2022/6/11(土)SMC

President’s remark:

He said it wouldn’t hurt us to sometimes not use a dictionary when we read a newspaper or a novel. Having a dictionary near at hand when reading English novels is ideal, but we are not always in such a situation. We better get ourselves used to not using dictionaries.

<Word of the day>: SM Yoko Narisawa

[ treasure ]

This word is used as a noun and a transitive verb.

< noun >

1. A group of valuable things such as gold, silver, jewels etc.

* One of my greatest treasures is a necklace made of gold.

* Her greatest treasure was not gold or jewels but her photo album.

* Unused treasure is a waste of treasure. [ proverb ]

2. A very valuable and important object such as a painting or ancient

document

* Art treasures are on exhibition in the gallery.

3. Someone who is very useful or important to you

* Each member of SMC is a real treasure.

< transitive verb >

1. to keep and care for something that is very special, important, or

valuable to you

* He treasured the gold watch that his grandfather had given him.

* I’ll always treasure your kind words.

2. to consider to be precious / to value highly

* She treasures her friendship with her classmates.

* Japanese lacquer ware is treasured for its quality and elegance.

< other related expressions with treasure >

* treasure house ( 宝物殿 )

* treasure hoard ( 秘蔵の財宝 )

* treasure house of art ( 芸術の宝庫 )

* treasure house of knowledge ( 知識の宝庫 )

* a living national treasure ( 人間国宝 )

* a treasure for life ( 一生の宝物 )

* the Treasure [ Bonanza ] State ( Montana )

* Tokyo’s treasure islands

There are eleven treasure islands in Tokyo. They are scattered around the Pacific Ocean. They are Izu islands ( Oshima, Toshima, Niijima, Shikinejima, Kozujima, Miyakejima, Mikurashima, Hachijojima, and

Aogashima ) and Ogasawara islands ( Chichijima, Hahajima ).

These islands are known for their wealth of unique plants and animals, ocean resources, natural landscapes and local specialty foods and products. If you visit there, you can learn the history and culture of each island.

< question >

What is your greatest treasure?

<Lecture>: SM K. Narisawa

Today’s lecture is about English grammar. Since there’re no answers given, please refer to me if you don’t know the answers.

1. I never thought in a million years that I would actually win the lottery. → an inverted sentence

= that I would actually win the lottery.

2. Who that knows him would trust him?

( ) who knows him trust him.

3. He gave me a key that he had had made.

The first ‘had’=

The second ‘had’=

The third ‘made’=

4. There’s nothing to be surprised.

What’s wrong with the sentence above？

5．‘take one for the team’ is an idiom native-speakers often use but that most Japanese people don’t know. Let’s elaborate on its meaning and usage.

6. There’s somebody wants you on the phone.

Any mistake?

<Table Topic Speech>

1．What made you smile this week？

２．When you close your eyes, what do you see？

３．Describe your worst experience.

<Prepared Speech>

"Honorifics": SM Noro

“Ms.” is a convenient honorific that can be used for writing email even when you do not know whether the woman is unmarried or married.

On the other hand, when I have an opportunity to send an email to someone I don't know if the person is male or female, I have been using “Mr./ Ms.” as the honorifics because there is no other choice.

I tried to check a gender-neutral word and found the new honorific, “Mx.”. Especially in the UK, it has been used for official documents, licenses and passports of government offices since 2013.

In addition to honorific “Mx.”, I checked the gender-neutral pronouns. Namely, they are zie, hir, hir, hirs, hirself.

Speaking of preferences, there are various opinions that LGBT people have. For instance, a gay prefers to be called “Mr.”. And a lesbian who has a partner prefers to be called “Mrs.”. Anyway, we have to take care in using honorifics or pronouns for the person in this diversity society.

"Life of Contentment": SM Eda

When I belonged to the baseball club, I quit just because I couldn't be a starter.

When I purchased our 1st house, I bought our 2nd one just because I couldn't be content.

When I was a homeroom teacher for the 1st and 2nd times, I couldn't be content of my ability and tried too hard. That affected my relationship with my family. I don't have a perfect family, job or house, but

I need to be content in order to be happy.

Meeting Schedule

Zoom: 7:30 PM on Jun. 13,20,27

In-person: 9:30 AM on jun. 25 at Oyama Community Center (Coordinator: SM Takahata, Word of the day: SM Yu. Narisawa, Lecturer: SM Yoko Narisawa)