Hawai'i
Have you ever been to America? Have you ever been to Hawai’i? I have heard that many Japanese people have been to Hawai’i but do not think they’ve ever been to America. Hawai’i is an American state. It became an American territory in 1894. It is one of the smallest states and one of the most crowded. It is fun for visitors to play on the beautiful beaches, eat the delicious seafood, learn to surf, and dance the hula. The tallest mountain in Hawai’i is Mauna Kea, which is taller than Mt. Everest if you measure the mountain to the bottom of the sea. However, Mt. Kilauea is the most famous mountain in Hawai’i. It is more famous than Mauna Kea because it is the most active volcano in the world. Many people in Hawai’i speak English, but Hawaiians have their own native language. For example, one local fish is known as the humuhumunukunukuapua’a.
Before Hawai’i became a US territory, it was ruled by a king. Do you know the name of the most famous Hawaiian king? His name was King Kamehameha. He united all of the Hawaiian islands under the rule of one leader. Hawaiians called him King Kamehameha the Great, but in America and England, he was known as “The Napoleon of the Pacific.” I guess we could say that he is Hawai’i’s Tokugawa.
New words:
Crowded 人が多い、混んでいる
Seafood 海鮮、魚介類
Local 地域的
Territory 領土
To rule 司る
To unite 合わせる
Before Hawai’i became a US territory, it was ruled by a king. Do you know the name of the most famous Hawaiian king? His name was King Kamehameha. He united all of the Hawaiian islands under the rule of one leader. Hawaiians called him King Kamehameha the Great, but in America and England, he was known as “The Napoleon of the Pacific.” I guess we could say that he is Hawai’i’s Tokugawa.
New words:
Crowded 人が多い、混んでいる
Seafood 海鮮、魚介類
Local 地域的
Territory 領土
To rule 司る
To unite 合わせる
The Rodeo
Have you ever been to a rodeo? It is a fun event every year that began centuries ago. Do you know how it started?
In the Old West days, Texas was a wide open prairie where cowboys worked. The cowboys herded cows and protected them from dangerous animals and other cowboys. When the cows were old enough, the cowboys took them to Kansas City. At that time, the closest train station to Texas was in Kansas City, Kansas. Some cows would go by train to California. In Kansas City, the other cows were used for meat and leather. Now, Texas and Kansas City are both famous for barbecue that uses beef.
After the cows left, the cowboys were bored. It was important for them to sell their cows, but now they were sad because they had not seen their lovers for a very long time. So they decided to compete with each other. They wanted to show who was the best cowboy. There are many events in a rodeo which use horses, bulls, and lassos. There is a big rodeo in my home town, Houston, every February.
New words:
Old West 西部開拓時代
Wide open prairie すごく広いな草原
To herd 追い込む
To protect 守る
Lover 恋人
To compete 競争する
Bull 牡牛
Lasso ラッソー、縄
In the Old West days, Texas was a wide open prairie where cowboys worked. The cowboys herded cows and protected them from dangerous animals and other cowboys. When the cows were old enough, the cowboys took them to Kansas City. At that time, the closest train station to Texas was in Kansas City, Kansas. Some cows would go by train to California. In Kansas City, the other cows were used for meat and leather. Now, Texas and Kansas City are both famous for barbecue that uses beef.
After the cows left, the cowboys were bored. It was important for them to sell their cows, but now they were sad because they had not seen their lovers for a very long time. So they decided to compete with each other. They wanted to show who was the best cowboy. There are many events in a rodeo which use horses, bulls, and lassos. There is a big rodeo in my home town, Houston, every February.
New words:
Old West 西部開拓時代
Wide open prairie すごく広いな草原
To herd 追い込む
To protect 守る
Lover 恋人
To compete 競争する
Bull 牡牛
Lasso ラッソー、縄
Blue Bell Ice Cream
In Texas, there is a small factory with an old car in front of it. I went there when I was a child. It is called the Blue Bell Creamery, and they make the best ice cream in America. Do you like the ice cream flavor called “Cookies n’ Cream”? Blue Bell was the first company to make it. They also sell the biggest ice cream containers—0.5 gallons (1.9L)! The Blue Bell “Homemade Vanilla” is the most popular ice cream flavor in America. Why is this so surprising?
Blue Bell is a much smaller company than its competitors. Do you know Haagen-Dazs, 31 Flavors, or Ben & Jerry’s? They are much richer than Blue Bell, but their ice cream is not as good as Blue Bell’s. Blue Bell only sells ice cream to a few states in the south part of the US. It is very slow to grow. By word-of-mouth, it became more and more popular than before. People use it to make sundaes, floats, and cakes! I want to eat it again! I hope you can eat it too.
