Comparatives and superlatives from last week. -- 先週の比較級・最上級

Five fundamental comparative/superlative sets:
比較級及び最上級の基本単語の五セット

• some, more, most
• some, less, least
• good, better, best
• well, better, best
• bad, worse, worst

Examples 例文 :

• China is the biggest country in population.
• I don't remember what is harder than diamond.

(I checked, and the hardest materials are still all types of diamond.)

（調べてから分かったことですが、物理的に一番硬いものは皆ダイアモンドの種類です。）

We read "Why not move to ... Santiago, Chile?" and found comparatives and superlatives.

Note: "fed up": 「まずい餌を食わしてもらって、いっぱい！」つまり、「もう、たくさん！」というようなうんざりした気持ちと表現です。

The exercise in element 12:

1. Russia is the biggest country in the world, in land area.
2. Some people think Russia is one of the most interesting countries in the world.
3. Big seats on and airplane are more comfortable than small seats.
4. Which airline do you think has better service -- JAL Japan Airlines, or LOT Polish Airlines?
5. Are people now more friendly than before?
6. Is Hokkaido as cold as Moscow?
7. Is Bigos the most delicious food in Poland?
8. Which half of Warsaw is older? And where is the oldest part?

About question 8, we often talk about the newer part of a city versus the older part. Because there are implicitly two parts, we use the comparative rather than the superlative. This is not an absolute rule, however, so "the oldest part of the city" is not wrong.

問８に関しては、ある街を新町と古町の二つに別けて考えています。その場合は二つを比べるので最上級ではなく、比較級を使います。ただし、これは絶対的なルールではないのでここで "the oldest part of the city" を使っては間違いではない。

Note: "speciality" is the British form, "specialty" the American form. 得意、自慢の品 

Examples from class for element 13a:

You won't find anywhere hotter than Houston, Texas.

The streets [there] are not as clean as [the streets] in  some cities.

New York has a reputation for being more expensive than other cities.

You won't find anywhere taller than the Sky Tree.

The Vatican is not as big as some cities.

You won't find anywhere smaller than The Vatican city state.

Singapore has a reputation for being cleaner than other cities.

Osaka City is not as hot as  some cities.

Reviewing comparatives -- 比較級を復習 (updated)

Comparative grammar has two parts, the "more" part and the "than" part.
比較級の文法に二つの部分があります。つまり、 "more" の文と "than" の文です。

"More" means a greater number or measure.
"More" とは多い方の数や量を示している。「もっと」と訳して良い。

"Than" indicates the object of comparison, the lesser part.
"Than" とは比べられた方です。つまり、数や量の少ない方です。「より」と訳して良いけど、置く位置が日本語と逆です。

• more cheese もっとチーズ
• more cheese than sausage ソーセージより、もっとチーズ

Let's put those in sentences:

• Please put more cheese on my pizza. 私のピザにチーズをもっと多くつけてください。
• I want more cheese than sausage. チーズをソーセージよりも多くつけてほしい。

"More" can be used with adjectives:

• more tall もっと（背の）高い
• more short もっと（背の）短い
• more heavy もっと重たい
• more light もっと軽い
• more interesting もっと興味を起こす（興味有る）
• more fun もっと面白くて楽しい
• more funny もっと可笑しくて面白い
• more disgusting もっと嫌でむかつく

And also with adverbs:

• more quickly もっと素早く
• more slowly もっとゆっくりと
• more carefully もっと念を入れて

Many relatively short adjectives can be combined with "more":

• taller
• shorter
• heavier
• lighter
• interestinger (too long and clumsy)（長くて言いにくい）
• funner (*Preferred form is "more fun".) （普段の形は "more fun" です。）
• funnier
• disgustinger (too long and clumsy)（長くて言いにくい）
• quicklier (adverbs don't) （副詞はできません。）
• quicker もっと素早い
• slowlier (adverbs don't) （副詞はできません。）
• slower もっとゆっくりした
• carefullier (adverbs don't) （副詞はできません。）
• carefuller (too long and clumsy)（長くて言いにくい）
• more careful もっと注意深い

The shorter form is usually preferred. In the case of "fun", there can be confusion with "funny", so "more fun" is usually preferred.

