Author Archive: admin

Abe ‘builds trust’ with Trump

2017年3月31日

World News - Expert

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid an unofficial visit to Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, in order to maintain a relationship of trust with the latter. Noting that the Japan-US alliance is the axis of Japan’s diplomacy and security, Prime Minister Abe said that he aims to ‘build trust’ with the new US President. Moreover, Prime Minister Abe wants to further bolster the coalition between Japan and the US. It has been reported that the US President has mentioned in one of his interviews that, “Japan is better if it protects itself against this maniac of North Korea,” leaving the officials of Japanese government concerned. Abe…
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Expert

Pancake Tuesday before Lent

2017年3月31日

Lifestyle

  Pre-reading questions: Do you prefer sweet or savory pancakes? Why or why not? How often do you eat pancakes?   Pancake Day falls 47 days before Easter so the date is not fixed, but it will always be between February 3 and March 9. British people has celebrated Pancake Tuesday for centuries. It is also called Shrove Tuesday, from the word “shrive”, which means to obtain forgiveness through confession of sins. Shrove Tuesday was based on a Christian tradition to be shriven before Lent season begins. Aside from making and eating pancakes during Pancake Day, Britons love to have pancake races where participants run while flipping pancakes in a…
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Intermediate

Pancake Tuesday before Lent

2017年3月31日

Lifestyle

Pre-reading questions: Do you like eating pancakes for breakfast? Why or why not? What is your favorite topping for your pancake? Explain your answer. Britons celebrate Pancake Day every year. It is held on a Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Pancake Day is a way of using up rich foods like eggs, milk, and sugar before the 40-day fasting season of Lent. Making pancakes is an all-in-one way of using fatty foods before Lent. Vocabulary: pancake [noun] – a thin, flat cake of batter, usually fried and turned in a pan Britons [noun] – a native citizen of Great Britain all-in-one [adjective] – combining two or more items fatty [adjective] –…
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Beginner

Abe ‘builds trust’ with Trump

2017年3月31日

World News - Intermediate

Pre-reading questions: Why do you think the US and Japan should have a good relationship? What do you think are the qualities of a good leader? Name some of the best accomplishments of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a visit to newly elected US President Donald Trump right after his victory in the 2016 presidential race. The Prime Minister was the first world leader to visit Trump since the elections. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Abe said that the two leaders are off to a good start. Abe and Trump’s meeting lasted for almost 90 minutes. Both leaders have both been mum about what they discussed….
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Intermediate

Traditional approach of Tokyo hotels

2017年3月31日

Lifestyle

  When Tokyo hosted its first summer Olympic Games in 1964, many Western-style hotels opened one after another to accommodate the increasing number of foreign visitors. Nowadays, some hotels recently unveiled renovated Japanese-style rooms. As a preparation for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, hotels started to offer Japanese-style accommodation and hospitality. Foreign guests can now experience traditional ryokan without even leaving the city. Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa used tatami, paper screens, shiraki furniture, and lantern-like lighting for their rooms. A kimono-clad cadre also welcomes guests upon their arrival. The hotel recently opened their club lounge Oh-sai and spa salon Tayuta for guests staying in Japanese-style rooms. The lounge offers culinary…
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Expert

Traditional approach of Tokyo hotels

2017年3月31日

Lifestyle

  Pre-reading questions: What is the most difficult Olympic sport? How do countries get chosen to hold the games? If we hold the Olympics in this class, in which sport would you win the gold?   As a preparation for 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, hotels have started to offer Japanese-style accommodation and hospitality. Hotels like the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, and the Park Hotel Tokyo recently unveiled an updated Japanese-style accommodation for their guests. Newly renovated hotels used tatami, paper screens, shiraki furniture and lantern-like lighting for their rooms. A kimono-clad staff welcomes guests upon their arrival and leads them through an incense-fumed Japanese garden to a…
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Intermediate

Recipe for success: The growth of team-building cookery classes

2017年3月31日

Business - E

  Company away days are usually spent through team building, seminars or charity which are said to be stodgy and humiliating. Nowadays, cookery classes for companies are offered in some parts of Europe. Food@Work handled cooking classes of SIG, a hardware company based in London. SIG employees say that working in the kitchen loosened taut officers. Belguim-based Waffle Workshop originally targeted tourists but focused on companies instead because of perils that happened last year. Making waffles while knowing their colleagues more made attendees euphoric. France-based L’Atelier des Sens holds at least 150 team building cookery classes with 50 instructing chefs per month. L’Atelier des Sens observed that the organizational chart…
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Expert

Recipe for success: The growth of team-building cookery classes

2017年3月31日

Business - I

  Pre-reading questions: What kind of activities do you enjoy doing with your friends? What comes to your mind when you hear “team building”?   Team building activities such as grinding in a seminar about effectivity at work or spending time doing potentially embarrassing activities are the usual ways to run through company away days. However, a new type of team building activity emerged in Europe. London-based Food@Work and Brussels-based Waffle Workshop offer team building cooking classes. SIG, a hardware company, was a client of Food@Work. SIG staff say that the cooking class was fun because of the different atmosphere from work. Meanwhile, attendees at Waffle Workshop say that they…
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Intermediate