New words:
Factory 工場
Flavor 味
Container 容器、コンテナー
Competitor 競合社
State 州
Word-of-mouth 口コミ
Blue Bell is a much smaller company than its competitors. Do you know Haagen-Dazs, 31 Flavors, or Ben & Jerry’s? They are much richer than Blue Bell, but their ice cream is not as good as Blue Bell’s. Blue Bell only sells ice cream to a few states in the south part of the US. It is very slow to grow. By word-of-mouth, it became more and more popular than before. People use it to make sundaes, floats, and cakes! I want to eat it again! I hope you can eat it too.
New words:
Factory 工場
Flavor 味
Container 容器、コンテナー
Competitor 競合社
State 州
Word-of-mouth 口コミ
Dracula
Do you know Twilight? What do you think of the vampires in the book? I think they are the worst vampires ever. Vampires should be scary and awesome, but the Twilight vampires aren’t at all. My dog Jack is scarier and more awesome than the vampires in Twilight.
Do you know who is the best vampire, the strongest vampire? Dracula, of course! Dracula is a legend from Transylvania, based on a man named Vlad Tepes. Bram Stoker wrote the book Dracula about the vampire coming to England. It is the most famous book about Dracula. Since that time, many people tried to write about other vampires, but no one is as cool as Dracula.
Of course, vampires are popular in movies, too. My favorite Dracula is Bela Lugosi. I think he was the best one. His voice is as smooth as silk, but as cold as ice.
New words:
Vampire 吸血鬼
Scary 怖い
Legend 伝説
Based on ~ ~を元に
Silk 絹
Do you know who is the best vampire, the strongest vampire? Dracula, of course! Dracula is a legend from Transylvania, based on a man named Vlad Tepes. Bram Stoker wrote the book Dracula about the vampire coming to England. It is the most famous book about Dracula. Since that time, many people tried to write about other vampires, but no one is as cool as Dracula.
Of course, vampires are popular in movies, too. My favorite Dracula is Bela Lugosi. I think he was the best one. His voice is as smooth as silk, but as cold as ice.
New words:
Vampire 吸血鬼
Scary 怖い
Legend 伝説
Based on ~ ~を元に
Silk 絹
Top Gear
Top Gear is one of the most popular television shows…in the world! Have you ever seen it? Begun in 1977 (the same year that the original Star Wars came out), Top Gear has become Britain’s best TV show since Monty Python and Dr. Who. It has the biggest budget of any BBC show. I know what you want to ask me. “Why is it so popular? And, what is it about?” Well, I’ll tell you.
Top Gear is about cars. But not just any cars—the fastest and most expensive cars… in the world! Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari 458, Lambourghini Aventador, Pagani Zonda F Roadster, Aston Martin DB9, Ford Mustang, Porsche 911, McLaren MP4-12C, and more. The show is hosted by three presenters who are all famous car journalists. Jeremy Clarkson is an angry old man who likes power and hammers. James May is a pedantic man who is known for being very slow. And Richard Hammond is the youngest and shortest of the three. They are all like children, and they all love explosions. It is fun for them to buy cheap, old cars and drive through the rainforest. It is also exciting for them to try to race the shinkansen across Japan in a Nissan GT-R R35.
New words:
Budget 運営費
BBC 英国放送協会
Presenter 縁者
Journalist 記者、探訪
Pedantic 衒学的
Explosions 爆発
Top Gear is about cars. But not just any cars—the fastest and most expensive cars… in the world! Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari 458, Lambourghini Aventador, Pagani Zonda F Roadster, Aston Martin DB9, Ford Mustang, Porsche 911, McLaren MP4-12C, and more. The show is hosted by three presenters who are all famous car journalists. Jeremy Clarkson is an angry old man who likes power and hammers. James May is a pedantic man who is known for being very slow. And Richard Hammond is the youngest and shortest of the three. They are all like children, and they all love explosions. It is fun for them to buy cheap, old cars and drive through the rainforest. It is also exciting for them to try to race the shinkansen across Japan in a Nissan GT-R R35.
New words:
Budget 運営費
BBC 英国放送協会
Presenter 縁者
Journalist 記者、探訪
Pedantic 衒学的
Explosions 爆発
Parody
Before I came to Japan, I heard a little about doujinshi (no, not the H kind). It was very new to me. I was happy to learn about it because America does not have that sort of culture. We do, however, enjoy parody. Parody is a kind of comedy where imitation is used to make fun of someone or something. It is funny when the parody is very similar to the original.
