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デビッド・バーカーの英語と仲直りブログ:スペースアルク
 

2010年8月 2日

Imdb

Hi team,

It was another scorcher here in Aichi today, but I don't mind because I'm heading for the cool shores of Britain tomorrow.

By the way, I'm not sure why I thought of this today, but I was wondering - do any of you know how to express the opposite meaning to "look forward to" in English? I'm guessing that a lot of people don't. The verb to use is "dread." The structure of the sentence is the same as for "look forward to":

I'm dreading going to work tomorrow because the air conditioner in the office is broken.
I'm dreading the Christmas party because everyone always gets really drunk.
I was dreading meeting my girlfriend's parents, but they turned out to be really nice.

As I have said before, the way to develop a natural way of speaking and writing English is to notice how native and proficient speakers of the language actually say things. I know that a lot of you use the blog like this, and I wanted to suggest another idea.

A couple of weeks ago, I found a really useful website that I bookmarked on my phone, and it occurred to me that it could be a great resource for those of you who like movies. The website is called Imdb (Internet Movie Data Base). It is basically just a huge database of information about almost any movie you can think of. Here is the URL:

http://www.imdb.com/

If you type in the name of a movie you like, you can read a summary of the story, the names of the actors and actresses, and all kinds of other information as well. I was thinking that a really good way to study would be to think of a movie that you like and try to explain the story in English. When you have done that, go to this website and read their summary. Of course, you already know the story, so it should be fairly easy for you to understand. If you read it in "Language Hunter" mode, you should be able to find all kinds of word, phrases, and structures that you didn't know.

The reason this site is so useful for me is that it also has links to reviews of all the movies from a range of magazines, newspapers, and websites. If I'm thinking of going to see (or rent) a movie now, I check it on Imdb first to see what the reviewers said. If all of them agree that it is rubbish, I don't bother watching it. (I wish I had checked it before I went to see "2012"!)

Anyway, please have a play with the website this week and share any useful language that you find.

I'll be back in Nannerch (that's the name of the village where my parents live) on Wednesday, so I'll write a comment then. I'll probably be boasting about how cool it is!

Take care, and try not to melt in the heat.

PS: Tsuneko - "until January" was fine in your sentence. You could also use "before."

Comments

Hi David,

Thank you for telling us a nice site. It seems really good for me. You know, I like movies so I will try that you mentioned. Anyway, I am very tired today, so I will check the site later.
Speaking of the word “dread,” it’s funny, because when I was reading your old entries last night, and I noticed the word “dread” in your sentence. I thought it was good to learn, so I was surprised that you mentioned the usage of it in the new entry.Thanks ;-)
By the way, how long are you going to stay in Wales? Hope you have a wonderful and a relaxing time :-)

Hi Maki,

Don’t say sorry. I assumed that you liked any kinds of movies like me :-)

Hi everyone,

How was your weekend? I went for shopping both of days, and today was a busy day, so I am very tired :-(
I bought some clothes for myself and for my sisters as their birthday’s presents.

Bye for now,
amo

Hi David,

The expression " I'm(was) dreading.." is interesting. I've never thought about it, but I think "it's dreadful" is familiar to me. By the way, I'm wondering if "I'm not looking forward to..." is often used or not. Using this to someone who you are speaking to sounds very rude,though.

As for the website "Imdb", I love this site and sometimes check. It's fun to read the summery of each movie and reviews. Do you know the website"Rotten Tomatoes"? This site is similar to Imdb and my favorite.

I'm looking forward to your story from Nannerch and I'm sure you will be boasting about the weather not complaining about it!
Be careful at the message on the board in Heathrow airport when you come back to Nagoya!
Enjoy yourself!

Hi amo,Fumie Ling and everyone,
I'm going to see the movie tomorrow.
Ling, it's Thursday in my area.

My brain doesn't work well. It feels like melting...

Bye for now,

Anne

Hi David,

I've never thought about the opposite meaning to "look forward to" in English, and I didn't know the expression; "I'm(was) dreading ~ing". However "it's dreadful" is familiar to me like Anne, though I rarely use it.

Thanks for sharing the interesting website. I just had a look at it. I will be back to it later and try to read it in "Language Hunter" mode.← It isn't easy for me...I have to train myself to be the hunter.;-)

Have a pleasant flight!

Talk to you later,

Maki

I saw a very shocking story in the news today. According to figures released by doctors, more than 1000 11-year-old girls in Britain are taking the contraceptive pill. 11-year-olds!!
If you are interested in the story, go to Google UK, click on "News," and search for "pill." There are lots of articles about it in different newspapers.

