IE1: Izumi’s Blog

       One of my hobbies is seeing movies , so I would like to introduce some of them on this blog. Today, I would like to talk about the movie called “GIRL, INTERRVPTED’. The leading actresses of this movie are Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. In this movie, Angelina was awarded for the Academic Award. It is a story about adolescent girls. Susanna played by Winnona Ryder tried to kill herself and went to hospitals for mental patients. In this hospital, she made friends with a girl named Risa which played by Angelina Jolie. She is really eccentric girl and affects Susannna in a various way. Risa forced one girl into suicide ,but she did not feel sorry to her. Risa tried to kill herself but she could not in a reality. Although they have different serious mental problems, something became changed from the day they met.

         In my opinion, people who are diagonised as a mental problem are not different from people who are not. This is because anyone living on earth have some problems. I think mental patients just donnot know how to solve mental problems properly and try to kill themselves or cut lists or something like this. Therfore, I donnot think isolating mental patients in a hospital is a good idea. Rather, they live with people in a society and become to know how to face problems.

        Althogh I donnot recommend seeing this movie to people who want to be happy, this movie is very shocking and thoughtful because it reaveals the deep feeling of human being.

          The last time I introduce about Uchida Tatsuru and this time, I would like to a foreign person I respect. His name is Michel Moore, a film director and an author.  There are many movies he made such as ” Bowling for Colombine’, “Kanshi 21′ and so on. The movie I like best is “Bowling for Columbine’,which is about the society of the U.S. controlled by guns. In this movie, he tried to reveal why American people cannnot help carry guns at home although they do not use in reality. He figures out that they carry guns because neighboor does. Carring guns seem to protect yourself literary, but it does not. Guns cause many trouble and sometimes born the person who is shot and killed. This explanation was really understandable and persuadable to me. I respect his way of thinking because he tries to make people see what they avoid seeing on purpose. Althogh the end of his movies are not happy, he moved the audience for some reason and give us questions about problems. If he make some new movies in the future, i will surely see it on the theatre.

      Today, i will write about one of people I respect in this world. The name of this person is Uchida Tatsuru. He was born in Tokyo in 1950. He went to the Hibiya high school, which is famous for high academic backgrounds. However, he drouped out from this high school and studied hard by himself. As a result, he passed the entrance exam of Tokyo University. He graduated from the Department of French literature and went on to the graduate school. He became the professor and  is teaching comparative literature to colledge students now.

        The first time I read his book is two years ago. The prompt to read is kind of nonsense. At this time, I could not take high score in the test of the subject “modern literature’  at my high school. Therefore, I dropped in at the book store near my house after school and then fortunatelly, I bought his book named ” NENAGARA MANABERU KOUZOUSHUGI”. The more I read, the more I became interested in his way of thinking. From this time, I became the fun of him and began to read his books on a variety of subjects. In addition that I can meet the person who I could respect from the buttom of my heart, my score of modern literature was up and in the end, I was awarded the first prize in my school. I strongly recommend his books to all of kind people who read this blog.

1,MLA CITATION

Rob Norris “Words in the News.’ BBC Learning English 02 January 2009. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/with/2009/01/090102_new_words.shtm]

2,ORIGINAL  ARTICLE

New Words

The most popular was “Meh” – spelt M-E-H – an expression to show that you’re unimpressed – that something’s mediocre or boring. “Meh” is thought to have originated in the United States and it’s becoming increasingly common in speech, emails and text messages worldwide. Other popular suggestions included “Jargonaut” – a person who uses lots of jargon, and “Frenemy” – an enemy who falsely portrays themself as a friend. So do people in central London recognise these new words? Let’s try “Jargonaut” first:

VOX POPS:
- I would have said it was something to do with a juggernaut, but that’s just me!
- Jargonaut… I don’t believe I’ve come across that before – I can hazard a guess – someone who is proficient in the use of jargon – business-speak, that kind of thing – you know “out of the box” and all that sort of nonsense!
- Frenemy… well I have heard it before, and I think it’s to do with a mixture between friend and enemy, and it’s someone that you have to be nice to, even though you don’t want to be.
- Meh? Meh…I must admit I’m drawing a blank on that one.
- I would say it’s a shortened version of “nightmare”, as in “I’m having a mare”…”I’m having a nightmare”.

