Words March 2025 Week 3

Many types of birds migrate to Japan every year. (They usually travel to a warm area in the winter and come back in the spring to mate.)

All is well, that ends well. (If everything is ok when you finish, then down worry about the problems you had when you started.)

India has more than 2,000 ethnic groups. (Each group has slightly different customs, languages and/or culture.)

The phonetic spelling of Mizuho is “me zoo ho.” (You spell the words by describing the sounds of the words.)

It was very warm in the music hall, so I started to sweat. (She arrived a little late because it was hard to find a parking space and she was still wearing a jacket.)

There were about 35 people in the audience. (Don’t say, “the audience was 35 people.”)

The most recent significant famine in Japan occurred during the Tenpō era (1833-1839). (Many people starved to death.)

Some farmers are trying to cut out the middlemen when selling their products. (Each time the products go through a different middleman, the price increases.)

To ride on the green car, you must pay the regular fare plus 750 or 1,000 yen. (I will learn more about it next Monday when I have to pay for a seat.)

It was an endurance race. (The person with the best stamina will win the race.)

I’ve had a hectic month so far. (She has been very busy up to now this month.)

She underlined some sentences. (The word “underlined” is underlined.)

Bob Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature for his poetic expressions in songs. (An example of his poetic style is the song “Blowin’ in The Wind.”)

No one volunteered to be the class manager, so I said the I would do it. (She was taking a language class.)

You will need a magnifying glass to read the small print. (The size of what she writes is very small,)

I swam about 34 laps. (He swam from one end of the pool to the other end 34 times.)

I was short of breath. (He needed to take a break to catch his breath.)

The average life expectancy in Japan in 2023 was 87.14 years for women and 81.09 years for men. (A healthy diet and exercise help us to live longer.)

Maybe this will help you understand last week’s idiom. (To fill someone's shoes は、誰かの職務、地位、または他の仕事を引き継ぐ、という意味です。 特に、前任者と同じくらいうまくやることができるというニュアンスを含む場合が多いです。)