Hi David,
When I saw this week’s title, I was like “Is it what I think it is?” because IMDb is a website I use as a reference in my work. I check this site whenever I need to learn about some movies, TV shows, actors or filmmakers.

Hi Anne,
I like Rotten Tomatoes too!

Rotten Tomatoes is purely a review site while IMDb is more of a database as the name suggests. If you just want to know the reputation of a movie, or enjoy reading reviews on your favorite movies, I’d recommend Rotten Tomatoes. If you want to know about actors and filmmakers, and other projects they were involved in, IMDb would be a good place to look.

Hi David,

Thanks to Imbd, I finally managed to reach the film that I'd been looking for for ages. When I was living in Singapore, I used to see films with Chinese subtitles at cinemas. From both the audio and the subtitle, it was difficult for me to understand each story. Funnily enough, French movies were much more understandable because of simple English subtitles. Anyway, I saw a comedy one night. Holly Hunter and a small chubby balding comedian played. I liked it but I didn't understand the story, so later on I wanted to see it again with Japanese or English subtitles. I totally forgot the title and couldn't find any rental video or DVD. It doesn't seem to have been popular. Then, tonight, I've just got the title and the plot. Thanks for it and the answer to my question too.

Have a great time with your family and your old classmates who were introduced to us in your entry of Facebook. I think you will miss the heat in Japan soon. As for the news, I'll check it tomorrow.

Hi Carrie,

> Hi David and Ling, If we had a chance next year, we could be able to join tsuneko's bon-dance.

You're amusing! Will you ask David to join bon-dance too? ^^;) Yeah, you should visit Kibune in yukata. That sounds perfect.

Hi Anne,

Thanks for letting us know another site. I'm looking forward to checking it tomorrow. Have a fun tomorrow!

↑ Sorry, the above one was mine.

Hi Lily,

Thank you for detailed explanation about the difference between IMBd and Rotten Tomatoes. I'll check some movies there tonight.

It looks it's going to be another scorcher today. Take good care, everyone.

Hi David,
Thank you for telling us the usage of “dread”, it’s new to me, I probably will say “I’m dreading going to work” every morning, especially on a scorching day like today.
Also thank you for the website of Imdb, I’m sure it will be very useful for us, I will check it later when I am at a “safe” place.
Have a nice trip tomorrow, and let us know when you arrive safely.

Hi amo,
> I bought some clothes for myself and for my sisters as their birthday’s presents.
Do you mean your sisters’ birthdays are the same day or very close? That will be interesting!

Hi Anne, Lily,
Thank you for telling us another useful website “Rotten Tomatoes” and the detailed information, I will check it later too.

Hi Tsuneko,
When I read Carrie’s comment, I doubted my eyes and I laughed, I just couldn’t image how David looked like in the Bon-dance.

Hi Carrie,
Were you serious inviting David to attend the Bon-dance? You are interesting(^_^)

Take care.

Hi David and everyone,
The latest post has a lot of information.

>The verb "dread" is a useful word although I rather want to use "be looking forward".

I checked both sites,"IMDb" and "Rotten Tomatoes" and thought there are difficult for me.
Because there are written only in English.
Anyway IMDb is useful when we want to know about the movie and we shoul check Rotten tomatoes before going to the movie theater.

I googled "Nannerch". It's a coastal village.
I saw some pictures of the village (church, landscape, houses, station) very beautiful village.
I'm looking forward to hearing about the story of the village.

>The news about more than 1000 11-year-old girls in Britain are taking the contraceptive pill.
It's quite shoking!
The age of 11 is too early to have a relationship.
But I heard that the reason of few Japanese teenager's pregnancy is because many of them have abortion.
It's also shocking.

David, enjoy the cool weather and have a nice holiday.

Speaking of holiday it reminds me the movie "holiday" American woman and British woman switch their homes. I thoght British cottage is nice and cozy.

Hi Ling,

About Carrie's comment, did you? Me, too(LOL)! Also, the image of David's bon-dancing, neither could I.

Hi everyone,

I was just playing on the Rotten Tomatoes tonight while singing 'My Name is James'. I feel like starting to take a summer school holiday after our teacher went back to his home village. Good night.

Hi David,

You are in Nannerch now?
Have a lot of hand made dishes of your mother!!
I'm looking foward your story in Nannerch.

