Quick BitesShort topics from English conversation classes at a school in Japan.
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Baseball, softball and karate won't be included in the 2024 Olympics, but two upcoming activities are bidding to become recognised as mainstream sports; breakdancing and climbing. Breakdancing is extremely skillful and closest to gymnastic disciplines, though freestyle. How would it be judged given that individual styles vary? What sport(s) do you think should be included in the Games that are not currently? Do you do any sports that are not mainstream? 
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There are two types of Haniwa, which are traditional Japanese ornaments placed around a tomb; quite simple cylindrical models and those depicting animals, people and houses. They mark and decorate the boundary of a tomb.
What is their significance? Well, they were made to accompany the dead (deceased) person on their journey to the afterlife. What do they symbolize? Basically, wealth and possessions, experiences or achievements. If you could have a more sophisticated design, what sort of haniwa would you like to have surrounding your grave? Setsubun, which is the scattering of soy beans out from the entrance hall or windows of a home, was originally part of the annual New Year's Eve celebration at the Royal Court called Tsuina. In Tsuina, noblemen would run after people dressed as devils with bows and arrows. The first record of Setsubun appeared (was written) in a book in 1425. Setsubun was originally scheduled according to the lunar calendar, which explains the difference in date from the modern event. Do you perform any seasonal rituals?   The movie Victoria, starring Dame Judi Dench in the lead role, tells us about the life of the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland who ruled from 1837-1901. She came to the throne at the tender age of 18 after all male sovereigns in her family had died and is the second longest living ruler.
In one scene of the film, an Indian writer gave her a gold coin at her Coronation ceremony. She liked his appearance so she asked him to be her attendant. She was fascinated to learn about him and his culture though he wasn't easily accepted. She was sad and lonely at the time they met, but he taught her how to write the ancient Hindu language, Sanskrit. After her death at the age of 81, he returned to his homeland. If you could have an attendant, what type of person would you like to have?  The scramble for tickets for the Rugby World Cup this year, known as RWC2019, started again in January. Ballots were held in 2018 but many people, myself included, were unsuccessful and had to wait for this general global ticket sale opportunity,
The 'doors opened' on Tuesday 15th January, appropriately at 20.19pm. As ticket sales were on a first come, first served basis, the queue quickly grew to over 100,000 within the first hour! I, myself, reached the front of the queue from 110,000 after 17 hours, on Wednesday afternoon! The tickets that remained were not for the popular games and were also more highly priced than many people would be willing to pay, I suspect. What is the longest queue you have waited in? It was reported in news from the UK recently that Prince Philip had a car accident. He wasn't injured, but a young woman in the other car involved was injured. Is it safe to drive a car at the age of 97? From time to time, elderly Japanese drivers have accidents caused by senility. A common cause is mistaking the brake pedal for the accelerator. Have you considered what age you may quit driving?  |
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March 2020
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