大抵は短い方が優先されるけど、"fun" の場合は "funny" との矛盾が生じるので "more fun" の方を普段に使っています。

When we need to compare things, we add "than (something)".

比べるときは "than (何とか)" を取り付けます。

• taller than Mount Fuji 富士山よりも高い
• shorter than my thumb ボクの親指よりも短い
• heavier than water 水よりも重たい
• lighter than air 空気よりも軽い
• more interesting than Wikipedia ウィキペディアよりも面白い
• more fun than a barrel of monkeys バレルに入れたお猿さん一族よりも楽しく面白い
• funnier than Joel's jokes ジョエルの冗談よりも可笑しくて面白い
• more disgusting than natto 納豆よりも嫌でむかつく
• more quickly than a gnat jumps ブトが跳ぶよりも素早く
• quicker than a bolt of lightening 落雷が落ちるよりも早い
• more slowly than a glacier flows 氷山が流れるよりも遅く
• slower than a snail カタツムリよりも遅い
• more carefully than a surgeon works 外科が手術を行うよりも念を入れて
• more careful than Doctor Jack ジャック先生よりも注意深く

Comparative phrases may or may not be used as a unit.

比較文は一塊として使うこともあるけどバラバラになる場合もあります。

• Joel is not taller than Mount Fuji.
• Your pencil is shorter than my thumb.
• How can a ship that is heavier than water float?
• Balloons filled with helium are lighter than air.
• I can think of something more interesting to do than read Wikipedia .
• This new video game is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
• Joel's website is no funnier than his jokes.
• Junko says there are many things more disgusting to eat than natto.
• When the teacher came in, Jiro jumped up more quickly than a gnat.
• Bolt is quicker than a bolt of lightening.
• Joel's English classes flow more slowly than a glacier.
• My new car is slower than a snail.
• He cut into the circuit board more carefully than a surgeon.
• It may be hard to find a more careful doctor than Doctor Jack.

"Less" uses similar grammar to "more".

"Less" は "more" にちなんだ利用法です。

• less tall
• less short
• less heavy
• less light
• less interesting
• less fun
• less funny
• less disgusting
• less quickly
• less quick
• less slowly
• less slow
• less carefully
• less careful

Again, finally, the comparative forms of "good", "well", and "bad" are irregular. "Good" and "well" become "better", and "bad" becomes "worse":
また、最後に、"good"、 "well"、 及び "worse" の比較級が不規則です。"Good" も "well" も "better" に、 "bad" は "worse" に変わります。

• I did well on the test. But my friend John did better than I. My friend Henry did worse.
• The tuna sushi is good. The squid sushi is even better. 
• Which did she think was worse, the natto donuts or the natto cheesecake?
• She said she thought the natto cheesecake tasted worse than the natto donuts.

That makes a pretty complete list of examples.
これで例文を充分に並べたと思います。

Reviewing superlatives -- 最上級を復習 (updated)

The key for superlatives is "most". "Most" by itself means the greatest number or measure:

最上級の秘訣は "most" です。単独にしては "most" は一番多い、最上の数及び量を示している。

• most people 人のもっとも多い（数）
• most money お金のもっとも多い（量）
• most ideas 発想のもっとも多い（量）

It can also be used with adjectives:
形容詞に合わせることも可能です。

• most tall もっとも（背の）高い
• most short もっとも（背の）短い
• most heavy もっとも重たい
• most light もっとも軽い
• most interesting もっとも興味を起こす（興味有る）
• most fun もっとも面白くて楽しい
• most funny もっとも可笑しい
• most disgusting もっとも嫌がらせる（嫌な）