Hi everyone,

How are you?
It's very very very hot everyday,isn't it?
I have been busy since April and I think it's very hard to have summer vacation・・・

Hi Nao,

Luckily I watched the last day of 'Endless SHOCK' on July 31th in 帝国劇場.
It moved me deeply.
We have some kinds of happy news about Koichi,don't we?
Koichi solo concert,CD and BPM DVD,'Endless SHOCK' in America etc・・・
Did you already make a subscription of the CD and DVD and apply his solo concert?
You can go not only Osaka but also Kobe!
Kobe is the last place!

Green

Hi David and everyone,

Sorry I couldn't join you for a while. My sister was in hospital because of acute gastroenteritis, and I had to take care of her children, so I was very busy. My sister is at home now, but she still needs my help. One of my nieces is a “jukensei”, and there is an orientation for junior high school students at the school my niece wants to go tomorrow, so I'm going to take her there instead of my sister.

Ling and amo,
Thanks for your comments on the previous entries:)

David, have a great time with your family!

Take care, everyone.

Tomo

Hi Tsuneko,
>I feel like starting to take a summer school holiday after our teacher went back to his home village.
I feel exactly the same as you(|o|)

Hi Green,
Nice to see your comment, you are too busy to take summer vacation?! I’m sorry to hear that.

Hi Tomo,
Taking care of 5 children (maybe more?), I can imagine how busy you are these days, please take care of yourself as well, and I hope you sister will get well soon.

Hi Tomo,
Hope your sister gets well soon! Please take care of yourself too.

Hi Tomo,

Sorry for your sister's disease.
Hope your sister gets better soon as Lily said.
Take good care of yourself.

Hi Tomo,

I'm sorry to hear about your sister. Hope she gets well soon. Please take good care of yourself, as other members said.

Hi Team,

I'm back in Nannerch now. I arrived at Manchester airport this morning, and the temperature was 12 degrees! The flight was really long. It was 6 hours to Singapore, another 6 hours in Singapore, about 14 hours to Munich, 1 hour in Munich, and then, finally, two hours to Manchester. I arrived at 8 o'clock this morning. I've been awake all day, but I'm starting to feel pretty tired now. I think I'm going to sleep well tonight!

Hi Tomo,

I'm sorry to hear about your sister. I hope she feels better soon. Take good care of ourselves!

Sam

Hi David,

Oh, It's cool there. That's a nice place! Did you sleep well? I think it's good for you, but please take good care of a sudden change in temperature!

Sam

Hi David,

Oh, it's very cool there. That's a nice place! Did you sleep well? I think it's good for you, but please take good care of a sudden change in temperature!

Sam

Hi David,

How are you? Are you cold or just nice and cool? The flight was really long. I just culclated the total hours: it took you nearly 30 hours. Wow!

Hi Tomo,

Is the sister the same funny sister who called you everytime Teru appreared on TV? She seems to be cheerful, so I think she gets well soon. I heard that laughter is the best medicine:)

Hi Ling and everyone,

I have a question about the sentence I wrote to Carrie as below.

> Will you ask David to join bon-dance too?

I meant デイヴィッドも盆踊りに誘うの?, but I'm wondering if it meant like an order デイヴィッドも盆踊りに誘って!? I might have written like ' Are(Were) you goint to ask David to join bon-dance too?' What do you think of?

Me, again.

> I might have written like 'Are(Were) you goint to ask David to join bon-dance too?'

これでは意味がよく分かりませんね:-(
'Are(Were) you going to ~?'と書いたほうが良かったかもしれません。と、本当は言いたかったのでした・・・。

Hi Tomo,

I'm sorry to hear about your sister. How is she today? I hope she will get well soon. Please take care of yourself.

Hi everyone,

お久しぶりです。かなりサボってしまいました…^^;
Last month, I entered a vocal contest. I have done it before, but I didn't do it for a long time, so I decided to do it again. Unfortunately, I didn't get win a prize, but this experience was very good for me. I could listen to songs of lots of vocalists, and I could know my true ability. I recognized that my singing ability need to more improve. I must practice more and more!
By the way, it is so hot today!!!I'm going to melt....

Amica

Hi Tomo,

I'm sorry to heare about your sister.
I hope she gets well soon.
I think she is relieved because you take good care of her children.
Take good take care of your self as everyone said.

Green

Hi Ling,

Thank you for your kind message.
I work hard to go Koichi Domoto concert in Oct at Yokohama Arena!

Green

Hi David,

Was temperature 12 degrees?
It's cold and like winter in Japan,isn't it?

Green

Hi David,
Good for you arrived safely. Are you like in a refrigerator? Isn't it too cold? Enjoy yourself with your family and friends.