So “Meh!” could take a while to catch on – and some people may hope that it never does.

3,SUMMARY

      We are speaking and writing in a changeable way all the time. Keeping up with the ebb and flow of the English language is every day work. Expressions which once sounded supercool can end up sounding a bit naff,which means worthless, tacky , unfashionable, or pants which means very disappointing. The most popular expression which British people came forward with suggestion for the new dictionary is ‘Meh” . This is an expression showing that you are unimpressed, something is mediocre or boring. This expression, MEH is originated in the U.S. and increasingly becoming common in speech, e-mails and text messages all over the world. The other is Jargonaut which means a person who uses a lot of jargon , and Frenemy which means an enemy who portrays themself as a friend. The author researched whether people who live in London recognize these new words or not. The result is that the expression, Meh can catch on. However, Jargonaut or frenemy does not seem to be spread widely.

4,opinion

    Thexpressions ocalled ’slung” is often used abroad in a daily life especially among young people. Although they are not formal English, they are often used by a number of people. Therefore, I think understanding these expressions are crucial in the case you lead a life in the U.S. or U.K. . In addition to importances, understanding them and using them by yourself in a appropriate situation is one of the most difficult things for strangers. Slung ,say, broken English, may not help improve your skill of English. However, learning them must help live abroad without problems because they are not only used in a real world but also teachers do not teach them to you.

5,VOCABURARY

supercoool     -very modern and fashionable[

naff   -worthless, tacky, unfashionable

pants   -very disappointing

ebb and flow   -the way in which something regurarly changes depending on a situation

mediocre   -adequate or acceptable ,but not very good

themself   -reflexive and emphatic form of ‘them” when “then’ is used as a non-gender-specific singular pronoun

something to do with a juggernaut  -relating to or describing a very big lorry

come across   -seen or heard

I am drawing a blank on   -I have never seen or heard, I have no idea about

to catch on  -here, to become commonly used

 6,questions

  1, what does this article say about ?

  2,what kind of means are Meh , jargoanaut, frenemy ?

  3,Do you know any new words or slungs and if you do, what are them?

  4,Can you identify these expressions ? ( I will see the papers to them.)

  5,What do you think that slungs become formal ( on the dictionaries) ?

lexicography   noun

  the skill, practice, or profession of writing dictionaries

  I majored in the lexicography at colledge.

benchmark   noun

  something that is used as a standard by which other things can be judged or measured

  The valuation becomes a benchmark against which to judge other prices.

botany  noun

   the scientific study of plants

   This university have the classes of botany.

elitism  noun

    an elitist system, government etc is one in which a small group of people have more power and advantages than other people

 　Elitism is spread in the Japanese society today.

stunted    adj

   not developing properly or to full size

   He is emotially stunted.

humidity   noun

   the amount of water contained in the air

   The room is kept at 46 degrees and 30% relative humidity.

capacity  noun

   the amount of space a container, room etc has to hold things or people

    The can has a capacity of 20 litres.

budget  noun

    the money that is available to an organization or person, or a plan of how it will be spent

     A welfare program with a budget of 2 million dollers will be held.

crisis  noun

    a situation in which there are a lot of problems that must be dealt with quickly so that the situation does not get worse or more dangerous

     The company faces a economic crisis today.

evacuate  verb

    to send people away from a dangerous place to a safe place

     Several families are evacuated from their homes.

affect  verb

    to do something that produces an effect or change in something or or in someone’s situation

    This is a decision which affects our lives.

coincide  verb

    to happen at the same time as something else, especially by chance

     His entry to the party coincided with his marriage.

specific   adj

    detailed and exact

    Give me specific details about that.

factor  noun

    one of several things that influence or cause a situation

    The rise in suicide is due to social factors.

appropriate   adj

    correct or suitable for a particular time, situation, or purpose

     An education system which is more appropriate to the needs of the students will be included.

allude  verb

 　to mention something or someone indirectly

    Tom didnot want to discuss his past, though he alluded darkly to some bad things that happened.

reprimand   verb

    to tell someone officially that something they have done is very wrong

    The military court reprimanded him for failing to do his duty.

rebellious   adj

   deliberately not obeying people in authority or rules of behaviour

   Tom is a rebellious student.

wayward  noun

    behaving badly in a way that is difficult to control

    They must be a wayward children.