And it can be used with adverbs:

また、副詞に合わせることもできます。

• most quickly もっとも素早く
• most slowly もっともゆっくりと
• most carefully もっとも注意深く

Many relatively short adjectives combine with most:

まあまあ短い形容詞の多くは "most" と組み合わせることができます。

• tallest
• shortest
• heaviest
• lightest
• interestingest (too long and clumsy)（長くて言いにくい）
• funnest (*Preferred form is "most fun".) （普段の形は "most fun" です。）
• funniest
• disgustingest (too long and clumsy)（長くて言いにくい）
• quickliest (adverbs don't) （副詞はできません。）
• quickest もっとも素早い
• slowliest (adverbs don't) （副詞はできません。）
• slowest もっともゆっくりした
• carefulliest (adverbs don't) （副詞はできません。）
• carefullest (too long and clumsy)（長くて言いにくい）
• most careful もっとも注意深い

The shorter form is usually preferred. In the case of "fun", there can be confusion with "funny", so "most fun" is usually preferred.

大抵は短い方が優先されるけど、"fun" の場合は "funny" との矛盾が生じるので "most fun" の方を普段に使っています。

To make the superlative truly unique, we indicate it with "the":

唯一の最上空であると指定したい時は "the" を使って指摘します。

• the tallest tower in the world
• the shortest river in Japan
• the heaviest airplane in the air
• the lightest car on the road
• the most interesting subject at school
• the most fun way to spend a Saturday
• the funniest comedienne in the school
• the most disgusting food that she had ever eaten
• run the most quickly (or, run the quickest)
• walk the most slowly (or, walk the slowest )
• set the table the most carefully

The superlative phrase is generally used as a unit:

最上級の文は一般的に一塊として使えます。

• Is Sky Tree the tallest tower in the world?
• What is the name of the shortest river in Japan?
• I read a magazine article about the heaviest airplane in the air today.
• Three automobile manufactures announced a competition to design the lightest car on the road.
• English is not the most interesting subject at school for me.
• But English class is the most fun way to spend a Saturday.
• Junko is the funniest comedienne in the school.
• She said that natto was the most disgusting food that she had ever eaten.
• Harumi ran the most quickly to the goal line.
• Joel walked the slowest of all.
• Chieko set her table the most carefully.

There is an inverse superlative, but the grammar for it is simpler. "Less" never combines:
最低級と言える形もあります。最上級よりも簡単です。組み合わせても別々の単語です。

• least tall
• least short
• least heavy
• least light
• least interesting
• least fun
• least funny
• least disgusting
• least quickly
• least slowly
• least carefully

And, finally, "good" and "well" are irregular in their combined form, the superlative of both is "best".

最後に、 "good" も "well" も組み合わせた形には不規則なのに、双方の最上級は "best" になります。

Mark is my most interesting friend. He is also my best friend.

I guess I should also mention "bad" which is also irregular in the superlative form -- "worst".
ところで、 "bad" も最上級が不規則にして "worst" となります。

 I had the worst nightmare last night. （"nightmare" == 「悪夢」）

I think these are the basics of superlatives.
これが最上級の基本とボクは思っています。

A model debate -- ディベートの見本

A1: Kato-city, Hyogo, in Japan, is a nice rural city.

With mountains and valleys and rivers, it has plenty of access to nature.

Even though the population is small, there are a full service hospital, four libraries, a large indoor shopping mall, and an amusement park, Tojoko Toyland.

Kato is a great place to live.

B1: Odessa, Texas, in the USA, is a mid-sized city with cowboy roots and American football traditions.

Odessa is home to the Permian High School Panthers, one of the strongest high school football teams in the world.

With about a hundred thousand people and a strong oil industry, there are plenty of opportunities for work and education, and plenty of social opportunities.

Odessa is a great place to live and work.