Hi Tomo,
Sorry your sister became ill. I hope she'll get well soon.

Hi Amica,
You must have been regrettable when you lost the prize. But anyway you enjoy singing, rght? I think it's important.

Hi tsuneko,
Talking of inviting David to Bon-dance,
why don' you say , I am going to invite David , Carrie, and anyone who wants to dance to Bon-dance next summer. (Does this sentence sound strange?)

Hi Carrie,

Thanks for your quick reply. No, no, it doesn't strange at all. That's a good idea!
ええと・・・、CarrieのLingへのコメントがDavidとLingに呼び掛けていたので、私とLingはそれがおもしろかったのです。それで、Carrieに、「Davidも誘うつもりですか」と尋ねたかったのですが、Will you invite ~?を使うと、「~して」という命令になってしまうのかな?とふと疑問に思いました。それで、Are you going to~? の方が良かったかなと思った次第です。
I hope I didn't make you confused.


No, no, it doesn't SOUND strange at all! (tsuneko)

Hi David,
Glad to know you’ve got home safely, please have a good sleep.
I know you are going to be busy getting together with you family and friends, but don’t forget to “boast “ something to us once in a while.

Hi Tsuneko,
> Will you ask David to join bon-dance too?
> Are you going to ask David to join bon-dance too?
Both sentences seem all right to me, I can’t see any big differences between them, and the first one doesn’t seem like an order at all. It’s my opinion anyway (my English is limited), I’d like to know what other members might say about it.
About Carrie’s new suggestion, it sounds interesting (^^)

Hi Amica,
おひさしぶりです、I missed you… You entered a vocal contest? That’s really cool! Yeah, surely it is a good experience for you. Your singing is perfect to me, but you’re still working hard to improve it! Maybe it’s a professional area that I don’t know much about, anyway, take care, don’t get melted.

Hi Green,
You are really indulging in Koichi Domoto^^ By the way, I went to Yokohama Arena once in June for another group.

Hi tsuneko,

> Will you ask David to join bon-dance too?

It’s a good question. I thought about it, but I’m not sure if I’m right.

I think “Will you --?” can sound like both a question and request. It sounds to me like you just thought about it like, ね、デビッドは誘う? but could be followed by 誘ってよ. If you want to clarify you mean a question, I think you should say “Are you going to --?” which means デビッドは誘うつもり? Most people would probably say so. But in this particular case, I would say, “Are you inviting David too?” as in (それって)デビッドも誘ってるの?

By the way, I don’t think people use the structure “Will you --?” as a request that often either. (But then again, this could be another example like David’s “mere.” Do you remember?) Maybe they use it more often for common requests like “Will you get the door?” because they can’t be misunderstood. When I ask someone to do something, I usually use “Can you --?” “Could you --?” or “would you --?”

What do other people think? It would be an interesting question to ask David too. Maybe you can ask him when he comes back?

Hi Amica,
I’m glad to hear you are doing well. I guess entering a competition is a good chance to learn about yourself. It must be inspiring and motivating to meet other performers too. I admire your willingness to challenge yourself. Take a good rest.

We are having another hot day here. I haven't melted so far though ;-)
Have a nice day, everyone.

Hi Ling and Lily,

I really appreciate that both of you thought of my question together. Lily, I've got it. “Are you inviting David too?” as in (それって)デビッドも誘ってるの?: that's just what I wanted to say this time. Besides, "Will you ask David~?" sounds like as ね、デビッドも誘う?(誘ってよ): My question is melted already.

> When I ask someone to do something, I usually use “Can you --?” “Could you --?” or “would you --?”

Me, too. I haven't had a chance to use "Will you~?" as a request so far.

> Maybe they use it more often for common requests like “Will you get the door?” because they can’t be misunderstood.

I can guess "Will you get the door?" doesn't mean ドアを取ってくれる? but means 玄関に出てくれる?, yet I'm not 100% sure, so I just looked it up into a dictionary. It's interesting. Now, I'm looking forward to catching the phrase from movies or dramas next time.

> (But then again, this could be another example like David’s “mere.” Do you remember?)

I'm afraid I don't already know about it. Did you discuss the usage of "mere" before? I'll check it on old entries later. Anyway, thanks a lot for your help!

tsuneko

Hi team,

I think 'Are you going to ask David?' is probably the most natural way of asking. 'Will you ask David?' might sound like a request.

I went to bed at about 10 o'clock last night. I woke up two or three times, but I went straight back to sleep every time, and I slept through until 7 this morning. Mind you, I was so tired that it wasn't difficult to sleep. I may have more problems tonight.

