English as a foreign language

[Easy English Blog] Year end/New Year

/ italkyoutalk
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Today (28th December) is the last working day of the year in Japan. Of course, many people will work over the year end/New Year period, but today, many people will finish. Work starts again on 4th January next year.

Many people will travel home to see their families over the holiday period. They will also go to temples or shrines to pray for health and happiness in the New Year. I will stay in my town. My friend will visit me. We will go to a shrine on 1st January and a temple on 2nd January. I want to buy some lucky charms for next year.

I also want to go running over the holiday period. The gym I go to closes on Friday 30th December, and reopens on 4th January. So, I am going to go tomorrow, and then if the weather is fine, I am going to go running on Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I will start going to the gym again on Wednesday.

Many people will hang New Year decorations up in their homes, and eat rice cake. They will enjoy relaxing with their families, watching TV and eating New Year dishes. I hope everyone has a happy and peaceful time.

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

Like oil and ……

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Can you complete this English expression? It means “very different and cannot mix well”.

Like oil and …….

a) gasoline

b) butter

c) water

d) sugar

The answer is below!

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Answer: c) water

Example: “Jenny and Graham are like oil and water. They don’t get along with each other.”

By I Talk You Talk Press – Easy English Reading

[Easy English Blog] Visit to the dentist

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Photo by Daniel Frank on Pexels.com

Do you like going to the dentist? I don’t. I don’t think many people like it. A few weeks ago, my gum was swollen. It wasn’t painful, but I was worried about it. So I made an appointment with the dentist. I hadn’t been for about three years!

The dentist took an x-ray. He said, “Your gum is swollen because there is a problem with your teeth. You need treatment.”

So, last week, I had treatment. I had three injections so I couldn’t feel anything. The dentist drilled my teeth, but I didn’t feel any pain. I think my dentist is highly skilled. He also gave me medicine -some to kill bacteria, and some painkillers.

I went back to the dentist yesterday. The dentist looked at my teeth, and said, “Everything looks OK now. But I need to work on another tooth next time.”

So, I am going back to the dentist next year. I am happy that my gum is no longer swollen, and that I have no pain. It’s nearly Christmas, and I want to eat chocolate! Maybe that is not good for my teeth….

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press

[Easy English Blog] First snow of the season

/ italkyoutalk

Here in Japan, we had our first snow of the season over the weekend. Some places in Japan had very heavy snowfall. Many vehicles got stuck on roads, and some trains stopped running.

It wasn’t so bad in the city where I live. We had about 10cm of snow. The snow stuck (= stayed on the ground) for about a day. Then, it was gone. According to the weather forecast, we are going to have some more snow in the next few days.

I don’t like the snow. Well, I like looking at it. I live in the countryside, and the winter scenery is very beautiful. However, I don’t like digging my car out of snow, or clearing snow from my car and car park. Also, I don’t like driving in the snow. Here in Japan, we have snow tyres, but our cars still slip sometimes. Also, we have to leave early if we are going somewhere, because the traffic on the roads moves slowly.

The weather forecast said that we can expect more snow than usual this year. I think it will snow heavily in January and February. I will keep my shovel and snow wiper in my car just in case I need them.

By Heather @ I Talk You Talk Press