compilation   noun

     a collection of items, especially pieces of music or writing, taken from different places and put together

     Her latest CD is a compilation of all her best singles.

anti-narcotic   noun

     against of narcotic ( a powerful illegal drug that affects the mind in a harmful way)

     Heroin and cocaine are narcotics.

vigilance    noun

     very carful to notice any signs of danger or trouble

     She stressed the need for constant vigilance.

sniff out

     to discover or find sb/sth by using your sence of smell

     The dogs are trained to sniff out drugs.

beat   verb

     to defeat sb in a game or competition

     He beat me at chess.

clamber   verb

      to climb or move with difficulty or a lot of effort, using your hands and feet

      The children clambered up the steep bank.

1,MLA citation

For my news report, I chose an article from the BBC website about a sunset desease in Britain. I chose this topic because I am interested in this unknown desease. Here is the article’s MLA citation;

`Sunbeds.” BBC Learning English 19 May 2009. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/newsaboutbritain/2009/05/090616_nab_sunbed.shtml]

2, ORIGINAL ARTICLE

In the UK, a country known for its bad weather and lack of sunshine, there appears to be an ever increasing number of very tanned young people. So just how are they achieving their golden tans? Some are opting for the sun-free option and are getting their tan from a bottle. However, it appears that others are turning to tanning salons, of which there are thousands in the UK.

3,summary

          In the UK, among the young people, tanning salons are going around. They are trying to emulate their favorite celebrities,footballers,or footballer’s wives. The British Sunbed Association says that they believe that a tan make them feel and look healthier. On the other hand,Cancer Research UK is agaist young people using sunbeds.They state that people who use sunbeds before the age of 35 have a higher risk of melanoma on their website. Kelly Thompson,a ten-year-old girl hit headlines for receiving severe burns fromspending 16 minutes on the sunbed. Her mother is not happy about that tanning salon was unmanned. She said someone in the salon give advice to Kelly on using these potentially dangerous machines. Self-regulation in the sunbed industry looks unlikely to continue.The government isuued a statement advising that people under 18 should not use sunbeds and that all salons should be supervised by trained staff.

4,opinion

       As this aricle said, people who tanned themselves look healthier and active than people who did not. In addition, I am a little curious about turning myself because I think people who used sunbeds look cooler. However, I am afraid of doing this because it may cause stain on my skin or desease such as skin cancer in the future.

5,Questions

   (1) What is going around among young people in Britain ?

   (2) How are young people in Britain achieving their golden tans ?

   (3) How come the British prefer to be bronzed ?

   (4) People who use sunbeds have a higher risk of melanoma before the age of what ?

   (5) Do you think a tan make you feel and look healthier ? and if you have a chance, do you want to try to use sunbeds ?

6,VOCABURARY

tanned -when your skin becomes darker as a result of being exposed to the sun
tanning salons -places that offer their clients an oppotunity to use sunbeds
bronzed -a synonym of tanned
to emulate -to copy whatsomeone else, usually a well-known person, does
sunbed -an apparatus that looks like a bed with a special cover that emits rays of ultraviolate light, so if you lie on it, you develop a tan
melanoma -the most dangerous type of skin cancer
hit headlines -was widely talked about by the area
horrified -shocked, disgusted and dismayed
was unmanned -this means that no member of staff was present at the time
taking heed of -paying attention to, taking intoaccount
self-regulation -here, when tanning industry or even individual sarons established their own rules
supervised -monitored, watched to make sure everything is done correctly and safely

transfer  verb

  to move from one place school, job, etc to another or make someone do this especially within the same organization

  Tom transferred from basketball team to badminton team.

fee  noun

  an amount of money that you pay to do something or that you pay to a professional person for their work

   The healthclub charges an annual membership fee.

spectacular 　adj

   very impressive

   I mede a soectacular success in this championship.

spectator noun

  someone who is watcing event or game

  The singer attracted hundfreds of spectators.

commodity   noun

   a product that is bought and sold

   Commodity prices today fell sharply.

anonymous  adj

   unknown by name

   This poem is written by the annonymous author.

aisle  noun

   a long passage between rows of seats in a church, plane, theater, etc, or between rows of shelves in a shop

   Please be quiet in the aisle.

bin  verb

   to throw something away

   You should bin these papers later.

shove   verb

   to push someone or something in a rough or careless way, using your hands or shoulders