The temperature was 12 degrees again this morning, and it's cloudy and grey, but I'm not complaining because it is such a relief to be away from the heat of Japan.

Bye for now.

Hi David,

It sounds you took a looong time to get home! Did you stay at the airport for 6 hours in Singapore, or get out of it and spend a time in the city?
Anyway, glad that you reached home safely. Hope you are able to sleep well tonight.;-)

Hi Amica,

Happy to hear from you! You've been busy with concerts recently, besides you took part in the competition?! I admire your challenge!
Take care and don't melt!

Hi tsuneko,

Thanks for sharing your question! It's really useful for me, too. Thanks to Ling, Lily and David!

Bye for now,

Maki

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your get well wishes to my sister. Her stomach still hurts, and she has to take some medicine for a while, but she is getting better slowly:)

Hi Ling,
My sister has two daughters, so I had to take care of 5 children. I admire mothers of a big family!

Hi Lily,
I'm happy to see your commentS on this entry:) I agree with your idea about "Will you ...?". I hardly use it as a request. Like you, I usually use "Can/Could/Would you...?"

Hi Anne,
I hope you are not suffering from the heat!

Hi Maki,
It seems like David is enjoying the lovely cool(cold??) weather. How is it where you are?

Hi Sam,
Yes, let's take good care of ourselves and try not to melt!

Hi Tsuneko,
You are right, she is that one. She is funny, isn't she?
> Laughter is the best medicine.
I think so, too!

Hi Amica,
Glad to hear from you! I was wondering how you were doing. You took part in a competition? That's great! I'd love to hear you sing again♪

Hi Green,
She is my sister and my best friend. We always help each other when we have problems;-)
You seem to be very busy these days. I hope you can take some days off this summer.

Hi Carrie,
Thank you for your message. Take care of yourself too!

Hi David,
I'm glad you got there safely. You are very lucky that you are away from the heat of Japan. It was really hot today, and I almost melt... But ice cream tastes better in hot weather, right? I ate some with my niece after the orientation. It was so good!
Anyway, I hope you have a good sleep tonight;-)

I'm exhausted today, so I'm going to bed now.

Good night,

Tomo

PS trmr, did you see the movie “借りぐらしのアリエッティ”? How was it?

Hi Ling,

Yes, both of my sisters were born in July. The days are very close, one is 19th and the other is 24th.

Hi Anne,

How was the movie? Did you enjoy it? Hope you like it.

Hi Tomo,

Sorry to hear about your sister and hope she will get well soon. You will be very busy until then, but please take some rest.

Hi David,

Glad to hear from you in Wales. That was a quite long journey. You had been very tired and no wonder you slept that long. 12 degrees? It seems like winter to me.

Hi Amica,

You entered a vocal contest? Good for you. It seems that listening to other contestants’ songs motivated you to work hard. Take good care of your throat.

good night and sweet dreams,
amo

Hi tsuneko and everyone,

tsuneko, your question is interesting and thanks for putting it on the table. We've already got the answer thanks to Lily,David, Ling and Carrie.
When I read your question, I thought you were making a request, but actually you usually say "Could you..?", "Would you...?" when it comes to the request. It depends on the context whether it is the request or 'just asking',doesn't it?
By the way, I like the idea of Carrie; I would say,"Why don't you ask David...?"
Lily, I couldn't remember when David mentioned "mere" topic or what was the topic like. Would you tell us a bit more when you have time?
tsuneko, did you find the entry about this topic?

Hi Amica,
Glad to see your comment here again. Vocal contest sounds interesting but difficult!

Hi Green,
Are you going to the concert this October? That sounds nice!

Hi Fumie,
I love the movie" The Holiday" too!

Hi Tomo,
Glad to hear that your sister is getting better.

Hi amo,

The movie was great but it was sometimes difficult for me to figure out which stage they were in.

Hi David,

30 hours flight? That's really long !
Did you have a good sleep again? I hope so. By the way, 12 degrees in your place? I'm jealous of you! It was cloudy yesterday but humid and sticky. According to the weather forecast, this hot weather will last at least two more weeks. I know everyone is fed up with the phrase" it's hot,isn't it?", but I can't find any other words to say than that. I wonder how much money I would have to pay if you would have to pay a fine when you said the phrase,"it's hot." 12 degrees sounds as if the summer is already over in Wales but I guess you are in the right place avoiding the heat wave in Japan.

