Tag Archive: japan news – expert

Photo by © Kentaro Takahashi via Kentaro Takahashi Vocabulary: oddball /OD-bawl/ [adjective] peculiar or strange Even Jim’s siblings don’t like him because they thought that he’s a bit of an oddball. atypical /ey-TIP-i-kuhl/ [adjective] not typical; different from most others of its type The play is very atypical compared to last year; that’s why many people find it interesting. puzzled /PUHZ-uhld/ [adjective] confused; having difficulty to understand The professor finds it challenging when the students are puzzled about the lesson. appealing /uh-PEEL-ing/ [adjective] interesting or attractive The mole on her nose is appealing to most guys in the campus. depict /dih-PIKT/ [verb] to represent or show something in a picture,…
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Vocabulary: civic /SIV-ik/ [adjective] relating to the duties or activities of people in relation to their town Your sense of civic duty is admirable. allowable /uh-LOU-uh-buhl/ [adjective] allowed according to the rules or laws that control a particular area of activity The scientists found that the nicotine in this brand of cigarette is beyond the allowable level. exploitation /ek-sploi-TEY-shuhn/ [noun] the act of using someone unfairly for your own advantage The exploitation of women in the country caused protests worldwide. scam /skam/ [noun] an illegal plan for making money, especially one that involves tricking people They arrested the people who were involved in the insurance scam. permissible /per-MIS-uh-buhl/ [adjective] permitted;…
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Vocabulary: reminiscence /rem-uh-NIS-uhns/ [noun] to talk about pleasant things that happened in the past When we were younger, we would listen to our grandmother’s reminiscence of her gleeful childhood. retention /ri-TEN-shuhn/ [noun] continuing to keep something Your retention of facts seems to be going bad. induce /in-DOOS/ [verb] to cause a particular condition Consuming too much caffeine can induce palpitations and headaches. nostalgic /no-STAL-jik/ [adjective] feeling both happy and sad when you think about things that happened in the past Looking through our photos from the trip is quite nostalgic. curtail /ker-TEYL/ [verb] to reduce, limit, or stop something I’m going to have to curtail my spending from now on….
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Vocabulary: spearhead [/SPEER-head/] (verb) to lead an organized effort or activity Joe will spearhead our marketing campaign. scrapbook [/SKRAP-book/] (noun) an album in which pictures, newspaper clippings, etc. may be pasted or mounted He kept a scrapbook containing press cuttings of his concerts. currently [/KUR-uhnt-lee/] (adverb) at the present time or now Davis is currently performing in a Broadway play. souvenir [/soo-vuh-NEER/] (noun) something that you keep to remember a special visit or event I kept my ticket stub as a souvenir when I went to the Super Bowl. patronize [/PEY-truh-nahyz/] (verb) to be a frequent or regular customer or client of an establishment The ladies of Berne liked to…
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Vocabulary: occupation [ok-yuh-PEY-shuhn] (noun) a person’s job The applicant’s listed occupation is “writer”. bring about [bring uh-bout] (phrasal verb) to cause something to happen The new academic curriculum aims to bring about positive changes in the future. curriculum [kuh-RIK-yuh-luhm] (noun) the regular or a particular course of study in a school, college, etc. I chose this university because it has the best curriculum. culinary [KUHL-uh-ner-ee] (adjective) connected with cooking, esp. as a developed skill or art My cousin takes culinary classes on the weekends. pastry [PEY-stree] (noun) a sweet, baked food made of a mixture of flour, fat, and water I’m gaining a lot of weight recently because of eating…
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Vocabulary: parameters – any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance In handling this situation, we have to follow the parameters set by the company. biological – related by blood He is my biological father. desolate – bleak/gloomy Stories about war, hunger and poverty make me feel desolate. Stork’s cradle was established in May 2006 at Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto city. It is a baby deposit box where women having unwanted or unexpected pregnancies can safely leave their children. Ten years after it was established, Jikei hospital has become known for taking care of abandoned babies and has plans to expand their services by allowing desperate…
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Vocabulary: surveillance – a continuous observation of place, person, group or ongoing activity in order to gather information US is in close surveillance of possible missile threat launch by North Korea. ballistic – a missile with a high, arching trajectory, that is initially powered and guided but falls under gravity onto its target Countries such as North Korea, US, France, China have ballistic missiles. alliance – a formal agreement or treaty between two or more nations to cooperate for specific purposes Japan has an alliance with US. scope – extent or range of view, outlook, application, operation, effectiveness Joint military exercises aims to broaden the scope of strategies. Japan has…
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Vocabulary: 1. foster [verb] – encourage or promote a development of something Our president ensures that we foster our new system. 2. entrepreneurship [noun] – the activity of setting up a business I am a graduate of bachelor’s degree major in Entrepreneurship. 3. overtime [noun] – time worked beyond one’s scheduled working hours I might do an overtime this week. 4. contribution [noun] – the part played by a person or thing in bringing about a result to advance I would appreciate if everyone gave their contribution to the company. 5. income [noun] – money received for work Employees have multiple jobs to increase their income. 6. ailment [noun] –…
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Among the ranks of developed countries, Japan is one of those with labor shortage woes. To tackle such shortage, the country needs to come up with more policies to pull retirees back into the workforce. Florian Kohlbacher, an adjunct professor at Temple University’s Tokyo campus and director of the Economist Corporate Network for North Asia, says that 60 in Japan is still young. Most Japanese people have long, healthy lives. An overhaul in company policies, work culture and seniority policies is needed to encourage seniors to continue working after retirement. People who’ve found jobs after their mandatory retirement want to keep working not only to stay active — they actually…
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Riders delightfully welcomed the new Tokyo taxi fare, which is fairly affordable for people who use cabs for short distances. Leaflets were handed out to the public to introduce the new fare system to interested passengers at taxi stands. Commuters, especially elders, were so pleased to know about the new and improved fare system. The new fare for the first 1.052 kilometers is ¥410. It used to be ¥730 for the first two kilometers. Taxis have stickers of the new fare system in both English and Japanese. This fare revision was set in motion to address the continuous plunge in the the number of taxi passengers. Taxi companies also hope…
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