A2: Kato has its own high school, but it is also close enough to Ono and Nishiwaki that high school students have their choice of schools to attend. Many students attend Nishiwaki Kougyou High School, a perennial track and field powerhouse. Track and field are better than football for all-around health.

Kato also has Hyogo Education University, so there are many options for local education.

Kato has a strong agricultural base. It is nearly self-sufficient, with local vegetable and rice farms, and local dairy and meat production. Food is more important than oil.

B2: Odessa has many parks and swimming pools. Outside the city limits are many ranches and vegetable gardens. There are many camping and picnic areas close enough for day trips and overnighters. Sand surfing is available at the Monahans Sandhills. The climate is semi-arid, but there is as much access to nature in Odessa as there is in Kato.

Odessa also has a full service hospital, larger than the hospital in Kato. It has fewer libraries, but it has more colleges.

A3: In Kato, you can live a relaxed and natural lifestyle. You do not have to worry about food or education. Kato is a better place to live and work than Odessa.

B3: Odessans like to work hard and play hard. There are many opportunities for education, work and recreation. Odessa is the best place to live, work, and play.

Preparing for the debate! （討論会の用意）

Debate -- 討論

The topic we chose was:
皆で選んだ主題は

The best place to live -- city versus country

住むに最高〜都会か田舎か

We ended up with five students on each side, with one student still to pick a side.
各立場は５人ずつとなりました。一人の生徒はまだ立場をペらんでいません。

We'll have four teams and do the debate twice.
四チームにわけて二回討論を行うことにします。

There will be a few minutes to prepare and practice, and finalize sides and order, before we start. The rules will be as follows:
当日ははディベートを開始する前に用意と練習の時間、また立場と順番を最終的に決める時間をもうけるつもりです。やり方は以下の通りと考えています。

• A coin toss or a game of rocks-scissors-paper will determine the starting side -- city or country. コイントスまたはジャンケンでどちらの立場（都会か田舎か）から始めるのを決めます。
• The first speaker on each side will present two points in favor of his or her side. それぞれの立場の最初の話者は自分の立場の二点を発表します。
• The second speaker on each side will rebut the points made by the other side's first speakers. 二番目の話者最初の話者の点に対して反論を発表します。
• The third speaker on each side will summarize, and make the final argument. 最後の話者は議論をまとめて討論を終わります。
• I'll lead the evaluation and we will all decide the winner together. 私が評価を指導しますが皆で優勝者を決めましょう。

After we determined the rules, we spent some time discussing procedure, then I had each side get together to prepare arguments.
ルールを決めてからやり方を話し合いました。そして立場によってグループにわけて議論を用意しました。

At the end, I had each student practice presentation using two simple sentences, which I demonstrated as follows:
最後に、一人一人に発表の姿勢を練習してもらったのです。見本として、私が次の通り告げた。

Odessa is the best city! オデッサは最高の街です。

and そして

Odessa High School is the best high school! オデッサ高校が最高の高校です。

And everyone substituted their favorite city and high school names appropriately.
皆めいめい適切に自分の好きな街や高校の名前を入れ替え、練習しました。

Speak from the diaphragm, project your voice to the back of the room!
角膜から声を出して、言葉の音を部屋の向こうまで飛ばすのよ！

I've posted a model debate. ディベートの見本を投稿しました。

Outline of 7th lesson (August 24th, 2013)

We started with reviewing comparatives and superlatives, referring to the material on p. 41.
41頁を参考にして比較級及び最上級を復習することで始めました。

Then we talked about the plans for next time:
次に、次回の計画を話し合いました。

** Next time, we will have a debate in the first hour, and then we will discuss test strategies and do some practice questions in the second hour.
※ 次回、一時間目はディベート（討論会）を行います。二時間目はテストを取るときの戦略を話し合ったり、問題を練習したりします。

