to prepare all the New Year’s dishes. In order for all our family members to be able to gather at one place, I am now looking for a Japanese-style hotel, Ryokan. However, any popular Ryokans in hot springs areas have been already booked. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-23 Thu 11:25
According to the survey by an insurance company, male workers in their 50s consider the compulsory retirement age (60) as a start of the second stage of their life. The younger workers tend to think the second stage starts when they leave the important positions at around 52.
Most women feel so when their husbands retire. I would think so when I am between 45 and 50. The dream after retirement for men in their 50s is visiting many world heritages. For women it is a long stay in a foreign country. My dream after retirement is a cruise around the world. My question is why ordinary men do not try to visit such a world heritage before retirement. For sure it is impossible to execute the plan such as a long stay in a foreign country and a cruise around the world before retirement. But it is easy to visit a world heritage one by one even before retirement. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-22 Wed 08:00
According to the survey conducted by a stress research center, for men his boss in the office causes stress the most, while for women her HUSBAND causes stress the most.
Men mainly chose the unreasonable instructions as the reason why they feel stress so much from their bosses. Women feel stress from their husbands mostly because their husbands do not tidy up the room. What to do in order to reduce stress is, for men, sleeping and drinking, while for women, impulse buying and grumbling (to her husband). "Husbands tend to endure patiently, while wives tend to get angry”, according to the survey. I should refrain from any comments. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-21 Tue 08:00
The former president of Mitsubishi Trading Corporation tried to introduce English as an official language in the company around ten years ago, according to the article in today's Nikkei newspaper.
I liked the reason because it is rational. It is not because English is merely used all over the world, but because English is the most suitable language for business. According to some French executive officer, French is too minute to draw up contracts. Japanese is too vague. English is a little minute and a little vague. So English is very functional for business. It is very interesting. I do not know much about French, but I believe firmly that the Japanese language and the Japanese way of business have a misleading vagueness. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-20 Mon 08:10
 I saw the movie, Letter 手紙 which is now showing at the theater. I was very moved to tears. That is probably because I have an elder brother and Kazumasa Oda's song moved me to strong emotions. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-19 Sun 09:21
I had managed an English mailing list until a few years ago. It was not so major, but around active 10 members were always there. Before I started my mailing list, I had been a member of a huge English mailing list. But the number of the members was gradually decreasing, and then virtually stopped. Consequently, I started the mailing list on my own. However, it has gone.
Now it is very difficult to find an active English mailing list. I thought the reason why English mailing lists suddenly lost their popularity during a few years. The studying-English boom still continues in Japan. I have come to the conclusion that Blog has replaced Mailing list. People who participated in English Mailing lists just wanted to write English for study and sometimes receive comments from others. But a mailing list sometimes bothers you with a lot of mail. Of course you could set up your own web site and write English on the board, but who browses your site out of a million of web sites? Blog is just a personal diary, but you can easily find the same topics and blog owners who have the same hobby and interests. Above all, you can write something at your own pace. Even if you are the owner, you do not need to manage other members because you are the only member on the blog. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-18 Sat 23:06
 Today I just relaxed and enjoyed myself at home. I rented three DVD films. One is a British film, The Constant Gardner. I explained the movie to a native English speaker, but I could not make myself understood. That is because the Japanese title is ナイロビの蜂. I said to him that I watched the DVD titled “Bees in Nairobi ” hahaha. (汗) The second one is The Claw of Demon, 鬼の爪, a Japanese film. The last one is also a Japanese movie, Memories of Tomorrow, 明日への記憶. Come to think of it, all the movies I watched today were profound. But on second thoughts, today may be a suitable day for watching such serious movies lying down on my bed in the dim room. (without so much as fully opening the curtains.) [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-17 Fri 17:28
I am sick in bed because of a cold in the stomach.
I have a high fever, a headache, a stomachache, diarrhea, and joint pain etc. I was given an intravenous drip injection at the medical clinic. When I asked a staff member at the reception desk how long I would need to wait my turn, she answered it would be around 90 minutes. At that time I could not sit on a chair for such a long time, so I asked if I could lie down in the bed. Luckily the bed was empty. I have had two kinds of cold during these two weeks. I think that It is because the temperature sharply went down. I need to be vaccinated against flu. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-16 Thu 08:00
The other day father of a friend of mine accepted a decoration. He was working for a post office for a long time. He was a public servant.