I'm going out now.
See you later,

Anne

Hi David,
Thank you for joining the discuss about “will--?” and “are you going to-?”, Tsuneko must be very happy about it, and the rest of us are happy too. Enjoy the cool 12 degrees, and sleep well.

Hi Lily
I’ve never thought that “Will you --?” can be a request as well, thank you for your explanation, I learned a lot from your post.

Hi Maki,
It seems most of us will be in the heat wave again for a while, hope you are not involved.

Hi Tomo,
I think you are already a wonderful mother.

Hi amo,
Oh really! Did you have a big party for your sisters?
I am always jealous of my female friends who have sisters.

Hi Anne, amo.
The movie was difficult to me too, I got lost many times, and even the last scene, I didn’t know it’s a reality or a dream.

Hi Tomo and Ling,

We had a beautiful blue sky today, and it was really hot as well. I know you've been having much hotter days since last month, but the temperature was up to 30 degrees here!! When I came back to my place, it was still 30 degrees inside. As you know, my apartment doesn't have air-conditioners...I let the window open and a fan is working very hard, however it's maybe around 28 degrees now. I hope I can sleep tonight.:(

Bye for now,

Maki

Hi, David

This is the first time for me to write a comment, though I've often visited this blog for quite a while now. My old friend, Carrie, told me about you and your blog, plus your book entitled 'An A-Z of Common English Errors for Japanese Learners'. I was just impressed. ---You wrote that we should avoid "moved" or "impressed unless we are absolutely sure about it. Yet, I really don't know how to express my feelings after I read the book and your blog and saw many beatiful pictures you took in many places. They just go beyond all the adjectives I know. I just said "Wow!"

I visited Imdb and enjoyed reading about some movies I already know as you suggested, and also watched some videos. Not only fun, but it's a great exercise in listening. Thank you for telling us an interesting and useful website like this.

Finally, in your book about our common errors, I have one question. On page 86, the second example sentence of "early" says I ARRIVED TEN MUNITES EARLY. Well, what's the difference between 'ten minutes early' and 'ten minutes earlier'? Aren't they virtually same except that earlier conveys more clear meaning?

By for now.


Sorry. Somehow, my name was not put.
I'm a newcommer, Makoron.

Hi tsuneko and Anne,

I tried to post another comment last night, but the site wouldn’t take it :-(
No, no, it’s not in the blog. David mentioned it at the seminar. He said that your idea of what is common can be wrong. The first time he saw the word “mere” on the list of high-frequency words (or something), he thought, “No one uses that!” but then he started noticing how often it was actually being used.

Hi Makoron,

Nice to have you with us. "I arrived early" means that you arrived before the time you were expected to arrive. "I arrived earlier" would only normally be used if you followed it with "than...." For example, you could say, "I arrived earlier than usual today."

Hi Lily,

Sorry about that. I sometimes have the same problem!

Hi Lily,

Thank you for explaining the topic 'mere.' In the seminer? I see. To be honest, when I read your reply, I thought,"In the seminar? Well...." It took me a few minutes to remember the situation he said.
あ~、すっきりしました。どのエントリー?とあれこれ探したり、考えてました^;)
By the way, sorry about the problem. It's really frustrating,isn't it?

Hi Makoron,
Welcome to the blog! Thanks for sharing interesting question.
Looking forward to hearing from you again.

Hi Maki,
Did you have a good sleep? I hope it's not that hot today.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone,

Anne

Hi Makoron,

Welcome to the blog! Glad to have you with us. Looking forward to hearing from you again.
By the way, your handle name is familiar to me, because my brother teasingly called me "Makoron related to my name when I was a child.:-)

Hi Anne,

Thanks for your comment! Unfortunately the room temperature didn't go down easily, and I couldn't sleep well last night. It seems to be another hot day, however I'm going out of the town for a while.;-)

Have a lovely weekend!

Bye for now,

Maki

Hi Makoron,
Welcome to the blog. Nice to see you again. I'm glad we can share the same blog.

Hi David,
Thank you for your quick explanation of Makoron's question because we two talked about it the other day and didn't find the answer. I urged her to ask David directly.
Have a nice holiday in your home town!

Hi truneko,Ling, Lily and Anne,
I didn't expect my asking David to Bon-dance become so controversial. Anyway everyone is nice enough to explain the difference between an asking and a request. My English expression has increased a little bit.

Hi amo and Anne,
Thanks for your messages! I hope she gets all better soon.

Hi Ling,
Thanks for your kind words:)

Hi Maki,
The temperature was up to 30 degrees even in Hokkaido?? We are having a really hot summer this year! By the way, you going out of the town for a while? Where are you going? I hope you have a great time and a good sleep;-) Have fun!

