Zoom英会話クラス(金)
Lesson Notes March 21, 2025 (FRIDAY ZOOM)
Words & Phrases
“They are resealing the outside of my house. After that, they’ll clean it, then repaint it.”
Until the workmen who are renovating my house finish, I can’t hang my laundry outside.
Today, they put up scaffolding around my house.
Scaffolding (noun); A temporary structure used to support workers and materials during the construction or repair of a building.
Workers set up scaffolding around the building to reach higher areas for repairs.
The scaffolding was removed once the construction was complete.
The scaffolding helped support the workers as they renovated the roof.
I belong to several different clubs, but this English group is my priority.
Priority (noun); Something that is considered more important than other things
Safety is my top priority when driving in bad weather.
We need to make this project a priority to meet the deadline.
His family comes before everything else; they are his priority.
Last week, I went to the Tottori Sand Dunes. I felt like I wasn’t in Japan.
It is worthwhile for me to visit.
We bought some fresh traditional sweets to eat with our afternoon tea.
Fresh sweets (noun); Sweets or desserts that have just been made and are still fresh, typically with a soft texture or sweet taste
The bakery sells fresh sweets every morning, like cookies and pastries.
She loves to make fresh sweets at home, especially during the holidays.
The shop had a display of fresh sweets, including cakes and chocolates.
Appropriate Language
Compare the following
“I ate raw crab.” (= I ate uncooked crab)
“I ate fresh crab.” (= I ate recently caught crab)
“I ate fresh raw crab.” (= I ate recently caught and uncooked crab)
“I ate rare crab.” (Slightly unnatural, meaning ‘I ate undercooked crab'; ‘rare’ is used with meats, not seafood)
Talking about Japanese Sweets
When talking about traditional Japanese sweets, we often keep the Japanese names, like namagashi, yokan, and monaka, because they are special kinds of sweets. You can explain what they are by adding a short description, like:
Namagashi: Fresh, handmade seasonal sweets
Kiri-mochi: Soft rice cakes filled with sweet red bean paste
Yokan: Sweet red bean jelly
Mizu-yokan: Soft, jellied red bean paste dessert served cold
Monaka: A crisp wafer filled with sweet red bean paste
Sakura Mochi: Pink rice cake with sweet red bean paste, wrapped in a cherry blossom leaf
Botamochi: Sticky rice ball covered with sweet red bean paste
Note: Use the short description when you’re talking to someone who may not know what the sweet is. If they are familiar with the sweet, you can just use the Japanese name. This helps everyone understand what you’re talking about!