To tell the truth, I had not known much about the decoration system until then. I studied it. I found that basically decorations are awarded to public servants. Of course, private citizens can also receive decoration, but awarding is limited to very special people. My company's former president accepted a decoration, but the class of his decoration is very low. That is, the decoration system is for public servants. Public servants can easily get the upper class of decoration than giant corporation's presidents. I see, I also realized that I will never be able to get a decoration. Hahaha. By the way, people working in the post office will not able to get a decoration in the future because it is privatized. Some people must be now very disappointed. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-15 Wed 08:00
 I went to see a preview movie, “Bushi no Ichibun” to Yomiuri Hall in Yurakucho. It was so full of people because of Kimutaku's movie that some people were turned down admittance into the hall. I understood human nature in this movie. When you are discouraged due to a big failure or an incurable injury, you take it out on someone around you. In particular you take it out more on people who are kind to you such as your parents, spouse and girlfriend/boyfriend. After a while, you begin to lose confidence and feel hopeless of your future. You think you will place a burden on your significant others because of your incompetence. You also think that your significant other will come to dislike you sooner or later because you are no longer what you used be. And you will choose to leave your significant other. When you do your best for something for yourself and recover your confidence, you wish at last that your significant other comes back to you. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-14 Tue 08:12
I am now looking for Marmite.
Marmite is quite a common food in Western countries, but not known in Japan at all. It seems almost unacceptable for Japanese people. Marmite is one of the typical British foods. In Australia, it is called Vegemite. They are a little different from each other, but almost similar. Currently, in Japan we can find and eat almost all of the foods which are eaten everyday in the UK and Australia. However, why is Marmite not selling in an ordinary Japanese super market? Actually, I have never seen Marmite. I only heard about the food from a British person. It is a kind of paste spread on bread like butter. The only problem seems to be the smell. Someone said it smells like Natto. I am originally from Kansai region. Therefore I hate Natto, especially its bad vomiting smell. I can probably understand why Japanese people reject Marmite and never sell one at a supermarket. Anyway, I want to check one at firsthand. But where can I find Marmite? [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-13 Mon 08:46
Tokyo Metro, a subway company in Tokyo, have introduced a good service. They have set up a train coach exclusively for women only in the morning.
By the way, I have never heard of such a system overseas. I did not notice any women-only train coaches during commuting in New York and London. Japanese railway companies started the service in order to meet the requests from women. They do not want to be bothered with molesters in crowded trains. My question is, Only Japanese people are molesting women on the train? Otherwise setting up a train coach exclusively for women is, to begin with, against a sexual discrimination in US? [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-12 Sun 09:47
I rented the DVD movie, “The Da Vinci Code”.
But it was nothing but torture for me to watch the movie for 50 minutes. It was very boring. I watched it at the three times faster speed and read the Japanese sub-titles. I could no longer stand it after 50 minutes. I have never seen such a boring movie before. Perhaps the reason why I felt uncomfortable about this movie is not only boring. Also I basically do not like the European medieval history and religious paintings during the period. Nevertheless, I will try it again after I study the puzzle on the official web site. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-11 Sat 08:00
The activated oxygen 活性酸素is said to be the cause of various diseases such as cancer and arteriosclerosis 動脈硬化症. Now it is polyphenol that we pay attention to for the prevention. While a lot of polyphenol is contained in red wine, it is contained much more in chocolate.
Not only prevention of various diseases but also other effects have been recognized. For example, it has been also proved that polyphenol has a good effect for people to overcome mental stress. In addition, some allergic symptoms like atopy and hay fever seem to be controlled. It is good news for me. Last spring I failed to overcome hay fever with yogurt. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-10 Fri 08:00
I was very happy to hear that I could lose my weight by eating bitter chocolate because I love chocolate very much. But my joy was short-lived. I got disappointed just after I heard a dietician's comment that as even bitter chocolate contained a lot of sugar, it was natural to gain weight. Nevertheless, chocolate without sugar is effective in losing weight.