Then we started preparing for the debate. We chose the topic, chose sides, and decided on the rules. Then we worked up some material for the debate. We squeezed in a little speaking practice, too.
それから、ディベートの準備を進めました。話題を選んで、チームにわけて、ルールを決めました。そして討論の資料を考えて、文章を用意しました。発表の話し方も少し練習しました。

There was a notebook left behind. I entrusted it to the teacher who brings us the projector.
ノートの忘れ物がありました。プロジェクターをいつももってきてくれる先生に預けました。

See you next time.
また今度、よろしくお願いします。


-------------
PS 追伸：

When you need to leave early, here are some ways to tell the teacher and ask permission:
早退の際、先生に状況を説明して許可を頼む方法はこういう感じです。

Use "I have ... ."
"I have ... ." を使ってわけを言う。

• I have a club activity. 部活の活動があります。
• I have important family business. 家族の大事な用事があります。
• I have to go see the doctor. 医師に診てもらわなければならない。
• I have to talk with my teacher. （学校の）先生と話の約束があります。

Those would be the usual examples. Then you ask permission ...

まあ、理由が以上のようなものでしょう。それから許可を頼む〜

• I need to leave early. 早く出なきゃいけません。
• May I leave early? 早退してもいいですか？
• Can you let me go a little early? 少し早く開放してもらえません？
• I'd like to leave at 3:30. ３時30分に出たいけど。

Etc. など。

By the way, when you "see" the doctor, the doctor "sees" (examines) you.

ちなみに、英語で医師を「見る」のは、その先生に「診てもらう」ことになります。

Don't forget that we have class this week!

Same time, same place.

(Well, if they change the room, they'll put signs up for us.)

Please read the outline again and check your notes against mine. Bring questions and your own ideas.

See you there!

Where I live, the good and the bad.

The place where I live used to be out in the countryside.
住んでいるところは昔いなかでした。
There were lots of rice fields and vegetable gardens.
田んぼも野菜の畑もたっぷりでした。
It's not the countryside any more.
もう、田舎ではなくなった。

There are houses and apartment buildings being built all over.
アチラコチラに家やマンションが建てられつつ。
Our apartment is on the top floor of a four story apartment building.
我が家のアパートが４階建て賃貸マンションの最上階です。
The climb up the stairs is long, but the view is nice.
階段を登るのがしんどいけど、素晴らしい眺めです。
And it has nice solar exposure – lots of sunlight.
日当たりがよく、太陽たっぷりです。
Shopping is convenient, there are four supermarkets within ten minutes by foot in three directions.
買い物は便利です。スーパーが１０分以内に歩ける距離、三つの方向にあります。
Schools are close, too.
学校も近くにあります。
The elementary school is about five minutes to the south, and the junior high school is about five minutes to the north.
小学校は南方５分に、中学校も東方５分です。
It's not a bad place to live.
住むには悪く思いません。

But I prefer the countryside.
しかし、僕なりに言えば、田舎のほうがいいと思います。
I like to hear the frogs when it rains, and the crickets at night.
雨が振るとカエルの声を聞くのが好きです。夜の虫の声も。
And I like to take walks between the rice fields.
それに、田んぼの間に散歩するのが好きです。

antonym practice (40.5a)

Element 5a on page 40:

I got sidetracked on a little play on the pronunciation of "agree" （意見などが合う、賛成する、一緒です） versus "ugly" （醜い）。 Fortunately, the difference is not just the sounds of "r" and "l". "Agree" is accented on the second syllable: uh-gree, "ugly" on the first: uhg-lee.
ダジャレができる"agree"と"ugly"の発音に話がそれた。運がよく、"r"と"l"の発音だけで違うというわけではなく、強調を受けるシラブルも違う。"Agree"（/əˈgri/）の倍は最後を強く言い、"Ugly"（/ˈʌgli/）の倍は最初が強い。

We came up with some sentences for the vocabulary in class. Lets take a look:

• I joined a bustling party. 忙しそうにしているパーティーに加えた。
• Earth is tinier than space. 宇宙よりは地球が小さい。
• My mother told me to keep my room clean. お母さは、私の部屋をきれいにするように支持を告げた。
• Kendo is a traditional Japanese sport. 剣道は日本の伝統的なスポーツです。
• Students at my school are friendly. 私の学校の生徒たちは親しく関わりあう。
• I think that Kyoto is one of the most picturesque cities in the world. 京都は絵のように美しく、世界一美しい街の中に入ると思う。
• I saw an enormous elephant at the zoo. 動物園でデッカイ象を見ました。

Bustling means noisy, but it is onomatopoeic, the sound of busy people. So the sentence

I joined a bustling party.

is okay, but I wonder what the guests are busy doing. この文章で、お客さんはなんで忙しそうにしているかが気になります。

I joined the bustling guests, preparing for the dance.

would be a bit more typical use. 後方の例はダンスの用意で bustling になっているので普段の言葉使いになると思います。

Tiny means very small, so in a comparison I would expect two small things. 極端に小さいので、比較文には双方が小さいのを期待します。

Earth is tinier than space.

is okay, but it makes me think that there may be something bigger than space. 宇宙は小さく、地球がもっと小さい、という感じがします。 (I think there is something much bigger than space, but not all people think so. 僕は宇宙よりもはるかに大きいものがあると思いますが、皆がそう思うわけではありません。)

Earth is tiny, and space is enormous.

would be a more typical use of "tiny".

For some reason, I brought up these two standard idioms:

• The elephant in the room. 皆が無視している（象ほど大きいから）見えないはずのないもの
• A bull in a china shop. 陶磁器の高級店に入り込んだ雄牛

なんでこの熟語を持ちだしたかは覚えていません。

I really don't have the time for this, but, just for fun, I'll make up some more examples:

• I left the bustling city for the quiet countryside. （決まり文句です。）
• The streets near the park are clean, but the ditches near the factory are polluted.
• Weekends at home in the countryside are dull, but the city has a lively nightlife.
• Tokyo is enormous, but Wink, Texas is tiny. (Notrees is even tinier.)
• Odessa, Texas was a friendly town when I was young, but it has become less welcoming now.
• Tokyo is a modern city; Kyoto is more traditional.
• Harima Central Park is very picturesque. When I look at the ugly abandoned apartment across the street, I want to go to Harima Park.
• Minoh City is a nice place to visit, but it's a little touristy. Katou City is still a little more unspoiled.

I'll leave you to parse the grammar. これらの例文の文法を解剖して解析するのはおまかせです。

Sounds around us -- 周りに聞く音

Before picking up the poem on p. 39, I asked you about sounds around you, sounds that you hear every day.

What do you hear in the morning?

What do you hear in the evening?

What do you hear when you wake up?

The following are some of the sounds that were mentioned:

• cicadas （セミ） chirping/buzzing
• sounds of the washing machine
• car sounds
• mother's voice
• sounds of cooking,

Then we talked about the poetic devices used in the poem --

• onomatopaeia -- 擬声・擬音語
• rhyme -- 押韻法、特に脚韻
• alliteration -- 押韻法、特に頭韻

Then I read the poem and we listened to the DVD, and we looked for pairs and groups of words that rhyme:

• sputters（ぱちぱち音） – gutters（特に浅い溝）
• hurrying – scurrying（小走り、ちょこちょこの急ぎ）
• races（競争） -- faces -- places
• nights -- lights -- heights（高い場所）
• creep（這う） -- sleep

"Swish, swash, sweep and swoosh" are examples of alliteration. Incidentally, swish, swash, and swoosh all have to do with sounds raised from sweeping motions.

The poem is constructed of onomatopoeia, invoking the sounds of the city.
この詩は都会の音を思い起こすような擬音で構成されている。

Other onomatopoeia not used in the poem include "snap", "pop", and "bang. Also, "click", as the clicking of a keyboard.