There are many forms of parody in the US. For example, The Onion is a newspaper that uses fake news stories, and Saturday Night Live is a TV show that makes fun of celebrities. There are also books that use parody, such as “I Am America and So Can You,” which make fun of American culture. Impersonators and comedians also parody famous people with their voices. On the internet, there are many other examples of parody. Computer programs like Photoshop have made new ways for people to make comedy. In addition, websites like YouTube have videos that make fun of popular culture and music. For example, a group called Team Four Star has made a parody series about Dragon Ball Z.
New words:
Parody もじり、パロディー
Imitation 人真似 Imitate 真似る
Make fun of ~ (何かを)バカにする
Fake 偽物
Impersonator 体現者?
Comedian たいこもち、コメディアン
Popular culture 大衆文化
There are many forms of parody in the US. For example, The Onion is a newspaper that uses fake news stories, and Saturday Night Live is a TV show that makes fun of celebrities. There are also books that use parody, such as “I Am America and So Can You,” which make fun of American culture. Impersonators and comedians also parody famous people with their voices. On the internet, there are many other examples of parody. Computer programs like Photoshop have made new ways for people to make comedy. In addition, websites like YouTube have videos that make fun of popular culture and music. For example, a group called Team Four Star has made a parody series about Dragon Ball Z.
New words:
Parody もじり、パロディー
Imitation 人真似 Imitate 真似る
Make fun of ~ (何かを)バカにする
Fake 偽物
Impersonator 体現者?
Comedian たいこもち、コメディアン
Popular culture 大衆文化
B-Movies
B-movies are mysteriously popular with some people in America. B-movies are low-budget films which do not have famous actors or impressive special effects. Their scripts are often very bad as well. Many B-movies have a lot of mistakes in them, too. B-movies are often about monsters, aliens, or martial arts, but not always. These days, only the big, expensive films are in movie theaters, but a long time ago, you could see many different movies too. Why would people watch the bad movies?
It is fun for people to laugh at B-movies. Do you know how they feel? It is funny when a movie monster is not scary or an actor is very un-cool. People used to rent bad movies and watch them at home with friends. Many people would make games for drinking or talk to the TV screen during the movie. In the 1990’s, a popular TV show called Mystery Science Theater 3000 did this. They would watch very old B-movies and talk during the movie. MST3K is still popular online today.
New words:
Mysteriously 不思議で
Low-budget 安い、運営経費が低い
Impressive special effects 印象的なSFX
Monster 怪物
Alien 宇宙人
Martial arts 武道、武術
Rent 借りる、レンタル
Online インターネットで
It is fun for people to laugh at B-movies. Do you know how they feel? It is funny when a movie monster is not scary or an actor is very un-cool. People used to rent bad movies and watch them at home with friends. Many people would make games for drinking or talk to the TV screen during the movie. In the 1990’s, a popular TV show called Mystery Science Theater 3000 did this. They would watch very old B-movies and talk during the movie. MST3K is still popular online today.
New words:
Mysteriously 不思議で
Low-budget 安い、運営経費が低い
Impressive special effects 印象的なSFX
Monster 怪物
Alien 宇宙人
Martial arts 武道、武術
Rent 借りる、レンタル
Online インターネットで
The Star of David
Have you seen this symbol? It is used very often in manga and anime to show magic. But did you know that it has been a symbol of the Jewish people for thousands of years? It is called the Magen David, “the Star of David” or “the Shield of David.” Many Jews use this symbol on their clothes or on necklaces. It is also on the flag of Israel. Who was David, and why does he have a shield? Why is his star used for magic?
More than 2000 years ago, the Jews had a great king in Israel named King David. He once was a boy who cared for sheep. One day, a powerful enemy came to conquer David’s country. David knew how to use a slingshot very well, and with it, he killed the enemy general. The people of Israel made David their king. He was Israel’s king for a very long time. It is said that God was his shield. It is also believed that David’s son Solomon became very strong in using Jewish magic called Kabbalah. Kabbalah uses symbols and the True Name of God to do magic.
New words:
Symbol 符号、表象
Jewish people / the Jews ユダヤ人
Shield 盾、匿
Powerful enemy 力強いな敵
Slingshot 石弓、投石機
General 将軍
Kabbalah カバラ
More than 2000 years ago, the Jews had a great king in Israel named King David. He once was a boy who cared for sheep. One day, a powerful enemy came to conquer David’s country. David knew how to use a slingshot very well, and with it, he killed the enemy general. The people of Israel made David their king. He was Israel’s king for a very long time. It is said that God was his shield. It is also believed that David’s son Solomon became very strong in using Jewish magic called Kabbalah. Kabbalah uses symbols and the True Name of God to do magic.
New words:
Symbol 符号、表象
Jewish people / the Jews ユダヤ人
Shield 盾、匿
Powerful enemy 力強いな敵
Slingshot 石弓、投石機
General 将軍
Kabbalah カバラ