Photo by © Kyodo via
The Japan Times
Pre-reading questions:
- What is your favorite food?
- Do you know any unusual food?
Vocabulary:
- young /yuhng/
[adjective] not old
She is too young to be a model.
- insect /IN-sekt/
[noun] a type of very small animal with six legs and usually with two pairs of wings
I saw an insect under my bed.
- reduce /ri-DOOS/
[verb] to make something become smaller in amount, degree or importance
Her excitement for her toys reduced.
- activity /ak-TIV-i-tee/
[noun] an organized event to achieve an aim
She went to a school activity yesterday.
- according to /uh-KAWR-ding tuh/
[preposition] as stated by
According to a report, the girl is not from here.
Nagano Prefecture encourages young people to learn how to catch and cook traditional insects to save its old custom. These insects are caddisflies and stoneflies larvae, also known as Zaza. Because of the decreasing number of licensed catchers, serving insects food also reduced. Thus, local authorities arranged an activity to promote their local insect food. High school students participated in the activity that took place in January 2019. According to one of the students, the insect food was crispy and it tasted like shrimp. The officials of Ina City and Nagano Prefecture plan to continue promoting their traditional insect food in Tokyo.
True or False:
- Nagano prefecture discourages young people to learn their old tradition.
- The insects are commonly called as Zaza.
- As the number of licensed catchers decreased, serving insects food increased.
- The local authorities organized an activity to promote their expensive food.
- One of the students said that the insect tasted like shrimp.
Vocabulary Check:
[adjective] not old
She is too young to be a model.
[noun] a type of very small animal with six legs and usually with two pairs of wings
I saw an insect under my bed.
[verb] to make something become smaller in amount, degree or importance
Her excitement for her toys reduced.
[noun] an organized event to achieve an aim
She went to a school activity yesterday.
[preposition] as stated by
According to a report, the girl is not from here.
Complete the sentences by using the words in the box.
| young | insect | reduce | activity | according to |
- Our team plans an exciting ________ this coming Saturday.
- She was not able to report on time, ________ to her manager.
- My sister is still so ________ to travel alone.
- She kept on scratching the ________ bite.
- His weight ________ after a month of proper diet.