You might enjoy listening to the poem again. It's track 1.24.
この詩をもう一度聞いたら面白いかも知れません。トラック 1.24 です。

Vocabularly and phrases from the complaints dialog

fantastic -- 「夢ほど素晴らしい」

disaster -- 「災害」、最悪

middle of nowhere -- 「どこでもないところの正中」、すごい田舎

difficult to find -- 探し出しにくい、迷ってからやっと見つかった

get completely lost -- 完全に迷う、全く在り処がわからなくなる

in the end -- 最終的に、結局

ask 誰々 to なになに -- 誰々になになにを頼む

my goodness! -- 驚いた！、"My God!" よりはつつましく感じる言葉

for thirty years -- ３０年にわたって

out of a film -- フルム（movie）に出る（ような）

work -- 「働く」を引いて、機能する、動作できる、巧く行く

disappoint -- がっかりさせる
　　「がっかりする」とは、英語では受け身文法になる。

complain -- 苦情、不平、文句などを言う、苦情を申し出る

central heating -- 中央暖房装置

No class this week, either.

Don't forget, there's no class this week, either.
今日も、授業がないことを忘れないでください。

[I have updated the outline! 前回の概要を完成しました。]

I have to apologize about not getting my notes up. Too many things going on at home. (Had to replace the operating system in my computer, and my family needed attention, among many other things.)
先々週のノートをまだ上げていなくて、お詫びいたします。家の出来事が多すぎて対処できていません。（その中にはコンピュタのオペレーティングシステムの入れ替えしないといけないことも、家族をかまってあげる事もあったことも、いろいろありました。）

Next class, we'll talk a lot about pages 40 and 41.

We are going to talk more about places we might move.
引越しするなら、その行く先についてもっと話すつもりです。

Hopefully, we can discuss some differences of opinion -- in English.
巧く行けば、意見の相違点を＊英語で＊話し合うことを予定にしたい。

See you all next time!

(And how was Australia?)

Outline of 6th lesson (August 3rd, 2013) [updated]

I asked if anyone had heard from our friends in Australia, but no one had any contact with them yet.
オーストラリアにいる友達について聞きましたが、連絡がまだないようです。

I talked about the importance of throw-away practice -- listening to songs, watching movies, reading books, etc. in English, and not trying to capture every last word and phrase. It's important to let the subconscious mind work on things.
「使い捨て練習」と言う表現で、全部の単語や文法を一つ一つ理解しようとせず、英語で歌を聞いたり、映画を見たり、本を読んだりするのが役立つ勉強の方法だと、奨めたのです。無意識に動いている能力を働かすのも大事です。

We listened to the complaints (DVD audio track 1.21) from the follow-up interviews (see page 38) on the house swap, continuing from the previous week. We worked verbally, and I didn't really take notes. We have the audioscript in the back of the book (p. 88) for reference.
先週に続いて、家の交換の後インタービュー（３８ページを参照。）から不満や苦情（トラック 1.21）を聞きました。口頭でその文法、単語、熟語を確認しながら聞く練習をし、内容を書き取らなかった。台本みたいなものは８８頁に載っているので参照してください。

I should get some time in a little bit to post some key words and grammar from the dialogs. [Famous last words.]そろそろ、重要単語や文法について投稿するほどの余裕ができるはずです。［最期の名言。］

[Update from here -- ここからは追加しました。]

Then we picked up with the poem on p. 39. I read it, we listened to the DVD (track 1.24), and we examined the text of the poem. We talked about rhymes, alliteration, and onomatopoeia, and examined their use in the poem. After attempting to understand the poem and the pictures on p. 39, we read the poem as a class.
３９ページの詩で先に進み、僕が読んだのを聞いて、DVD（トラック 1.24）から聞いて、歌詞を考えました。そして押韻法及び擬音語について話して、この詩の中にどう取り入れているかを検討しました。こういう感じで理解しようと、３９ページの写真を考えながら詩を皆で声に出して読みました。

More details here.

