Pre-reading questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
講師がそれぞれの質問を読むので答えましょう。
- What is your favorite food?
- Do you like meat?
Vocabulary
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
単語、意味、例文を読みます。講師に続いて音読しましょう。
- expensive /ik-SPEN-siv/
- butcher /BOOCH-er/
- purpose /PUR-puhs/
- provide /pruh-VAHYD/
- exist /ig-ZIST/
[adjective] – costing a lot of money
The concert tickets are expensive.
[noun] – a person who sells meat in a shop
The local butcher is a family friend of ours.
[noun] – why you do something or why something exists
What is the purpose of your visit?
[verb] – to give someone something that they need
I’ll provide food and drinks for the picnic.
[verb] – to be, or to be real
I don’t think ghosts exist.
Article reading
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
記事を音読しましょう。講師はあなたの発音とイントネーションを確認します。
Wagyu beef is known as the most delicious—and expensive—steak in the world. It isn’t overpriced, as producing Wagyu beef is different from other types of meat that you would get at your local supermarket.
At the Japanese Wagyu Olympics, breeders can display the quality of their cows. Winners can sell their cattle and carcasses to the best restaurants and butchers in the world for the highest price. But there is more to winning. It involves the Japanese concept of ikigai. “[Ikigai] is a deep sense of purpose; the reason for getting up every morning; that which gives one’s life much of its meaning,” said Andrea Fazzari, James Beard award-winning photographer and author. Wagyu production is a long, complicated process. So the Olympics provide Wagyu beef farmers the opportunity to show the results of their efforts to breed the best cow.
Absolute perfection doesn’t exist. But we also get to taste the delicious flavor and high quality of Wagyu beef thanks to the Japanese idea of ikigai.
At the Japanese Wagyu Olympics, breeders can display the quality of their cows. Winners can sell their cattle and carcasses to the best restaurants and butchers in the world for the highest price. But there is more to winning. It involves the Japanese concept of ikigai. “[Ikigai] is a deep sense of purpose; the reason for getting up every morning; that which gives one’s life much of its meaning,” said Andrea Fazzari, James Beard award-winning photographer and author. Wagyu production is a long, complicated process. So the Olympics provide Wagyu beef farmers the opportunity to show the results of their efforts to breed the best cow.
Absolute perfection doesn’t exist. But we also get to taste the delicious flavor and high quality of Wagyu beef thanks to the Japanese idea of ikigai.
True or False:
Read the sentences and identify if they are true or false based on the article.
文章を読んで、記事に基づいて正誤を答えましょう。
- Wagyu is known as the most expensive beef in Asia.
- Producing Wagyu beef is different from producing other types of meat.
- Winners at the Japanese Wagyu Olympics can sell their cattle and carcasses to the best restaurants and butchers in the world.
- Andrea Fazzari is a judge at the Japanese Wagyu Olympics.
- Wagyu production does not take a long time.
Fill in the blanks
Choose the correct word from the table then fill in the blanks.
適切な言葉を選んで空欄を埋めましょう。
| expensive | butcher | purpose | provide | exist |
- Please _______ a valid ID.
- Some people believe that life _______ in other planets.
- Art materials are _______. I can’t afford them!
- My grandfather was a _______.
- Please list the _______ of this meeting.