   Everyone was pushing and shoving to see the princess.

diaper  noun

   a piece of soft cloth or soft paper that is put between a baby’s legs and fastened around its waste to hold liquid and solid waste

   Wait a minute while I changed her diaper.

funeral  noun

   a religeous ceremony for buying or celemonating someone who has died

   The funeral of my mother would be held tomorrow.

practice  noun

    something that people do often, especially a particular way of doing something or a social or religeous custome

   The volunteer team will do the practice of dumping waste into the sea.

session  noun

   a period time used for a particular activity, especially by a group of people

   There are some question-and-answer sessions, so please answer them if you have time.

navy  noun

   the part of a country’s military forces that fight at the sea

    He was in the British Navy a few years ago.

gala  noun

    a public entertainment or performance to celebrate a special occasion

    The Society’s Gala dinner will be held.

coal  noun

   a hard, black mineral ehich is dug out of the ground and burnt to produce heat

   Put some coal on the fire.

urge  verb

   to strongly suggest that someone does something

   Trina urged us to do the book report.

grip   noun

   the way you hold something tightly, or your ability to do this

   He released his grip and stepped back.

drought  noun

   a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live

   There are a long drought in the Sahara desert.

priority  noun

   the thing you think is most important and that needs attention before anything else

   The club’s priority is to win the match.

proceeding   noun

 　an event or a series of things that happen

   We watched the proceedings in the street below.

mull over

    to think about a problem,plan,etc for a long time before making a decision

    He is mulling over the proposals before making any choices.

pathway  noun

    a series of nerves that pass information to each other

    This is pathway between two pathways.

assimilate   verb

    to completely understand and to begin to use new ideas, information etc

    It willtake time to assimilate all these facts.

sale  noun

   the act of selling something or an occasion when you sell something

   The sale of alcohol is strictly controlled in Japan.

summit  noun

   a set of important meetings among the leaders of several governments

  An economic summit will be held today.

economic down

  Economic down is crucial problem in America today.

purchase  verb

   to buy something

   I purchased some clothes at the department store today.

lukewarm  adj

  a liquid that is lukewarm that is only slightly warm

  The water of this river is lukewarm.

maximize   verb

   to increase something as much as possible

   We want to maximize the services available to our customers.

solid  adg

   firm and usually hard , without spaces or holes

   The lake in the park is solid.

riddle   noun

   a difficult and amusing question that you must guess the answer to

   a mysterious action, event, or situation that you do not understand and cannot explain

  The disappearance of Helen is still a riddle.

rancher  noun

  someone who owns or works on a ranch

  James was a rancher on this firm.

lottely  noun

 　 a game of chance in which people buy tickets in order to try to win a lot of money

　 My father likes to buy the lottery tickets.

feed   verb

    to  give food to a person, group or animal

    Let’t s feed our children first and have our breakfast.

accurately   adv

   correct or exact

   Please come to the meeting accurately.

enhance  verb

   to improve something

   Winning that award enhanced her relationship.

liver   noun

  a large organ in your body that cleans your blood

  My grandparents suffered from the liver cancer.

hangover   noun

  If you have a hangover, you feel ill because you drank too much alcohol the evening before.

  I got hangover today because I drank too much yesterday night.

metabolize verb

   to change food in your body into energy and new cells, using chemical process

  Metabolization is one of the ohysical process.

toxic  adj

   containing poison, or caused by poisonous substances

   Toxic chemicals were spilled into the river.

aspire  verb

   to desire and work towards achieving something imoportant

   At that time, all serious artists aspired to go to Rome.

reclaim  verb

   to get back an amount of money that you have paid

   You may be entitled to reclaim some tax.

vanish   verb

   to disappear suddenly, especially in a way that cannot be easily explained

   My keys are here a minute ago but now they’re vanished.

landscape  noun

   an area of countryside or land of a particular type ,used especially when talking about its appearance

   I love the landscape in this town.

woodland  noun

   an area of land covered with trees

   In England, there are some huge woodlands.  

insomnia  noun

 　　the condition of not being able to sleep

    She sufferes from insomnia lately.

downtown   noun

     the bussiness center of a city or town

     The environments of this downtown in this city is desperate.

depression  noun

     a strong feeling of sadness and a loss of hope

     After her son is died ,she went into a long period of depression.