Hi Makoron,
Welcome to the blog! It's nice to have you with us. I first thought your name was the sweet "マカロン(macaron)", but it was "Makoron". Is it from your real name? It's a nice and cute name! Look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tomo

PS Maki, your brother used to call you "Makoron"? 可愛いあだ名だね^^

Hi Maki,
Sorry to hear that you didn't sleep well last night, 30 degrees would be really hot in Hokkaido! Are you going away for summer holiday? Have a great time!

Hi Makoron,
Nice to meet you! Same as Tomo, at first I thought your name was "macaron", but Makoron is really a cute name, I like it.

Hi Carrie,
It's nice for us to think about the same question, isn't it? I learned a lot from it too.

Hi everyone,
It's another hot day here today. I had a BBQ with some friends from work.At first I was worried someone might get heat stroke on such a hot day, but when we got there (it's inside a big park) and found it was a totally shaded area,and the wind was blowing, so it actually was a very cool and comfortable place. At the beginning we had a problem to start a fire, but everything went well then, we had a good time. It's the first time I joined a BBQ in Japan.
I hope you are all having a great weekend.

Hi Makoron,

Nice to have you with us. So you are a friend of Carrie, and she is the one who introduced this blog to you? I am happy that you’ve enjoyed reading the blog. Look forward to your next comment.

Hi Carrie,

Thank you for inviting your friend to this blog.

Hi Ling,

You had a BBQ today? That’s nice, and happy for you had a good time :-) I haven’t had it for ages. Come to think of it, I have never done it in here in Tokyo. By the way, you also watched “Inception”? I see what you mean. I am going to the movies tomorrow, but I don’t know what I am going to watch, because my friend chose a movie this time.

Hi Maki,

>however I'm going out of the town for a while.;-)
Is this your summer holiday? Hope you have a good time.

take care,
amo

Hi amo,
Yes, Makaron and me have been best friends for more than 15 (?.....ask Makaron directly) years.
I'd like to enjoy this blog not only with her but with everyone.

Hi Lily,
On such a boiling day, you had BBQ. The taste of beer must have been delicious.

Hi Maki,
In Hokkaido, do you have an air-conditioner? If not, it was difficult to sleep without it, wasn't it?

Hi everyone,

How’s your weekend? I had chiropractic treatment yesterday. It was my first time to have it and I liked it, so I am going to have it once in a while.
As I mentioned yesterday, I went to the movies with my friends today. We watched “Extraordinary Measures” and it was based on book. Also it was true story.
By the way, it was another hot day. You know, I am used to having hot weather and I don’t like air conditioning, so I rarely use it in my place. Even so, I can’t help turn it on this summer. We are having a harsh summer, aren’t we?

Hi Carrie,
>I'd like to enjoy this blog not only with her but with everyone.
So do I ;-)

good night,
amo

Hi Carrie,
>The taste of beer must have been delicious.
Absolutely true! I guess I drank too much beer yesterday, I spent most time sleeping today!

Hi Amo,
You like trying new things, don't you? I remember you told us you went to the eye massage sometimes, this time you tried chiropractic treatment, it's also new to me.
“Extraordinary Measures” must be a really touching story, isn't it?

Hi everyone,it just started raining here, the temperature is much lower than usual, I hope you are all having a cool night!

Correction

It was my first time to have it
> It was the first time that I had had it

Hi Ling,

Yes, the movie was touching. Are you going to watch it?

Hi Everyone,
Is it still hot over there? It was sunny here today, but the temperature was still only about 20 degrees. It's lovely! I don't want to come back to Japan until it has cooled down.
I've been eating far too much since I got home, and I've just had another huge dinner. If I go on like this, I will weigh 90 kg by the time I get back to Japan! I think I will go for a walk to try to consume some of those calories.
At the moment, it's light until about 9.30, so you can go out for walks in the evening. I wish Japan would adopt summertime!

Hi Kazu,
I just uploaded some pictures of the air-con in my apartment. Please visit my blog and have a look at it.

Thank you for uploading of your picture of air conditioner.
I really appreciate it.
Thanks to you I got it.
It will be useful for us.
Let me say again "Thank you"
Please take care of yourself.

Kazu

Hi Kazu,
Always my pleasure and enjoy some of the pictures shot in Canada.

Hi Appoh,

You seem to having a good time in Canada.
Please have fun.

Kazu

Hi Daved,

You've been eating far too much since you got home?
What is you mam's best dish?
I'd like to know the recipe!

