Words September 2025 Week 4

I took wood shop as an elective class. (Some examples of elective classes are automotive, wood working, home economics, foreign languages, etc.)

My next-door neighbor had many wasps in their house. (They called an exterminator to get rid of the bees.)

We used a camping stove. (The most common fuels for camping stoves are white gas, propane and butane.)

The river was shallow. (Small children can wade in the river.)

He broke the record for pole vaulting. (Armand Duplantis from Sweden set a record at 6.3 meters.)

This will be our first class reunion since Covid. (It will also be the last reunion for the entire class and from now only a small reunion for the homeroom class.)

There were 38 attendees. (38 people attended the reunion.)

He beat his previous record. (He is continuing to get better.)

We usually use the prefix "in-" before words of Latin origin and "un-" before words of German origin. (If you're in doubt, using "un-" is the safer bet because it's more easily understood.)

I’d rather play sports than watch them. (Some sports are boring to watch.)

I have a potbelly. (I need to diet.)

There is a basket weaving club meeting in the next room. (They make baskets with thin pieces of bamboo.) 

He attends a technical high school. (This type of school focuses on learning a skill.)

I like watching documentaries. (I agree, some are very interesting.)

I had to take a laxative before the colonoscopy. (The laxative cleans the colon, and a colonoscopy is the camera examination of the colon.)

We chanted sutras at the memorial ceremony. (Sutras are the teachings of Buddhism. The Lotus Sutra is the most popular.)

Raw eggs can cause salmonella and Ecoli. (Sarumonera - daichookin) (This is why we shouldn’t eat raw eggs.)

Losses from shoplifting in Japan are about 346,000,000,000 yen. (Shoplifting means stealing from stores.)

I didn’t have time to study English this week. (He had a very busy week working and playing.)

His father is Filipino, and his mother is Caucasian. (He looks Caucasian, but his brother looks Filipino.)

Champon was introduced to Nagasaki in the late nineteenth century from China. (Different areas of Japan use different ingredients.)

Black cows were painted with white stripes to reduce horsefly landings by over 50 percent. (The researchers received an Ig Nobel prize for their research.)

The mother bear bore two cubs. (Bears bear babies.) (“To bear” means “to give birth or to be pregnant.)

Kaga, a.k.a. the Udon Prefecture, makes paper using discarded udon noodles. (This paper is very strong. It is commonly used to make fans that don’t fold a.k.a. “uchiwa.”)