The Year 2010 ??????
Happy New Year! |
There are many customs and habits that people all over the world from many different cultures do during the New years holidays. People eat special foods. They meet friends and relatives. Hold parties and festivals. And probably the most important, they hope they and their families will have a great new year. I of course do the same, but I don’t go to a shrine or pray to god in my house. I don’t buy a written oracle or go to a Fortune teller.
When I get up in the morning on New Years day. I go out and start walking to look for the first bird I see. After finding the bird I try to guess how the new year will be for me and my family. Last year I saw a Daurian Redstart, which is a beautiful bird and one that I like, so I thought 2009 would be a good year. But this year I was disappointed to see not 1 but 2 crows flying in the sky together. Oh dear! Is 2010 going to be such a bad year for me? I hope not. |
Vocabulary
a written oracle： おみくじ |
For the last couple of months, I have been seeing aliens in the sky at night near my house. When I told my wife, she didn’t believe me. But that changed this Monday. She took my dog for a walk and as she was leaving my house an alien came and played with my dog. The alien I am talking about is not a little green creature with 3 heads, but a small mammal called a Masked Palm Civet. There are quite a few near my house.
They are not native to Japan and come mainly from China and India. They are a nocturnal animal, eating fruits, birds, insects and small mammals. So, right now they are enjoying the persimmon season. As they travel at night they move from house roof to house roof using the electricity cables. They are like a tightrope walker with amazing balance and agility.
So next time you are outside at night, look up and you may see a cute alien walking along a cable in the sky. Good Luck!! |
Vocabulary
★Can you try to translate the word "alien" into a word that can mean both
１．a creature from outer space
２．an animal not endemic to an area or country. .
"alien"には、２つの意味があります。
１．宇宙の生物
２．外来種（在来種ではない） |
Roses are red, violets are blue! |
“Roses are red. Violets are blue” This is the start to a famous little poem in England. When I read that Suntory had successfully created a natural blue rose and then I saw a picture of them. This little poem came into my head.
I have not seen the Suntory rose called “Applause” yet with my own eyes, but looking at pictures of them in the newspapers and on the internet I am really confused.
Am I color blind? Is my monitor’s color settings a little off? Or were the newspaper’s photographers really bad? Because what I see is not blue. Not even a slight shade of blue. All I see is lilac or light purple.
Why can Suntory announce that they have grown the first Blue rose, when in fact the color is not blue? Am I alone? Has anyone seen these roses and feels that they aren’t blue? I hope so. I certainly won’t be buying them for my wife. Roses are Red!
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Problems in the mountains |
When hiking in Japan, many people
use bells to warn bears that they are coming near. But a new danger
is starting to appear. The mountain bike rider!
At first, mountain-bike riders used to ride about town, in parks
and along rivers. But now as the bicycles have gotten more advanced
and the skill of the riders have increased. They are starting to want
to take their bicycles into the mountains. This is OK, because they
ride them on special courses. The only problem is that these courses
or Mountain bike parks are very few and fairly expensive. So many
mountain bike riders are starting to use the thousands of hiking trails
in the mountains surrounding Tokyo.
This I feel is going to cause a big problem between hikers and riders.
If they use the same trails, there are going to be accidents and complaints
from both sides. And if the local areas make new trails in the mountains
this will damage the wildlife there.
So, hikers in the mountains, keep wearing those bells, as it might
not be a bear coming along the hiking trail, but a speeding bicycle. |
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2009年1月〜6月