 So I bought a Meiji's special bitter chocolate made of 99% cacao. It contains no sugar at all. Polyphenol is contained in it four times as much as ordinary chocolate. It gives notice that Meiji Seika Company recommend you to eat together with a sweet drink. I fully understand the meaning after I put a piece of the chocolate into my mouth. I found to my surprise that even bitter chocolate without sugar is high in calories as you can see the picture.  [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-09 Thu 07:51
 Full-course dinner with Globefish - Globefish Skin - Slices of Raw Globefish - Pot Globefish - Fried Globefish - Risotto with Aisu Chicken - Pickles - Dessert And Fin Sake I entertained my client, who has been transferred to Japan Branch from London head office, with a full-course dinner. Basically I do not like Japanese sake, so this was my second time in my life to try Globefish dish. (I usually use a French restaurant to entertain my foreign clients.)  Also this was my first time to try Fin sake. Actually I was very scared that I would die of the Globefish poison. I did not know that ひれ HIRE meant fin of Globefish until then. I thought if the fin was poisoned... [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-08 Wed 08:00
 I went to see a preview movie, “The DEVIL wears PRADA”, in the Tokyo Koseinenkin Hall in Shinjuku. Meryl Streep and Anne Hatherway appear in the film. Meryl plays the role of a charismatic editor of the most famous fashion magazine in New York and Anne acts her assistant. But Anne is the last person to be hired as her secretary because she has no interest in fashion and is dowdy. Meryl is 57, Anne is 25. Meryl is old enough to be Anne’s mother. I liked their way to foster friendly relations. I would recommend working women to watch this movie. Speaking of Meryl Streep, I have two impressed movies where she played the leading role. One is “Death Becomes Her”, and the other is “The Bridges of Madison County” where I was very moved by her performance. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-07 Tue 08:44
 I like Kobukuro, a duo-singer. One of my favorite words of their songs is as follows: When your hearts break after a quarrel, if teardrops fill in the rift of the two hearts, the knot will be firmly tied. I definitely believe so. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-06 Mon 08:00
 I visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.  After that, I went to Okano-Eisen restaurant which is famous for DAIFUKU, a soft round rice cake stuffed with sweet bean jam. I ordered Zenzai, red bean soup with pieces of rice cake. I found to my surprise that it was not a usual soup, but a thick soup like a sweet. But I liked it very much. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-05 Sun 09:58
What do you marry for?
For love? For life? For money? Recently the number of unmarried people has been increasing. I believe that many of them decide for themselves not to marry. It is OK, I am not in a position to say something to them. But in other words, why do you marry? Many people fall in love with each other. They start to think that they want to be together every day and night. And then they get married and have children. They raise their kids and they get old. Some people say, ”I work hard and earn money for my family.” I ask them, “Why do you work so hard for family?” They answered, “I have a responsibility to support my family.” I ask again, “Are you happy to take the responsibility?” They answer, “No. I must do that. I am forced to do that. It can’t be helped.” However, many people feel the responsibility to support their family to a greater or less extent. They must accept the responsibility because they got married. Marriage is thought to be one of the happiest events in your life in the world. What do you marry for? I want to consider it again. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-04 Sat 11:17
One of my hobbies is photography. I participate in some exhibitions of amateur photography a few times a year.
The reason I like taking pictures is that when I feel something good, I can keep the memory clearly with the picture. Whenever I look at the picture, I can vividly recall my feelings at that time. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-03 Fri 22:58
I had a yearly medical checkup. Every time I get depressed before the checkup. Basically I hate to go to the doctor. But when I get sick, it cannot be helped. I do not want to go to the clinic when I am healthy.
A good news for me this time is that my blood pressure decreased by as many as 20 points. I did not have a high blood pressure, but I found out that exercise is a good way to recover my health. Even if I cannot become aware of my better health, the figures are correctly reflected. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-02 Thu 17:16
I participated in an evening reception at a gorgeous hotel, where around 200 people gathered. The party was held by a foreign capital company.
The design of the hotel is unique. It is a little hard to explain how unique it is. It is designed by the picture that Western people have in their mind about how Japan looks. Only some parts of the Japanese culture are exaggerated, such as Shoji, Maiko, Bamboo and ceramic vases. It is like that a cowboy hat, Winchester and a covered wagon are displayed as an American culture by Japanese people. Japanese people imagine such a picture from John Wayne. The party was also produced on the traditional Japanese culture like Wadaiko, Japanese drum. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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2006-11-01 Wed 09:47
Yesterday I wrote here my opinion that you should take at least one year to decide to marry your future spouse. I would like to add some supplementary comments.
Why I think so is “Love is blind”. When you fall in love, you cannot think calmly. It is likely that everything looks good about a boyfriend/girlfriend. For example, Romeo and Juliet, they fell in love each other and they chose death. If their marriage had not been opposed, their love would have cooled down and broken up in three months. They were teenagers. It's nothing unusual. Sorry it is dreamless and too realistic. But..................., There are exceptions. 1. Human values change Human values change, as you are getting older. Especially, the younger you are, the more it changes. The values you had when you were a teenager are not the same as you have now. Even if you take more than a year to find out your future spouse's true character, his/her thoughts and values etc. change. If you cannot adjust the change each other, you would feel uncomfortable. 2. Human has a learning ability If you are not young and have a lot of experiences, especially have a divorce experience, you do not need to take time so much to choose your future spouse, I think. It is just my opinion. As it happens, the love between Shido Nakamura and Yuko Takeuchi has finished. [ネイティブチェック後はこちら] |
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リンク（英語学習仲間）
英文日記を書かれている方、英語学習をしている方、お互い研鑽のために相互リンクしましょう。お声をかけてくださいね。
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