Next, we looked at the vocabulary in the box in element 5a, p. 40, paired the opposites, and tried using them in sentences.
それから、４０ページの要素 5a の箱の中の単語を見て、対義語を組み合わせて、文章に使って見ました。

After that I gave an example of talking about the positives and negatives of where we live. Then we all gave it a try.
その後、住んでいるところの気に入った良い所や気に入らなかった悪いところを発表する実例を見せてあげた。また、皆一人ひとりも発表して見ました。

The homework was to study pp. 39 - 41 and think about whether we would prefer to live in the city or the countryside and the reasons. I asked you to come prepared to talk about the good points and bad points of both options. In particular, study "Why not move?" on p. 41.
宿題として、３９ページ〜４１ページを勉強して、都会や田舎について、どちらのほうに住むのが良さそうかを考えるように頼みました。どちらの選択肢についても、良い点や悪い点を取り上げて話ができるように用意してください。特に４１ページの "Why not move?" （「引越していけないの？」）を勉強して来てください。

Need more time, no class this week.

I'm going to need more time to get the summary of the last class up. Too much happening at home.
先週の概略を投稿すのはまだです。家の色んなのがあって・・・

Sorry about that.
申し訳ありませんが

Don't forget there's no class this week.
今週は授業が無いのを忘れないでください。

Thinking about study abroad

The assignment:

Pick a place to go for study abroad. You'll be gone at least a month. Tell us about it.

Tell us 

• where you want to go,
• why you want to go there,
• what you want to do,
• how you will prepare.

I asked you to write some sentences about your dreams of studying abroad.

After everyone had written a few sentences, I asked you to talk with each other about studying abroad, using these questions:

• Where do you want to go?
• Why do you want to go there?
• -- Why do you want to go to [Australia]?
• What do you want to do there?
• How will you prepare?
• -- How will you prepare to go [to Australia]?
• -- What will you do to prepare [to go there]?

=============================================
I want to go to Ireland.
It is part of the UK.
I have been there once to study English.
I stayed for three weeks.
The Irish people were very kind to us.
---------------------------------------

=============================================
I want to go to the UK.
I want to see Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace in London.
I like Sherlock Holmes, so I would also like to go to Baker Street.
I have to study English more, to get ready.
---------------------------------------

=============================================
I want to go to Austria.
The capital of Austria is Vienna.
Many people call Vienna the music capital of the world.
I like playing the piano very much, so I want to go to there to study about music.
---------------------------------------

=============================================
I want to go to Europe.
I want to go there to study history.
European countries have a lot of history.
I want to visit many world heritage sites.
---------------------------------------

=========
I want to go to Australia because Australia has a lot of nature to see and experience, and I like nature.
I want to swim and barbeque at the beach and talk with local people in English.
So I will prepare by practicing speaking English.
---------------------------------------

=============================================
I want to go to France.
Last year I want to France on a school trip.
I saw many things and had a lot of fun.
But I didn't understand any French, and I couldn't communicate with the French.
So I will study basic French, and then I can speak with many French people.
That's why I want to go there again.
---------------------------------------

=============================================
I want to go to Australia because I can communicate in English with the people there.
I want to see Koalas and go to the beach.
I will look for good places to visit before I go.
---------------------------------------

=============================================
I want to go to Tasmania.
It is a part of Australia.
I saw a movie called Heart Beat Once More.
In the movie, the heroine went to Tasmania on a trip.
She had to have an operation because she had some problems with her heart.
She had only a thirty percent chance of living.
Tasmania is called the heart of the world.
So she wanted to go there and start her life again.
I was moved by the movie.
So I want to visit the Church there and go shopping.
---------------------------------------
[And I want to know, which Church is it? Is it one the heroine visited?]