Hi Ling,

Who's concert did you watch at Yokohana Arena?

Hi Anne,

I haven't get the tickets yet,but I really want to go Koichi Domoto's solo concert!

Hi Tomo,

Is your sister get well?
You and your sister have a nice relationship,don't you!

Hi everyone,

How was your weekend?
Me?
I saw an eye Dr. on Sat and worked on Sunday.
My eyesight is getting poor...

Green

Hi David and everyone,

Thank you, David, for your quick response to my question about early and earlier. Now,it's cleared up.

Maki, Anne, Tomo, Ling, amo and other dear friens, Yes, Carrie introuduced me to this blog and a wonderful book written by David. Well, I first met Carrie in the year of 阪神大震災, which means I've known her 15 and a half years. In fact, we haven't seen each other more than three years until just 5 days ago, though we kept in touch by mail and phone calls. Do you know what made us get together? ---It was David's book about common English errors. Thank you, David, for attaching the workbook at the end of the book. Carrie and I met and checked the answers over coffee (not one but three).

Now, about my name. It's not derived from my real name, but I've been using this name on the web quite a while. It's Makoron, not macoron. Macoron is too sweet, isn't it? Hey, Makoron is not sweet, but cool!

By for now,
Makoron

Hi David and everyone,

Did you have a great weekend? The temperature around here in Aichi today was under 30 degrees. It rained last night and I didn't need to turn on the air-conditioner. It's just about bearable but next week it will be back to hot weather again.
David, you seem to have been having a great time and dinner. Did you go for a walk?
As for summer time, Japan once adopted this system after World War Ⅱbut didn't last long.
Isn't it confusing to switch the time? Actually when I went to England about 2 years and 10 months ago, I totally forgot about this and I went into the dining room for breakfast on Nov. 1st, none was there and I suddenly remembered (noticed?) that day was Nov. 1st. That means the clocks go back one hour.

Hi Ling,
It seemed that you had a great time with your friends from work and that's nice! I haven't done BBQ for ages and actually I was talking about it with my friend but we decided to have lunch instead next Saturday,haha...

Hi amo,
I didn't know the movie" Extraordinary Measures", so I checked it. It sounds very nice and I'd love to watch it. Thanks for letting us know about it.
By the way, a good surprise when I watched the movie"Inception" was that Joseph Gordon-Levitt played an important role'Arthur.' He is one of my favorite actors and was great in the" 500 Days of Summer."

Hi Makoron and Carrie,
You have been studying a lot of things using David's book? That's nice!

Last Saturday unlucky and sad thing happened to me. When I was reading an article using the electronic dictionary, my husband spoke to me so I turned around to answer him. Unfortunately I lost my balance and put my palm on the dictionary! Just after that, I realized what had happened to me( or dictionary). I found the liquid crystal display was broken. It was really a shock in two meanings; one was "My bad footwork" and the other was "Broken dictionary." On that day, the company was closed but I sent it with a letter asking for being repaired as soon as possible. Today I made a phone call to the company and according to the staff, they'll fix it in a few days and sent it by this weekend. I'm relieved to hear her words but anyway I should get more exercise.

Bye for now,

Anne

Hi David
You seem to have a good time in Wales. It is comfortable temperature, isn't it? I wondered if it is very cold in winter there.

Hi Tomo
I'm sorry to hear about your sister. It is relief that she's getting better.
"借りぐらしのアリエッティ" was a good movie. I enjoyed it. But it was something lacking to be called masterpiece. I think that characters' background didn't express well.

Hi Amica
You entered the competition? That experience makes you greater! I strongly remembered your voice. I'm looking forward to the day to hear you singing again:-)

Hi Makoron
Welcome the blog! And thank you for sharing the question.

Hi Anne
What a tragedy! But it is good that it will be repaired and you didn't get injured.

Hi everyone
I went to Summer Sonic 2010 which is big open-air music festival that take place in Osaka and Tokyo. There were many famous musicians. I had a very special time. Did any of you go there?

trmr

Hi mates,

Today is the fourth day of my summer holidays this year. It’s raining in Yokohama now. As Ann said, it is rather cool outside.

I have much time to study English. I got two English books as prizes from ALC. They are ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking-glass.’ I started reading the former one because I watched the movie which has the same title a few months ago. Its cover shows that the book is for the people whose TOEIC scores are more than 400 points. However, I think it is a little difficult for me because it has many inversions. We find many inversions in the novels written in English.

Sometimes they make difficult our understanding. Don’t you think so?

I’d like to resume reading the book.

See ya,

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