occupation  noun

     a job or profession

     Workers in low-period occupations often suffered from poor health.

linear  adj

     consisting of lines, or in the form of the straight line

    These figures are liner drawing.

iceberg   noun

  　　an extreamly large piece of ice floating in the ocean

      The iceberg in the Ireland is marvelous.

wreck  verb

    to completely spoil something so that it cannot continue in the successful way

   His drinking problem wrecked their marriage.

convention  noun

    a large formal meetingt of people who belong to the same profesion, organization ,etc or who have the same interests

    A convention of science fiction fans will be held today.

morbid  adj

    having a strong interest in unpleasant subjects ,especially death

    The newspaper printed all the morbid details of the murder.

counterpart  noun

   a person or things that has the same job or purpose as someone or something else in a different place

  A meeting between the U.S. president and his French counterpart will be held.

windfall  noun

    an amount of money that you get when you do not expect it

   This bonus was a windfsll to me.

translate into 

    to change speech or5 writing from one language to another

    His job is translating the book into Spanish.

discrepancy  noun

    a difference between two amounts , details ,etc. that should be the same.

    There were discrepancies in the expense accounts.

benefit  noun

    the money or other advantages that you get from something such as insurance or the government , or as part of your job

    The company provides the medical benefit.

nurture  verb

    to feed and take care of a child or a plant while it is growing

    Chilgren are nurtured by a lots of  love of parents.

 premature  adj

    happening too early or before the right time

    It was a premature death.

calm  verb

    to become quiet after you have been angry, excited or upset , or to make someone become quiet.

   Calm down and tell me what happened.

procedure   noun

    a way of doing something ,especially the correct or normal way

   Officials must follow the correct procedure.

figure  noun

   a number representing an amount especially an official number

   This figure shows the depression of this company.

format  noun

  the way something such as a computer document ,television shows or meeting is organized or arranged

  The new show is slightly different from the usual talk-show format.

spokesperson  noun

  someone who has been chosen to speak officially for a group ,organization, government  ,etc

   James made arole of White House spokesperson.

illegal  adg

   not allowed by allowed by the low

   Smoking in this area is illegal.

public  adg

   relating to all the ordinary people in a country or city 

    The mayor seems to have public opinion on his side.

strain   noun

    worry that is caused by always being busy or always dealing with problems

     James is being a lot of strain lately.

spread   verb

    to move and affect more people ,places or a larger area or to make something do this

    Cancer has spread to her lungs.

confirm   verb

    to say or prove that something is definetely true

   This confirms that Tomas is innocent.

infection  noun 

    a desease or sickness in a part of your body, caused by bacteria or a virus

    Wash your hands thoroughly to protect them from the infection.

briefly   adv

    using only a few words and not describing things in detail

    Please explain it to me briefly.

allegation   noun

   a statement that someone has done something illegal, which has not been proved

   There are allegations of child abuse.

bribe   noun

    money or gifts that you use to persuade someone to do something ,usually something dishonest

    The officials said that they had been offered bribes before an important game.

predecessor  noun

　　the person who had a job before someone else began to do it

    My predecessor woked in this company for more than six years.

lamentable  adj

     very disappointing

     This result is lamentable.

indict   verb

     to officially charge someone with a crime

     She was indicted on charges of perjury.

rescribe  verb

     scribe something again

      Please rescribe what you said yesterday night.

servant  noun

      someone who is paid to clean someones house ,cook food for him/her ,etc

       He is a servant in this house.

boost   noun

      something that helps someone be more succcessful and confident, or that helps something increase or improve

     This might be a boost for this campaign.

  ban on   verb

     to officially say that people must not do something

    Going out at midnight is banned on in the dormitory.

awareness  noun

     knowledge or understanding of a particular subject or situation

     The TV ads are meant to raise the publics awareness of environmental issues.

cartoon  noun

     a movie or television program made with characters that are drawn and not real

     Japanese cartoon became popular worldwide today.

complication  noun

    a medical problem or illness that happens while someone is already sick

    There were no complications following surgery.

praise  verb

    to say publicly that someone has done something well or that you admire him/her

   The boss praised me for the quality of my work today.

emeritus  adg

    a professor emeritus is no longer working but still has an official title

diabetes  noun

  a desease in whichg there is too much sugar in the blood

   My grandfather died of a diabetes.